The post below is written by a guest author and do not necessarily express the “official” views of this blog:

Eeek to the Eee Top

The Eee Top looks at first glance as another missed opportunity at creating something original and innovative. I’ll hand it to the creators of the eee pc, or the eepc, eee top, eee box, whatever you would like to call it. But the Eee Top missed their target by a long shot. Anytime I start to research a new product, I always take a gander at its specs before coming to a conclusion. The article I read about Eee Top did a great job of under sizing and underestimating the ASUS ET1602 Eee Top. After review, I cannot figure out why or who would want to purchase Eee Top. With very minimal quality and optimization, what is the point of Eee Top ?
After I figured out that Eee Top was basically for the basic computer user, it really made me question what Asus was expecting when they set their price on Eee Top. Six Hundred dollars for this plastic, light weight, non durable, barely performs at minimum specifications, machine that the Eee Top is? I can buy a name brand laptop for two hundred dollars less if I bargain hunt long enough which is even more easy to carry around than the Eee Top (yes, Asus IS “urging” you to carry the Eee Top  aroun d the house as one of their selling points). I finished the article completely floored. I really did not understand who their target market is for Eee Top. If they are able to sell these Eee Top computers, I thought that I would like a list of their customers because, I would become the greatest salesmen of the century with how they buy.

But then…  Asus Eee Top finds a niche

Then the next day I talked to my girl about that it would be great to have small flat screen TV in the kitchen…. The conversation went on and we came to think that it would be even greater if we could have a PC connected to the TV, so we could easily check the calendar, weather forecast, reciepies, tv guide and so on. Anf the… BAM.. I realized what a great product Eee Top is for this specfic use and niche market! (And similar use.) I still believe you can find way better hardware specs for the price of the Asus Eee Top ET1602. So if you are looking to buy a new main computer for the household – to carry around or for gaming and video/photo editing, I would definately go for something else than Asus Eee Top. But if you are looking for something like the kitchen machine I mentioned above, the  Asus Eee Top IS actually perfect! For hanging on the kitchen wall it is just perfect that the Eee Top has the PC build into the screen. Even a very small laptop PC would look very stupid compared to Asus Eee Top ET1602 when hanging on the kitchen wall!
Waht makes Asus Eee Top even more perfect ifor this use (or other light uses, e.g. jukebox interface) is that Eee Top features a touch screen! Asus have tried to make som applications so you avoid the Windows interface and even though you will get in touch with Windows XP for some tasks, this makes the Eee Top really easy to operate.  You could probably easy setup your favorite apps on Asus Eee Top so that you don’t need the mouse to operate them – the touch sensitive screen could be used for e.g. for showing your calendar and TV guide.

HP TouchSmart vs. Asus Eee Top ET1602

The HP TouchSmart is also a touch screen PC and would probably be a even better companion in your kitchen than Asus Eee Top ET1602… The reason for this is that HP TouchSmart is more of a “real” computer, featuring a potent Intel Core 2 Duo 2 Ghz dualcore CPU rather than the slow Intel Atom CPU at 1,6 Ghz. Never mind the hertz – it’s the actual make/model/kind of CPU that is far better.. Also youget a 22″ screen with the HP TouchSmart (IQ522sc/IQ512sc/IQ820sc) instead of a 15,6″  with the Asus Eee Top ET1602. BUT the reason that I’ll go for the Asus Eee Top anyway is.. the price! The Hp TouchSmart is actually more than TWICE the price of the Asus Eee Top.. So for a computer in the kitchen I donøt need the power of a HP TouchSmart but will gladly settle with the way cheaper Asus Eee Top ET1602.