The ASUS EeePC 900 ultra-mobile PC is an improved version of the first UMPC introduced by ASUS. You can find the machine available on the Linux and Windows XP Home Edition. You get a 8.9-inch screen and 16GB of extended storage. It sells for US$550 and is perhaps a tad expensive for some. However, let's look at its features and see what you think.
 

The ASUS EeePC 900 ultra-mobile PC

The ASUS EeePC 900 ultra-mobile PC is slightly heavy - due to its 16GB flash drive and its big battery. However, the extra weight is not noticeable once you get used to it. On the whole, the ASUS EeePC 900 ultra-mobile PC also has a very nice, sleek and sexy exterior.

If you like a bigger screen on a UMPC, the ASUS EeePC 900 ultra-mobile PC definitely delivers. It has one of the bigger screens we've seen amongst competing UMPC products (e.g. those from HP and Samsung). The UMPC also comes with a VGA port for connection to an external monitor.

Although it is a tad heavy (e.g. compared to the 1.5 pound Samsung Q1 Ultra), it has a very nice functional keyboard. The keyboard is 83 percent, meaning it is 83 percent the size of a full-fledged laptop keyboard.

You will find the ASUS EeePC 900's keyboard very comfortable to type on. One point to note is that the mouse buttons are kind of stiff and make a clicking mouse - that's not too desirable.

If you have a lot of external devices, the ASUS EeePC 900 has three USB ports. You wouldn't expect a FireWire port on the machine, since UMPCs are not expected to be used in video editing.

You also find an Ethernet port, a modem, as well as built-in Wi-Fi (802.11g). Some other nifty extras include a SD and MMC card reader, as well as a 1.3 megapixel webcam.

What about the battery life in the ASUS EeePC 900? Well, the battery is a 42-Wh hour model, which gives you enough juice for 3 to 4 hours of usage. The machine is also quite 'green' and energy efficient - check around the web and you will see that studies have shown that to be the case.

The ASUS EeePC 900 has many good points - as well as areas which can be improved. One noticeable thing that is lacking is an optical DVD drive. That is something the designers left out (I guess to save on the overall weight).

The other gripe is the lack of the Intel Atom Centrino processor. This is the latest processor from Intel but has been excluded from the ASUS EeePC 900. However, it would definitely drive the price of the final product upwards.