This is post is pretty much just going to be me extolling the virtues of a cool computer that my friend has, that I use all the time, and that I want for myself. It’s called the ASUS Eee PC 900 HA, and at just over 300 bucks, I’ll probably pick up one of these in the next few weeks, if for no other reason than to finally give my back a break. Carrying around my clunky old Dell is no fun at all, especially since I bought it last year, for approximately 4 times the price of this little bugger.

Here’s a picture demonstrating the Eee PC’s small size (if you click it, you’ll be taken to Amazon.com):

If you’re thinking of buying a laptop, the small, affordable “netbook” laptops that have come out this year are the way to go. If you’re shopping for someone else, or you’re trying to convince someone to buy one for you, here are the talking points you can trot out to convince whoever you need to convince to buy it:

True Portability
At 8.9 inches long by 6.7 inches wide, it’s much smaller than most college notebooks, and at 1.33 inches deep, and at 2.5 pounds, it’s lighter than the typical dead-tree textbook. Unlike most laptops, you really can take this with you wherever you go – without getting a sore back or shoulder.

Enormous Storage Capacity
The 900HA’s hard drive provides plenty of space to store all of your music, pictures, and video. At 160 GB, its storage capacity is forty (40!) times bigger than the similarly-priced HP 2133-KR922UT 8.9-Inch Mini-Note PC, which is equipped with just a 4 GB hard drive. Storage capacity was actually the reason I didn’t buy into the cheap laptop hype earlier this year – the previous models had 20 GB, tops, and that’s just not enough. Asus has done an awesome job in addressing that shortcoming with the 900HA.

The Reliability of Windows XP
Many computers in this price range are loaded with the less familiar Linux operating system, and many more expensive computers are preloaded with the less reliable Windows Vista operating system (which I’m not alone in hating). The EEE PC 940 HA comes with the tried and true Windows XP Home Edition, which means you’ll have no trouble running the programs you’re already used to running, and you should not have any hardware compatibility issues if you do decide to add a printer or upgrade your machine in the future.

A Bright, Easy to Read Display
The 8.9 inch TFT LCD display operates at a resolution 1024×600 (WXGA), producing a viewing experience comparable to those offered by larger machines. This is another huge improvement from earlier netbook models.

Wireless Freedom
An integrated 54g 802.11b/g wireless card means you have high-speed Internet access wherever there’s a WiFi hotspot, and a powerful 4-cell battery means you can work for up to 5 hours without being tethered to a power outlet. (My Dell Inspiron gave me 2 hours at the height of its powers…)

Solid Fit and Finish
High-quality materials give this model a look and feel that beats bulkier, heavier, more expensive laptops. Just because it’s small and inexpensive doesn’t mean it has to feel cheap. (Which will be a nice change for me…) The built-in webcam is another great plus. The only downside: like the Apple MacBook Air, this machine doesn’t have an optical drive. (I get the feeling that optical drives in general might be on their way out, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post.)

The machine does have 3 USB 2.0 ports, though, so if you really need a CD or DVD player, adding an external one should be pretty easy.

Performance
The 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor and 1 GB of DDR2 RAM is a huge step up from Asus’ prior Celeron-based models. The RAM is easily upgradeable, but my buddy’s machine had no problems running MS Excel and Adobe Photoshop without the upgrade.

Affordability
This model sells for $329.99 plus shipping. That’s a fully-functional laptop computer just slightly more than the price of a 16GB iPhone! (and way less if you count AT&T’s mandatory iPhone service plan)

Bottom Line
Like I said upfront, I strongly recommend this laptop – it’s a great little machine at a pretty fantastic price. You can pick it up through Amazon which I also recommend – because if you go into a particular store – I won’t mention which one – the salespeople will almost certainly try to up-sell you a more expensive model, which won’t have enough features (in my opinion) to justify the 100-200% increase in cost. Or, even worse, they might try to sell you one of this year’s earlier netbook models, which are almost as expensive, but much more limited in almost every respect. Make a note -this is the one you want (well, it’s the one I want):

If it sells out before Christmas (which I understand it probably will – computers are always popular Christmas presents, and the trendiness of the new netbooks combined with the value of this particular model will make it hotter than most) – another good choice is the Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop- it’s generally pretty comparable to the Asus Eee PC in terms of size, quality, and performance, but it does cost about $80 more.

If you do manage to get your hands on either one, please let me know how it worked out for you!