Asus Netbook Price Comparison & Stock Check

Asus Netbooks

Asus was founded in 1989 and even though its full name is AsusTek, it is commonly referred to its brand name Asus. Asus got its start as a motherboard manufacturer for PCs and evolved from there to become one of Asia's Top 10 IT Companies. They currently produce close to 35% of the motherboards used in various computers today as well as products for Sony and Apple. Asus started in the netbook market in 2007 when it released its Eee PC netbook. This product has gone on to win countless awards for its innovation and has become one of the industry standards against which all other netbooks are judged. A balanced review of Asus netbooks still places the Eee PC at the top of most netbook users lists. Your best chance of finding one of the last cheap Asus netbooks is by searching the web and using comparison-shopping sites.

Storage Capacity - The Asus Eee netbooks are available in a variety of styles and offer the user a choice of storage capacity and technologies. You first have to decide if you prefer a Flash based memory or a conventional hard drive for one of the Asus netbooks you are considering. If you choose the Flash version of memory, it has a smaller capacity than a standard hard drive would, but requires less power to operate and is more durable if the Asus Netbooks are dropped. The Flash memory is available in 4GB, 8GB, 12GB and 16GB capacities and can be installed in any of the Asus Eee netbooks. If you choose to use a standard hard drive for your netbook, it will be a 160GB version. Both of these options have advantages and offer you enough memory for your applications and content. The various models of Asus Eee netbooks offer either 512 MB of memory or 1GB of memory depending on the configuration you choose.

Keyboard - All of the Asus Eee netbooks have a generous keyboard that makes it easy to type. Because of the compact design of the Asus netbooks, the keyboard is very solid which makes it easier to type since there is very little bounce. There is also a mouse pad located on the bottom of the keyboard with the familiar right and left click buttons positioned below it. Unlike some other models, these buttons are in a standard configuration and easy to use.

Battery Life - There are two types of batteries used on the various models of Asus netbooks. Asus offers a standard battery and a 6-cell battery that has a larger capacity. They are both based on Lithium Ion technology and will give you between four and eight hours of use on the Asus Eee netbooks depending on which model you have.

Operating System - There are many different configurations for the Asus Eee netbooks and they give you a choice between a few different operating systems. You can have Windows XP Home edition loaded up on your unit if you are a PC user. This will give you a familiar interface to work with and will allow you to install additional programs that are compatible with Windows on the unit as well. You can also have the Asus netbooks configured with GNU Linux if you prefer that operating system to Windows. In some cases the operating system you choose will determine the processor chipset used in the netbook. Of all the Asus netbooks reviewed, the majority of them are still choosing Windows as their operating system.

CPU and Graphics - The Asus netbooks use a few different processors depending on which model you select. Some of the Asus netbooks use either the Intel Atom N270 or Intel Atom N280. Both of these are great chipsets and provide a lot of processing power. The N270 operates at 1.60 GHZ and the N280 at 1.66 GHZ. The real difference between them is that the N280 is equipped to handle HD video a little better. A few of the models are shipping with the Intel Celeron M 253 chipset. This chipset is a little slower and runs at 900 MHZ but is still very fast for your applications. This processor choice is used on some of the Asus Linux netbooks.

Connectivity - The Asus Eee netbooks offer the user a wide variety of connection options and allow for the easy attachment of your peripherals to the netbook. There is compliment of three high-speed USB connections available that will work with either the newer 2.0 standard, or the older1.1 standard. These USB connections allow you to attach a collection of external devices like printers, storage and keyboards and expand the basic functions of the Asus netbooks. The Asus Eee netbooks also have a standard video connection in case you want to use a full-sized display with the unit. This can be nice if you are working at a desk and want to enjoy a larger monitor. The Asus netbooks also have a wired LAN connection included which allows you to connect up to a local network in an office with a standard RJ-45 connector. The last interface is a combination SD/MMC slot that allows you to slip a memory card into the Asus netbooks and transfer content. This can be a big help if you are on vacation and want to offload your photos from your camera.

Additional Features - Even though the Asus netbooks come with a pretty complete feature-set compared to other similar netbooks, they do have a few features that give them an edge. They include a webcam that is incorporated into the display. The resolution on this webcam varies from model to model and can be either a 0.3 M Pixels or a 1.3 M Pixels camera depending on which model and configuration you have. This camera does a great job of capturing video and is fast enough to handle motion well. The Asus netbooks also come with a choice of display sizes. They offer three basic chassis and the display size is either a 7-inch, 8.9-inch, 10-inch or a 10.2-inch display. The resolution varies as well and can either be an 800 X 480 (WVGA) or a 1024 X 600 (WSVGA) display. Again, this display type varies from model to model so be sure to check when shopping for the Asus netbooks. Lastly, the Asus netbooks have an internal Wifi connection and it can be either an 802.11 b/g or an 802.11 b/g/n. This connection allows you to access the internet from a local Wifi location and is handy to have as an internal feature.