ASUS Eee PC 4G Surf (7" Screen, 800 MHz Intel Celeron Processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB Hard Drive, Linux Preloaded) Galaxy Black

Got this less than a week ago & it is better than I was expecting. Even with the amount of RAM & the processor...I can play AVI files & WMA/WMV files without any issues in Xandros. Have a 2 GB stick of memory on order...as well as an external CD/DVD case. Will be loading Windows onto this for use with my HAM radio software.

If you are looking for a case for this...I found an insulated lunchbox works perfect. Not only are these padded & will protect your Eee...but with outside pockets...you have room to carry everything you want with one case.

Tiny but usable, rugged and powerful, this is the ideal computer for someone who wants great portability and full, if basic, features. If, like most computer users, you use your machine mainly for email, web surfing, maybe some word processing and spreadsheet work, you can't beat the ASUS. Everything you need and very little you don't. Definitely get a USB mouse to go with it, though, you'll go crazy trying to work with the little touchpad. A portable DVD player case makes a perfect carrying case, available for $10-15.

I ordered the EeePC in Pearl White but I received it flat white I figured it is just the color so I would live with it. I used it for a short time and found it very slow and would lock up from time to time. I decided to return it due to poor product performance and wrong color from original order. I feel the company needs to work out the rest of the bugs before releasing it to the general public.

I was going on a trip to Japan, and so was anxious to get the 2 lb. Eee-pc rather than lugging around my 7 lb Lenovo. For the most part the eee-pc worked fine. It boots quickly, has a good user interface (except the file manager takes some getting used to), connects to the Internet (wire or wireless like a charm). However, I don't like Mozilla as a browser because it doesn't provide some of the services when used with Microsoft exchange server mail I tried and failed to find and install an alternative browser like Netscape. Also, I needed a SFTP program, and failed to find one I could install. I guess I just don't get along well with Linux when it goes beyond pre-installed software.

The software included with the Eee-PC is worth the price of the machine itself -- The word processor opens and writes almost every format, the Presenter Program is compatible with PowerPoint, although has a limited number of designs (2). However, when I hooked the machine to an LCD projector we could get the screen to switch resolutions to give a full projection (may have been my lack of understanding, but we had to switch the presentation to a full-size laptop). I wanted to install the Open Office Database, but could figure out how to do that.

All the USB peripherals I used with the Eee-PC worked fine, including an HP all-in-one printer, external USB hard disk, and USB mouse. The weakest part of the machine and the reason I returned it, was the keyboard and the mouse buttons on the touch pad. The USB mouse solved the mouse button problem, but the keyboard was annoying, often missing letters or adding in double letters (bounce). I could have used a USB keyboard but that defeats the purpose of buying a 2 lb machine. So, I understand there is a slightly larger format machine coming out in the summer -- maybe that will do the trick if they can keep the weight down and install a Windows XP operating system, I'd buy it.

My girlfriend bought a white 4G surf for me recently and for those who have done the research, this case does not have a RAM door.
I ordered a 2G Ram chip and went through the process of taking apart the case (voiding the warranty) and removing the 512mb chip and replacing it with the 2GB chip. Everything worked fine.
Although I am an experienced Linux user and can upgrade the Kernel to see the full 2G I am leaving my machine in easy mode and as is I am only able to use 1G of the 2G. Since the chip was so cheap $34, there was no use to buy a lesser chip.
I do not see a reason to upgrade the kernel at this time. In fact I cannot see any performance difference between the 512MB and the 1G I am using now.

Since my girlfriend has the 4G Black with the new battery, I do notice the difference in battery life. It is easy to connect this to DSL and Wifi and this is the easiest version of Unix I have ever used. In fact its easier than XP or Vista as well.

So if you are a regular user, there is no reason to spend the extra $50 for the RAM door unless you can really find a need to use it (Upgrade to Kubuntu for example).