ASUS Eee Top Review - Touch Screen Desktop PC

[Apoptosis]

ASUS Eee Top Review - Touch Screen Desktop PC

The ASUS Eee Top is an innovative, low power, touch screen computer with many uses. It uses an Intel Atom N270 Processor for a solid workstation, and it has modified software for functionality and user-friendliness. ASUS claims that the Eee Top is great for meetings, communications and education. Read on to see if it really is all that ASUS claims it to be, or is it just another marketing gimmick?

The ASUS Eee Top has been such a joy to use, and I hate to have to give it back. I wish I would have had the Eee Top when I was in college. Perhaps I would have done less gaming, and the memo application would have helped me to keep track of my assignments and projects...

Article Title: ASUS Eee Top Review - Touch Screen Desktop PC
Article URL: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/927/1/
Pricing At Time of Print: $569.95 plus shipping
DIGG URL: http://digg.com/hardware/ASUS_Eee_Top_R ... en_Desktop

[GI-JOE]

Very cool. Although i would probably get a netbook instead!

You mean you don't get to keep the parts you test? Bummer!

[Apoptosis]

Very cool. Although i would probably get a netbook instead!

You mean you don't get to keep the parts you test? Bummer!

many things we don't keep... we just do a loaner program with them.

[Illuminati]

Very cool. Although i would probably get a netbook instead!

I would generally agree with you, however, I did find that it was nice that this desktop doesn't take up any more of a footprint than a laptop... so for those (like me) that just plug in their laptop and don't really travel with it very much, this is a viable alternative to a netbook.

[Apoptosis]

it would be awesome if a device like this had a very small battery inside that let you move it around while it is powered on without shutting it all the way down...

For example if you wanted to move it from the kitchen to the living room...

Also a way to mount this on the wall is also needed... How slick would that be to have one of these mounted on the wall in the kitchen... If it used a standard VESA mount like a TV does you can purchase the swivel mounts as well.

[GI-JOE]

it would be awesome if a device like this had a very small battery inside that let you move it around while it is powered on without shutting it all the way down...

For example if you wanted to move it from the kitchen to the living room...

Also a way to mount this on the wall is also needed... How slick would that be to have one of these mounted on the wall in the kitchen... If it used a standard VESA mount like a TV does you can purchase the swivel mounts as well.

I agree. It would be awesome to have digital cookbook suspended above the counter!

[Illuminati]

it would be awesome if a device like this had a very small battery inside that let you move it around while it is powered on without shutting it all the way down...

For example if you wanted to move it from the kitchen to the living room...

Also a way to mount this on the wall is also needed... How slick would that be to have one of these mounted on the wall in the kitchen... If it used a standard VESA mount like a TV does you can purchase the swivel mounts as well.

ditto.

[FZ1]

Help out LR and Digg the article if you feel it is worthy!
http://digg.com/hardware/ASUS_Eee_Top_R ... en_Desktop

[InspectahACE]

Starting to be more like Star Trek now good times..oddly, it looks kind of like the TV in my grandmother's kitchen only cooler lol..

[Amy]

I agree that I would like to have a small battery for this so I could have moved it from room to room...but I really like how small it is! I would really like to have one of these things mounted on the wall in my kitchen - it would be perfect for both recipes and the virtual post-its! I LOVE that feature!

[Apoptosis]

some Q&A about the ASUS Eee Top:

Virtual Keyboard

Q: Can I resize the virtual keyboard?
A: Yes, simply stretch the interface from the bottom right.

Q: How do I type caps?
A: Hold each key for a second to access alternate keys.

Settings

Q: Can I turn off the LED light strip?
A: Adjust lighting under the Eee Bar > Eee Manager > LED

Q: Where do I calibrate the touch screen?
A: Under Tools > Touch Utility > General Tab (more info in manual, pg 22.)

Q: Can I modify icons for Easy mode?
A: No, however you can add/remove programs to the Eee Bar from Eee Manager.

Q: I think I killed my Eee Top…
A: Try hitting F9 during bootup to access the recovery partition. (pg 34 in manual)

Accessories

Q: Can you VESA mount the Eee Top?
A: Pg. 18 in the included manual has mounting instructions, however US availability of the wall-mount pad has not yet been confirmed.

Q: Availability for wireless keyboards and extended keyboard? (Pg 16 in manual)
A: Not yet confirmed.

Q: Optical Drive?
A: ASUS will separately sell external slim USB drives in the near future.

Misc

Q: What touchscreen technology is employed?
A: The 1602 uses a resistive touchscreen for touch and stylus input.

Q: How do I perform a "right-click" operation?
A: Hold your finger still over the desired area for a few moments.

Q: What’s the deal with the lone USB port in the back?
A: Use this one for USB devices that may potentially conflict with the stand or neighboring devices. (eg: TV tuner dongle)

[Jacobsan]

Great machine. I would also like to have one in my kitchen.

Do any of you know if there is any competitors to the Eee top?

Regards,
Jacob

[Apoptosis]

Jacob,

Since the article was written MSI has announced the new MSI Wind desktop. It is available with an Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, 1.3 megapixel webcam and WiFi capability. At $530, the machine is the cheapest in the market. The Asus Eee Top costs ~$600 for example. Happy hunting!

wind_top_ae1900_05.jpg (35.09 KiB) Viewed 2314 times

[Amy]

Another is the HP touchsmart PC that resembles the Eee Top a bit and has 4 different models/options on it. There are also several manufacturers of notebooks and netbook that either have or are coming out with touch sceen capabilities in the near future.

[Apoptosis]

Another is the HP touchsmart PC that resembles the Eee Top a bit and has 4 different models/options on it. There are also several manufacturers of notebooks and netbook that either have or are coming out with touch sceen capabilities in the near future.

Right, but the HP (Hewlett-Packard) TouchSmart IQ504 Desktop starts at $800 and goes well over $1800 in higher end models like the TouchSmart IQ816... These aren't netbook based systems obviously as the IQ504 uses Intel mobile parts like the 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile T5750 processor over the Intel Atom. Depends on your budget and what platform you want to use.

Comparing the Eee Top and MSI Wind desktop to something like the HP TouchSmart is comparing apples to oranges as they use totally different platforms and price positions.