Over the past few years, the popularity of laptops has only increased. Manufacturers began to massively develop models designed for different audiences. So there were gaming, media, office and just working laptops.
But 10 years ago, the laptop market was not so diverse. Each model turned out to be special, and everyone who watched the production of devices noticed it. At that time, users preferred compact and stand-alone models.
Netbook Asus EEE PC 4G
This device appeared on the market in 2008. At that time it was announced as an innovative solution. Its main feature was compact size, budget cost and versatility.
The specs of the Asus EEE PC 4G were not outstanding, and for the time being they would repel any customer. But in 2008, such a capacity of the device was enough for all everyday tasks. The netbook was bought as an assistant by office staff and students.
Now, looking at modern models, Asus EEE PC 4G would be called mobile, because even some smartphones have already acquired a diagonal of 7 inches, not to mention tablets. But at that time, not everyone could afford such a luxury as an autonomous and compact laptop. Therefore, the release of such a model at a low cost was the best option.
Supply
Asus EEE PC 4G comes in a pale blue box. Everything looks very beautiful and attractive. In front there is a photo of the Asus EEE PC 4G netbook, the characteristics are indicated on the side. It is immediately clear that the model is oriented to work, study and games. That's what the manufacturer wrote on the box.
The front also indicates that the netbook is running Windows XP. On the back of the package are the main features of the Asus EEE PC 4G. Since the device is compact, the box is also small, so the handle for transportation was not even attached to it.
By the way, by the packaging you can also understand why the netbook in the name has three letters "E". The manufacturer mentions the word "easy" - "easy." He wants to convey to the buyer that this device will be easy to work with, easy to learn and easy to play.
Equipment
But the fun begins with unpacking. The visual characteristics of the Asus EEE PC 4G can already be seen by opening the box. Inside, in addition to the device itself, there is a battery, a power supply, documentation for a netbook. The manufacturer also offers a manual disc, a license for Microsoft software and a warranty card.
Many users have noted the presence of a folder for transportation. This is a fabric case without handles or locks. It looks like a folder and closes with Velcro. It is executed in black color, and the Asus logo flaunts on the “tongue”.
Appearance
Description Asus EEE PC 4G should start with the look. Now such a model would not attract attention: the body is too thick and at the same time small. Rough lines are no longer in fashion, and the lack of graphic elements makes the design unremarkable.
The case is made of matte black plastic. The silver logo is in the middle. Large loops are also visible, on which two parts of the device are held. Next to one of them is a series - Eee PC.
There are no rounded corners in the case, so the appearance seems more businesslike. Most likely, because of this, many people think that the device is designed for businessmen. But if someone didn’t like this color scheme, you could buy a netbook with a white case. In this case, the model looked more bright and stylish.
On the bottom of the netbook there are several ventilation holes. In the middle there is a cover that allows access to the processor. To get to the rest of the system, you need to use a screwdriver. Thanks to it, you can easily unscrew the lid. The battery is hidden in a small plastic roller, and you can open it using the lock on the spring.
Housing Details
The characteristics of the netbook Asus EEE PC 4G should include the presence of a variety of parts on the case. For example, it is immediately worth noting that the device does not have an optical drive. However, this is not surprising, since the dimensions of the case are so small that it is also impossible to install a disk reader inside.
But on the right side you can find two USB ports, a VGA connector for connecting a monitor, as well as a card reader for a variety of memory card formats. Kensington Castle is located on the edge.
On the left there is a grill through which warm air comes out of the case, and cool air enters. There is also a network port for connecting an Internet cable. The user has access to a third USB port, as well as two slots for a microphone and headphones.
Working surface
If you just open the Asus EEE PC 4G, you won’t appreciate its technical characteristics; for this you still have to turn on the device. But you can consider the working area of the netbook and understand how ergonomic it is.
The keyboard occupies the most space. It is made of plastic, does not have an island structure and a separate digital unit. Since the device is compact, it was not easy to recreate a full-sized keyboard. Therefore, some had to get used to the lack of some keys for a long time.
The Latin here is painted white, but the Russian layout is green. Function buttons are blue. There is a digital block from the very edge, but it is inconvenient because it is not allocated. The Enter button was also reduced in size.
But the manufacturer did not forget about the Fn function key, which in combination can help adjust the screen brightness, sound volume, wireless network operation, etc. There are 80 buttons in total.
The keyboard takes up two-thirds of the workspace, so it seems like the touchpad is a bit cramped. It is located in the middle. In addition to the touch area, I got a silver button, which is responsible for the operation of the right and left mouse buttons.
To the left of the touchpad there are stickers that describe the specifications of the Asus EEE PC 4G. On the right are indicators of various system options: battery charge, wireless network, caps lock and device on.
As mentioned earlier, the keyboard took up almost the entire work area. If in conventional devices there is a place on top where the manufacturer places the volume controls, player buttons and, finally, the power button, then in the case of this model everything turned out differently: the power button was moved to the plastic roller in which the battery is located. Next to the right loop that holds the screen, you can find a silver power button.
Display
Since the characteristics and features of the Asus EEE PC 4G imply the compact size of the device, it was not possible to place a large display. The user received a screen diagonal of 7 inches. Now even tablets with similar sizes have ceased to be popular.
The display resolution can be two options: 800 x 600 and 800 x 440 pixels. Since at that time they only developed a mirror coating, they decided not to install it in the budget model. And in many ways, this helped make the netbook popular. Even now, glossy screens receive a lot of negative reviews, as they oblige the user to stay in the building and not work outdoors.
The matte display does not collect glare and reflection. It is comfortable to work with him, so this model received positive reviews about the characteristics of the Asus EEE PC 4G. The viewing angles were also quite good.
Audio system
Of course, such a big word can not be called netbook speakers. If you visually look for them, you might think that the manufacturer forgot about them, because their location is quite unusual.
It was decided to place the speakers in the cover on which the display is located. This helped to save space at the base of the case, but slightly affected the sound quality and appearance.
The speakers are placed on the left and right of the screen. They stand out and visually make the display even smaller. Due to the fact that the cover of the device is relatively thin, the speakers turned out to be compact, which affected the sound.
But, despite this, the sound of music and other system sounds seems worthy, especially if you perceive the situation objectively. The sound is loud and clear.
Specifications
It so happened that in the Asus EEE PC 4G review, the specifications and description of the device may vary. This is due to the fact that this is the name of the entire series of models. In fact, several netbooks with the same name were sold at once. Some of them got certain “chips”, others seemed like absolutely ordinary office devices.
The budget version was Asus EEE PC 4G 701. The characteristics of the model as a whole remained the same, but the netbook was devoid of a number of useful options.
CPU in the system
This version worked on the Mobile Intel Celeron M processor. This chip operated at a frequency of 900 MHz. All models of the Eee PC series worked on this processor. All chips had a second-level cache memory of 512 KB. Also, for all devices, the Intel 910GML chipset was installed.
Netbook memory
RAM may vary depending on the modification. Characteristics of the Asus EEE PC 4G 701 suggested the presence of DDR2 RAM modules with a frequency of 400 MHz and a capacity of 512 MB. In other models, it was possible to find RAM for 1 and 2 GB.
Also inside worked hard drive. The most remarkable thing is that the manufacturer decided not to use a classic HDD, but a new-fangled SSD. At that time, this was a real innovation and significantly added to the overall performance of the device.
Although it’s worth mentioning right away that there was only 4 GB of internal memory, which today seems absolutely unrealistic. Even versions with 8 GB now seem completely incapable. Nevertheless, at that time this was a good indicator, but the statement that the user can “easily play” with this model seems to be just an advertising move. However, let's not forget that the games then were not so "heavy".
As mentioned earlier, on the right side there was a card reader. Its feature is that it was a 3-in-1 module. He worked with all flash cards that supported Secure Digital.
Other device specifications
It is worth mentioning that the system was paired with a graphics adapter. This is an integrated Intel GMA 900 graphics card with a memory capacity of 64 MB. The adapter allowed you to connect a third-party monitor to a netbook, as well as switch the resolution from 800 x 600 to 1600 x 1280 pixels.
We continue our review. At Asus EEE PC 4G display characteristics were higher. As already mentioned, the display received a diagonal of 7 inches. The LCD matrix is installed. Standard resolution can be 800 x 600 or 800 x 480 pixels. In more expensive versions, the situation does not change.
The sound was answered by the built-in sound system from Realtek. The fact that the manufacturer provided two speakers at once is an excellent bonus.
Network technologies
To work on the Internet, it was necessary to equip the Asus EEE PC 4G with network technologies. The manufacturer installed a network card that worked on the new controller. There was also a wireless adapter. He coped with his tasks, although he sometimes slowed down the loading of browser pages. It was necessary to place an adapter on the board to access wireless networks of the new standard.
In more expensive versions, one could find built-in adapters operating at speeds of 10/100/1000 Mbit / s.
Multimedia features
A netbook is hardly a multimedia device because it is equipped with simple components. Very rarely, buyers considered it as a device for watching videos or listening to music. But thanks to the two speakers, it became possible to enjoy the sound of your favorite songs.
There is also a built-in microphone, the hole of which can be found on the upper frame of the display. You can immediately notice the webcam. It has 0.3 megapixels. Given the fact that current devices are equipped with 5-8 megapixel camera modules, this indicator seems to be very deplorable. But at that time, even it was enough for calls to Skype.
Testing
Not only reviews on the characteristics of the Asus EEE PC 4G netbook, but also test results can help to understand everything about performance. Despite the poverty of the netbook market in 2008, it was easy to find competitors for the monitored model. For example, the Asus UMPC R2E laptop was not bad at that time.
There is a difference in hard drive and more memory, while the processor and graphics adapter are practically no different. To make the test fair, we took the second model of the netbook with the resource-intensive operating system Vista.
Performance testing, again, hints that not everything is so easy with Asus EEE PC 4G. The netbook, unambiguously, is designed only for office work and study. He copes with other tasks very hard. Its performance is extremely low.
The video system also did not show high results and turned out to be weaker than the chipset. The video card does not cope with 3D. Therefore, in general, only RAM and a processor at an acceptable frequency are saved in the system.
The device’s disk subsystem uses a 4 GB solid state drive. This is evidenced not only by the manufacturer, but also by analysis of the components. SSD works like a clock. It takes only 4% of the CPU.
Offline work
Reviews on the technical specifications of the Asus EEE PC 4G help a lot to make a general impression about the device, but many customers like bare numbers. Unfortunately, they do not always give a clear picture of reality.
Using the Battery Eater program, you can check the autonomy of the netbook. The utility helps to collect battery performance in different modes. The battery received a capacity of 4400 mAh. At maximum load, the device withstood only 107 minutes. In this case, the device worked continuously without going into standby mode.
The minimum load allows the battery to fully discharge after only 121 minutes. At that time, these were good indicators, given the ability to work from an outlet. The problem was that it took 145 minutes to fully charge the device.
Interestingly, the battery ran out in stages. The device lost 80%, and then went into sleep mode. The netbook could be in this mode for about 5 hours, but it could not be used. There are speculations that the manufacturer thus secured a user who, for example, did not keep track of the discharge of the Asus EEE PC 4G, because of which he did not save the documents. Thus, you could come home, put the netbook on charge, turn it on and save work.
Reviews
Previously, feedback on specifications and photos was of great importance. The Asus EEE PC 4G netbook turned out to be a popular device, therefore, it collected not only user feedback, but also expert reviews. Thus, potential buyers could easily decide if he needed to buy this particular model.
And users said the following ... Positive reviews affected the compactness of the device and its overall design. At that time, the model could become a real find for businessmen and students. The netbook was easy to carry. It fit in a backpack and showed good battery life. A special bonus was the availability of a fabric folder in the kit.
Also, users highlighted the presence of some options, without which, it would seem, it was not easy at that time. First of all, we are talking about the presence of a wireless network, which allows you to connect to the Internet anywhere and look for the necessary information.
Many liked the presence of even the simplest, but video cameras. Thanks to her, it was possible to organize video conferences or just chat with relatives on Skype.
For many, the display turned out to be an undoubted plus, which received a matte finish, which some modern devices lack so much. And the sound system, despite its compact size, showed good sound.
Someone was dissatisfied with the lack of an optical drive, since flash drives were expensive at that time, and drives were popular. Nevertheless, as time will show, subsequently even stationary computers will abandon the reader.
Negative reviews were also enough. It's hard to say that the Asus EEE PC 4G is perfect. The most important and "fat" minus was the performance of the device. The promised "easy work" was not so easy. And the model was practically not “friends” with games.
Of course, having an SSD instead of an HDD is a definite plus, but the total memory capacity of 4 GB is extremely small. The manufacturer, of course, hinted to the buyer that the presence of a card reader would save the situation, but this led to additional costs.