Even if Carlsberg made laptops they couldn't touch the Eee

So how exactly do you start a review of the best ultra-portable laptop in the world?

Do you start off by discussing how the Asus Eee represents a landmark shift in the world of portable PCs? Do you talk about how unbelievable the Eee is that you can fit so much functionality into such a budget machine? You know what; I'm just going to start by talking about the name.

Consider the Nintendo Wii...

This might seem like a bit of a spurious connection, but the Eee sure does sound a lot like Nintendo's console-hero, the Wii. There's a lot to connect these two machines, mainly in the fact that they both represent important advances not just in technology, but in application.

The Wii is not the most graphically impressive of the three latest consoles - both the Xbox 360 and PS3 have more video processing power in their metaphorical li'l fingers - and the Wii's CPU is nothing to write home about either.

As the budget, low powered, poor-relation option you'd expect it to be hammered into a little white coffin in this cut-throat console war. It is, however, the runaway leader, due to angling the console at a different market and applying what skills it does have in new ways.

Giant killer

Now back to the Eee. It, too, is hardly a giant in the specs department. With a mere 512MB RAM and less than 1GHz of processing grunt you'd be forgiven for wondering why I started off calling it the best laptop in the world. Well, pictures of the Asus Eee really don't do justice to the size of the thing.

It's tiny, practically pocket sized. It's smaller than a hardback book and lots more fun. And there's one other important reason for our excitement, and that's where it hits you in the wallet department. This fully-functioning, ultra-portable laptop can be yours for just £220.

Now when you're talking about the ultra-portable market then you're looking at spending well over a grand for the privilege of having such a miniature PC. With Asus' release of the Eee though, other laptop manufacturers may just have to start thinking about changing their approach too.

Realistically what are you going to use a UMPC for? Word processing, web-browsing, emailing, messenger, audio and video? None of these kind of tasks really need the highest specification, unless you're adamant about running Vista, and the Eee can handle it all with consummate ease and all with its last generation components and Linux-based OS.

It really is the complete ultra-portable PC, and with a 3G slot available, if you don't want to rely on its Wi-Fi capabilities you can be online practically anywhere with it too.

Packed to the gills

The out of the box Linux distro pre-installed on the Eee is so intuitive and friendly that advanced users may be deceived into thinking that it has a possible lack of depth, but it comes packed with all the applications you could need on a machine like this.

Firefox and Thunderbird are ready and waiting, as are the thoroughly useable video and audio players. There's a built-in webcam for use with its IM client too, capable of operating the most popular instant messaging accounts, and the enclosed OpenOffice 2.0 productivity suite will cater for all your work-based needs.

If you're worried about the Linux OS though, scared of leaving your Windows safe-zone, then don't panic. With an external DVD drive and a copy of XP you can be hearing those familiar chimes piping out of the Eee's diminutive speakers in about an hour from start to finish.

We're not just talking adequate performance either, it's a responsive as we could wish and with a £20 1GB SO-DIMM jammed into the expansion slot in the back it's as happy as a clever little laptop called Larry.

Asus is well aware people are going to want to install XP on its machine and has provided an excellent guide to doing so in the comprehensive manual. It also includes a simple section about how to optimise your XP installation for use on the Eee. I managed to get the OS cut down to less than a gig simply by following the first couple of manual instructions.

Shrink to fit

Storage, though, is a bit of an issue, especially with the only commercial release of the Eee in this country coming with 4GB of flash-based storage. With the OS taking up a fair chunk of this space, you'll be grateful for the SD slot built in to the side.

An 8GB card will triple your capacity in one fell swoop and with your travel media safely ensconced on USB keys or the odd external HD, the relatively small storage capacity (by today's standards) doesn't become an insurmountable problem.

I've been tracking the progress of the Eee since I got my grubby, jet-lagged mitts on the prototype out in Taipei. I've been getting gradually more and more excited about this machine, but the one reservation I had was the 7-inch screen.

Budget panels can be quite, quite unpleasant things to use, and I was scared that the screen might just be the corner Asus decided to cut. Thankfully that hasn't happened. The screen is bright and crisp, even with its low resolution of 800x480, and has a decent refresh rate and viewing angle. It looks great running videos and is a joy to behold when playing my beloved Peggle.

Put simply - there really is no reason for you not to go out and get one of these little beauties, it's affordable and ultra-usable. So yes, believe the hyperbole - this is possibly the best ultra-portable laptop in the world.

Score

• 5 / 5

For

• Unfeasibly affordable
• Feature-packed
• Absolutely tiny

Against

• Resolution's too small to play FM...

Verdict

Specification