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.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 11th 2008 4:14PM]

just love the thing. if some of you guys were women lithe as a s101 in comparison to a "real" laptop, and carrying already all the stuff around as most women do, you w o u l d see the point in spending some extra, believe me :) good looks don't hurt, of course, but the main point here is weight and being able to squeeze the thing into my urban toolsbag, too...

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 25th 2008 6:43AM]

It looks cheap- the chintzy glossy bezel, the rubber stoppers, the (I think, I can't quite tell) chromed hinge, the fact that one part has a matte finish, and one a gloss, nothing on it gels. It's not a coherent design, and looks like it belongs in a fake louis vuitton bag or covered in fake diamonds. It just looks really amateurish, for $250 worth of design. They could have done so much better.

[Fanfoot Posted Oct 25th 2008 1:22PM]

I'll say it again... if you're going to make a premium netbook and all you do is make it look nice, I don't care about it.

Okay, so this is thinner which is a needed improvement. And lighter. Not a biggie but good. And its got 802.11n. All good things.
But its too much of a price increment given the little improvements.

Also its got bad things--a bad keyboard layout, and a TWO CELL BATTERY!

Fix the keyboard. Move the cursor keys down a row and shrink them a bit if needed. Make the right shift key full sized.
Change the screen resolution to 1024x768.
Add an (optional) discrete graphics solution, or move to Poulsbo so 1080i video works and maybe some games
Use SLC flash so its faster.
Add in the overclocking ability the MSI Wind has with the new BIOS update.
Add stereo Bluetooth. Or dual headphone jacks.
Add a trackpoint.
Add an ExpressCard slot for 3G
Make it easily upgradable with a spare PCIe slot for a 3G modem card
Ship it with a nice carrying case

Or whatever, but do something. I don't understand why all the netbook makers are acting like there is nothing they can do to differentiate themselves.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 25th 2008 4:49PM]

But didn't Apple just give 100,000 of shareholder money to support fudgepackers rights to get married?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 25th 2008 5:07PM]

will it play crysis on High details?