ASUS Eee PC S101 reviewed: sexy, but not worth the premium

We already knew ASUS' Eee PC S101 had it going on when it came to design, but how did it hold up under the stresses of everyday use? The critics over at Laptop Mag took the fashionable netbook into their testing lair, and while it was deemed "gorgeous and strikingly thin," users who opt for this one must be willing to "make some trade-offs in the name of fashion." For starters, the $699 machine shares almost all of the same internal components as the $449 Eee PC 1000H, so you'll have to fall awfully hard for the looks in order to justify the delta. Generally speaking, the palm rest and keyboard were both praised, but the critics did find the Shift key to be "awkwardly placed". In the end, there wasn't much here to discuss outside of cosmetic differences, and while this crew couldn't place its highest recommendations on the pricey S101, those with deeper pockets may certainly feel otherwise.

[Iceman @ Oct 24th 2008 7:58PM]

Not worth it in todays economy.

[Tamer Brad @ Oct 24th 2008 8:04PM]

I cannot be the only one sick of everyone bring up "B-B-BUT THE ECONOMY" every time there is a post about something that costs money.

[James @ Oct 24th 2008 8:39PM]

B Bu Bu But the indu went down again today and we all know the dow is the end all judge of the economy.

[LondonConsultant @ Oct 25th 2008 6:21AM]

Iceman must be from Iceland...

[strider_mt2k @ Oct 25th 2008 7:19AM]

It's the new "children".

Won't SOMEONE think of the ECONOMY????

Odd to see it on a tech blog though.

Dude if you're that worried go be a farmer.
You'll get to eat and you'll also be too busy to post asinine comments on tech blogs.

[El Taco @ Oct 25th 2008 11:25PM]

@strider

lol, I can totally see some parent going

"finish your plate. Think of the starving economy in Africa"

[Jake B @ Oct 26th 2008 4:37AM]

So worth it in todays environment to replace your 1999 ibm Stinkpad with this glossy beauty.

[JohnTitor @ Oct 24th 2008 8:03PM]

I wouldn't be too surprised if Apple made a netbook priced $699 with the same specs and engadget said it was worth the premium

[Tamer Brad @ Oct 24th 2008 8:05PM]

There is more to Apple's design than simply the appearance.

[Adam @ Oct 24th 2008 8:05PM]

Well not just Engadget, but all the Apple fans lol.

Apple I guess deserves what they got because they sure have some loyal customers that most other companies don't have. Not sure what they did as a company, but I with my company was that successful lol.

Pay a premium price just for looks haha no thanks.

[Adam @ Oct 24th 2008 8:08PM]

To bad you can't edit your messed up post lol...

Anyways no there really is not that much difference between other laptops other than looks with Apple. Sure you get a metal case, but who cares.

Computers are not worth spending extra for the shell because they get outdated to fast.

[tkid92 @ Oct 24th 2008 10:09PM]

Wouldnt every Apple laptop be paying for the looks not specs, you could buy another laptop thats got the same specs for half the price. But then you couldnt hump it cus it doesnt have an apple vagine on the outside.

[Jash Sayani @ Oct 25th 2008 2:50AM]

Well, I would think a bit before buying this one and would compare it with other netbooks available. But, if it was an Apple netbook, then I would just close my eyes and get one!!

[Jon @ Oct 24th 2008 8:05PM]

"Apple Macbook and Macbook pro reviewed: sexy, but not worth the premium"

Why has this never been a headline?

[Rollins @ Oct 24th 2008 9:35PM]

Because to many, they are worth the premium.

I'm not trying to be a fanboy here (I use both a Mac and a PC for different purposes), but there are a good number of factors why they would be worth the premium. Among them are...

1) Operating system. Making a Hackintosh still isn't something the average user is capable of doing, and OS X most definitely has its strengths. Namely, ease-of-use, little to no worrying about ad/spy/malware, stability (though Windows has come a long ways in this regard), etc.
2) Industrial design. Which I suppose is a more professional way of saying "sexiness", but some of it isn't just for looks. The MagSafe power connector and the magnetic latch, for example.
3) Customer support. Apple tops customer satisfaction surveys on a regular basis for a reason. Honestly, they're the best company I've ever dealt with over the phone.
4) Apple's pro applications - namely, Logic and Final Cut. Each is one of the best applications in their respective fields, and each is Mac-only. I may have switched to Windows if Logic wasn't so damned good.

A Mac netbook would easily be worth $699 to me because of the above factors. If they made a netbook, I'm confident that it would be one of the most well-designed and solid netbooks in existence.

That said, they're not perfect. Leaving out Firewire on the MacBook was an example of needlessly poor judgment. I could go on, but you get my point.

$ killall MacDefenseForce
$ shutdown -h now

[tkid92 @ Oct 24th 2008 10:13PM]

Making a "hackintosh" is very easy using leo4all, a 10 year old could do it... no "apple tax" is diff NOT worth it.

[Luigi193 @ Oct 24th 2008 11:53PM]

I use a Mac because I like OS X more.

I enjoy the BSD UNIX part of os x, and all the open source projects. I love the ultra-nerdy crap... and not so much gaming. Thats why I use a Mac... to each his own!

[bboston7 @ Oct 25th 2008 5:15AM]

UNIX is part of OSX, BSD is not.

[Metkis @ Oct 26th 2008 2:56AM]

I don't know about you guys, but my problem is that there is no option NOT to pay the premium - that is to say... NOT put OSX on the device. I'd gladly buy a 150-200 dollar discounted Macbook with Linux on it than pay more for something I do not need.

[greygabe @ Oct 24th 2008 8:23PM]

Sexy not worth it??
One word: Mac

[greygabe @ Oct 24th 2008 8:24PM]

(my point not being that I personally think the sexiness of Macs is worth it, but that it does in fact sell in huge numbers)

[Wormbolt @ Oct 24th 2008 10:14PM]

Anyone who refers to a piece of electronics as "sexy" deserves to be gang-raped by a dozen Asimos.

[CJ @ Oct 25th 2008 12:13AM]

Man, I would ENCOURAGE the use of the word 'sexy' when applied to electronics, just to see someone raped by a dozen asimos.

[Richard Lai @ Oct 25th 2008 3:09PM]

@CJ: or by a dozen Benders.

[phanbouy @ Oct 24th 2008 8:26PM]

lolz. can't engadg express a negative opinion on anything without 90% of the posts screaming TEH MAC R Soo Expensive!

[a concerned neighbor @ Oct 25th 2008 11:57PM]

phanbouy, you need to get off the engadget. Really, you comment on almost every article. I know this is going to be a hard journey for you but always remember that you were a normal person before an engadget addict.

[Jon @ Oct 24th 2008 9:14PM]

In this case it shows lack of journalistic integrity. You can't bash one product for charging more for what's basically a slightly more stylish product with the same old components and praise another for doing it without losing some credit.

It's not "OMG lol maks are like different lol stop screaming macs lol."

[Rollins @ Oct 24th 2008 9:59PM]

@Jon

Except in this case, Engadget's summarizing the opinions of the review in the article. They're not the ones bashing it: in fact, previous Engadget posts about the S101 have praised it.

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Oct 24th 2008 8:43PM]

Steve jobs has already said there is not going to be a mac netbook. He said something like they have the iphone and and the macbook air so there is no need for a mac netbook. I mean seriously as if apple are going to make anything at good price.

[iEye @ Oct 24th 2008 9:55PM]

Steve Says a lot of things... like;

"Apple is not going to enter the fash MP3 player market"

"Apple have no plans of going into the Mobile Phone market"


The iNetBook is probably right now getting the finishing touch...

[James @ Oct 24th 2008 10:37PM]

Apple probably had no intention of making a netbook because it could not (would not) want to drop prices to compete with a $300 eee pc but if dell thinks they can sell them for $999 then im sure apple will release one sooner or later.

[James @ Oct 24th 2008 8:43PM]

Glad netbooks are finally getting better looking but doubling the price is just insane.

(Both the Dell and this)

[BigTeebo @ Oct 24th 2008 10:09PM]

Car companies do it to some extent too with brand rebadging. I remember the software company I worked for had a poor selling(but decent) product that actually increased sales from doing one thing: hiking the price up. Buyers assumed it was a better product since they chraged more for it.

[Hung @ Oct 24th 2008 8:46PM]

The only reason the shift key is bad is because the "| \"key is placed next to it. And that's because the ENTER key is extended to two rows.

Why, just why? I've never heard a complaint about the ENTER key being difficult to press because it's in a single row.

[Doc @ Oct 24th 2008 8:52PM]

Here's one then: I have a hp kb-1033 keyboard. It has a single line enter key and I have to backspace far too often. because I've hit \ for the eleventy-millionth time today.

[Hung @ Oct 24th 2008 9:31PM]

I've never experienced that. You should get tested.

[gagagugu @ Oct 25th 2008 7:04AM]

That's just the weird British keyboard. I'm sure the rest comes with the American style keyboard, i.e. the @ above the 2, the enter key being single row, etc

[Chuckles McGee @ Oct 25th 2008 5:57PM]

Anyone find it weird that the caps lock key is so large relative to the shift key?? I mean, if you're looking to cut space, take it from the rarely used caps lock key.

[Hung @ Oct 26th 2008 12:46PM]

It's not that the Caps key is large, but the Shift key is small. Compare the Tab and Caps keys in the picture to those on your desktop's keyboard, and you'll see that they're about the right proportion. If the Shift key were extended out to where the "| \" key is, then everything would be fine. I use an Acer Aspire One and the keyboard layout (no comment on size) is just as it should be.

[mcdj @ Oct 24th 2008 9:20PM]

Sexy? Where? I don't see anything sexy.

[Eli @ Oct 24th 2008 9:48PM]

Turn away from that mirror, good sir.

[scott @ Oct 24th 2008 10:10PM]

i'm lovin' it.

da na na na

[lanosian @ Oct 24th 2008 11:08PM]

fugly

[CraigJ @ Oct 25th 2008 12:45AM]

i can't tell because you haven't posted your picture, but I'll take your word for it.

[PEZ @ Oct 24th 2008 11:19PM]

I hope this is not some new stupid trend of PREMIUM NETBOOKS. Just buy a regaular laptop for Christs sake. Something you can read from a foot away.

Id rather have a mediocre notebook than a premium netbook! There, I said it.

[CJ @ Oct 25th 2008 12:19AM]

On the other hand, if you want something that you can carry in a messenger bag, that doesn't give out after an hour of heavy use, you have two directions you can go in; 1) You spend 2-4000 dollars and get an ultraportable, or 2) you spend 600 and get a 'premium' netbook.

Go on then, your choice.

[Andrew @ Oct 27th 2008 1:38PM]

I went route 1 and got a Vaio Z but this Eee is quite a viable and cheap option. Yes, looks and build quality DO matter for god's sake. Did you ever think the main reason you don't have any manufacturing in US any longer is because most of you just keep looking at price, price, price? My grandfather used to say "I'm not rich enough to buy cheap stuff" and there's the other one "you get what you pay for". If I'm going to be using something for hours every day I will want to make damn sure it looks nice both to me and to most others - IN ADDITION to it doing its job AND lasting a long time. And to get that you need to pay the premium, surprise surprise. The premium that unfortunately keeps increasing every year because less and less people seem to care about quality, long-lasting merchandise.

And Apple products quite often do have build quality and looks to justify the premium, especially when it's a new concept and not yet a commodity.

[Poom @ Oct 24th 2008 11:31PM]

I find the logo hideous... kinda ruin how everything looks so nice.

[CraigJ @ Oct 25th 2008 12:47AM]

what that minuscule gold logo? It's not a great logi but it doesn't ruin the whole design.

BTW that root-beer brown colored one is hot...

[Uncontrol @ Oct 25th 2008 1:47AM]

I see a lot of comparisons being made to Apple products with this post, but to compare this product to an Apple design is really an unfair comparison. You can say what you want about Apple, but they take their industrial design very seriously. The hinge looks cheap, those circles around the screen look cheap, the keyboard looks cheap ... everything about this is "wannabe" premium. You can't just color something a bit better and make it slightly more attractive and suddenly call it fashionable.

More than that, though, design is more than just how something looks. Typing this from the new Aluminum MacBook, the way it looks from a purely aesthetic point of view is one of the smallest improvements. The way it feels is far more important.

Of course, there are always going to be tech-heads who are unable of comprehending the value of a computer outside of how much RAM or HDD space it has. There's nothing wrong with this; nobody is forcing them to appreciate Apple's -- or Sony's, or VooDoo's, or any other premium, fashionable, "lifestyle" or whateve you want to call it brand -- computers.

"Wouldnt every Apple laptop be paying for the looks not specs, you could buy another laptop thats got the same specs for half the price. But then you couldnt hump it cus it doesnt have an apple vagine on the outside,"

There is more to Apple than just looks. There is a feel to the computer. A computer is a machine that we will spend countless hours using; there is more importance based on it than just how big the numbers are!

I am a Mac user, but I force that on no one. Everyone should feel free to purchase whatever computing experience functions best for them. However, stop being so naive as to say that Apple's premium is just about aesthetics; there is more to design than looks, and there will always be a group of people willing to pay more for beauty and elegance. So just let it be and enjoy your Compaq or HP or Dell or whathaveyou. You've found your fit. Let people enjoy theirs.