ASUS Eee Top ET1602 touchscreen all-in-one gets reviewed

ASUS's touchscreen Eee Top ET1602 all-in-one was certainly adored in a pre-staged way by small children when it launched last month, but Slashgear's taken it for a spin and found that it actually deserves the love. The 15.6-inch resistive touchscreen wasn't on par with the capacitive screen in HP's TouchSmart or the active digitizer in newer tablet PCs, but it did the job, and ASUS's Windows XP "Easy Mode" launcher and bundled touch apps were intuitive and friendly, although certain apps would drop back into XP's mouse-oriented interface at times. Under the hood, the netbook-class 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM, and GMA950 graphics didn't rock anyone's world, but they managed general browsing and 720p video playback without issue. All in all, it seems like ASUS has built an interesting little AIO for the expected US price of $450 -- now if they'd just start shipping them here, we'd find out for ourselves. Hit the read link for the full review.

[Freestyle Farfetchd @ Dec 18th 2008 7:11AM]

I could see these being great for classrooms. Small, cheap, touchscreen devices that can fit on the desk and still alow plenty of room for taking notes by hand could be a winner. Do they do an educational discount for these things? If not, they should, it'd be great.

[Beastage @ Dec 18th 2008 7:43AM]

Yea not about , paper demise is really over due...

You can have an account that can be accessed from home and school, using the same docs and material as you move from class to class and do homework.

[RemDX @ Dec 18th 2008 8:46AM]

This is actually a very good idea. I mean, I was wondering who such a poorly spec'd pc was aimed at and you said it, students at high schools and grade schools.

Except for the fact that they all have quad cores at home and so even they will think these are pieces of shit!

[GingerFox @ Dec 18th 2008 3:02PM]

im sorry to burst your bubble, bu these are really not ideal for school work in any way. Schools want need and use quite high powered machines (our school uses highish end dual core pc's) that are used for GCSE work that involes having often 10+ word, access etc documents and a web browser at the same time that i doubt that eee pc would do. Plus schools want reliabilty and be able to swap out parts, thats why they get the standard sized beige boxes that are identical to all the others in the school so the technitions know what there dealing with and the parts can be swapped between, nothing about this would be ideal for schools, there not even cheap compared to the price they get the kind of pc's that are used in schools. And touchscreen? IT in schools is about preparing you for 'life' eg. the coperate environment which office's normally have touchscreens? not a lot. lol nice for the kitchen though:)

[TMM @ Dec 18th 2008 7:41AM]

I don't see why this thing needs a touch screen, or how a touch screen does improve it.

It's a nice computer for the price anyway, from the looks of it.

But how does it make sense to have a touch screen verticaly in front of you.
Just a gimick. Those "feature" lists still seem to sell ... doesn't matter how much sense they make.

[West @ Dec 18th 2008 8:10AM]

Are you kidding? Touch screens make everything better! Apple said so!

Really though, you're right. Working on a computer 8 hours of the day using my hands would be a little too much. Heck, even after more than an hour it'd become uncomfortable. But I do think it'd be nice to reach up and move a window exactly where I want it instead of having to go through the mouse via proxy every once in a while.

Only time will tell if it's one of those things that sticks or if it's just a gimmick though; ie, the qwerty keyboard-made so that typewriters wouldn't jam because people were typing too fast, but that's obviously not a problem today. Yet we still stick with it because people don't like change...and because those mean 8th grade teachers made us learn to use them.

[TMM @ Dec 18th 2008 8:26AM]

Are YOU kidding?

Why do you come up with Apple? This is not related to the topic?!

And btw., Apple states the exact opposite:
Touchscreens do not make everything better.
Bill Gates is the stubborn idiot who still wants everyone to run around with a tablet.
Apple on the other hand tells everyone that touch screens only make sense in the right form factor.

And: Read Mike's post.

[ipubs bastard child @ Dec 18th 2008 8:01AM]

I think this is perfect for my dad that just uses a computer for ebay and other minor bits. Looks ace for the money but i'd like to see a demo model before I buy one.

[melloncollie @ Dec 18th 2008 10:23AM]

"Looks ace for the money"

Oh god...

[ipubs bastard child @ Dec 18th 2008 10:54AM]

sorry, should i have said looks asus for the money? ;)

come on its a good package for the price for what it is capable of. perfect for silver and general web surfers who do little more than download videos and wathc iplayer..

[Mike @ Dec 18th 2008 8:02AM]

@TMM, I sorta agree about the touchscreen on a desktop.

Although, I've seen some plans by people to use these like a gigantic stationary remote to access their file server to make it like a media selector for their home theatre. And when you look at the price of home theatre remotes, a good touchscreen one costs just as much as this, and it has way less functionality.

I might actually do that too....wall-mount it behind the bar so I can control the music and have a visual callerid.

[TMM @ Dec 18th 2008 8:24AM]

Well, that is actually a good use for that.

The way it see it this is some good thing for "proxy" use.
A touchscreen in a a device like that doesn't help at all in everyday "computing".
It doesn't make Windows work any better ... to put it that way.

But you made me think:

I imagine myself using it as a media selector:
an iPhone / Cover Flow, just in big.

But a bit of overkill for me ... I'd stick to an iPhone to remote my media library.

But, hey:

I still think a cheap all in one desktop is by itself a good thing for many people.
If only it would run Mac OS ... and not those horribly other UIs ...

[Kelmon @ Dec 18th 2008 9:08AM]

In short, it makes sense for pretty much anything where your interaction is "read-only" - as soon as you need to provide input beyond basic selections then the usefulness disappears without an on-screen keyboard. There's lots of uses for such technology but day-to-day computing isn't one of them.

[Orappa @ Dec 18th 2008 8:06AM]

Here we go again with the Atom processor it is just anoying small put in some real power not much but just alitle more then its good for everyone. but when thats said i think it is just what i need..
just need some freaking power

[FatDude @ Dec 18th 2008 8:26AM]

What you need is a dictionary. Or Spell Check. Either Or works fine.

[Orappa @ Dec 18th 2008 8:36AM]

Sorry for not being from US or that my first or second language is not english..
BUT dude what u need is to RELAX and stop being borring

[ZaxCG2 @ Dec 18th 2008 9:03AM]

I for one welcome Orappa to our Engadget community... COWABUNGA!!
And yeah- I agree it could use some power, maybe another model with a bit higher specs?
I don't think they intended this to be for the heavy PC user crowd... this is more like a grandpa/mom gift if you ask me.

[FGL82 @ Dec 18th 2008 8:14AM]

I never get this computers.

I mean, follow me here:

1) I have a mouse, and I have a keyboard.
2) I see that in the "easy access" Apps there's a shortcut to opera.

then:

Why would I use my hand to launch the browser if I will need to put it back over my mouse when I want to actually browse the web?

It seems like a burden and it smudges the screen for no reason.

I don't really see the point int this kind of devices unless every part of the interface is designed specifically for touch interaction. And even then I think that some tasks will not be as comfortable.

[Steve @ Dec 18th 2008 9:10AM]

Well do this exercise, start typing on your laptop and try and click on the start menu. What's closer? the mouse or your finger?
I think you guys are right, it makes little sense in all, but if you think about it as replacing the mouse then it can work. (and then there is a mouse there just in case :P)

[MaXKiLLz @ Dec 18th 2008 8:36AM]

I hate fingerprints on my screen. Any time someone's finger gets within three inches of my glossy LCD, I give them a good, firm slap on the hand followed by, "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING THE SCREEN!"

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Dec 18th 2008 9:11AM]

It looks like a Mac for the Non Mac crowd. I love ASUS, I'm actually writing this on one right now. To me they are becoming the Sony of the PC world. (For looks and style)

[BradS @ Dec 18th 2008 9:35AM]

I can't wait until these go on sale. I have a web-based kiosk application that currently needs a pc stuffed into a huge rolling formica-covered wooden cabinet, connected to an expensive panel-mount 15" touch monitor and a Zebra label printer. I just replaced the guts of one with an EeeBox and it works perfectly, but I'm still stuck with that panel-mount touch monitor. These units give me everything I need in one complete package, and for under 5 bills the price is 1/3 - 1/4 the cost of the beasts I have now.

[Rick @ Dec 18th 2008 10:14AM]

Nice keyboard design, I haven't seen that before...

[Teh Lup @ Dec 18th 2008 12:11PM]

Comparing the Eee Top to HP SmartPC = total comedy.
The SmartPC has much more hardcore hardware then an atom pimping nettop.

My personal thoughts on the nitch for these type of products. An 'around the house' PC. I'd grab one up for my kitchen.. (HP Smart) watch some TV, stream video/music, check out some web cast news and shiz.

The other thing is, the touch screen is an accessory, you dont HAVE to use it. Hence why there is a mouse and keyboard. Love it or hate it, there is definitely a nitch for touch screen nettops.

[Beatnik @ Dec 18th 2008 4:38PM]

Just for your information, the hp Tochsmart desktop pcs also have resistive screens, the only exception is the touchsmart tx2 laptop with capacitive screen and multitouch.
By the way the ASUS EEE Top is not bad for the price.

[Fanfoot @ Dec 18th 2008 9:06PM]

I want one. For the kitchen. My wife can look up recipes on it, and I can check the weather and traffic just before going to work.

Sounds like the software needs some work though. Music and video integration needs to be via touch. And that memo app, and a calendar, all need to support touch... And if you can't integrate new applications into this thing, then forget it.

Also the screen should be FLAT, meaning the bezel should be covered with the same piece of glass as the LCD, so that you can easily wipe stuff off it.

And you should be able to carry it around and use it flat temporarily if you want, so the future battery-enabled version would be a nice touch... needs to be easy to dock/undock though.

And yes, an Atom processor is probably just right for this--your family computer. Its not the only PC you're going to have, just one more, so its got to stay cheap.

[kevin @ Dec 19th 2008 2:35PM]

I am looking forward to getting one so I can use it as a incar TV system for my kids, send movies to it using wifi no fathing with DVD's