Asus put out the word in early summer 2007 that they would be manufacturing an ultra portable at very low cost (less than $400 US). While other companies like Sony put out their Vaio line ultra portables, they do so at a very high cost.

The EEE catches my attention because I have followed handhelds in education for many years using Palm and Pocket PC devices myself. I was always looking for a hybrid device with a big enough screen (at least 3.5 inches), solid operating system, camera, input for probe device, keypad, wifi with software comparable to what the students use on their workstations or laptops. There have been a few devices that come close that usually include phones (something I would want for MS and older students) but the cost generally was close to $1000 US.

What jumped out at me this past summer was the iPhone and more recently the iTouch iPod. With Apple’s strong support of the educational market, I have to believe that they will develop a device aimed at our students and their learning, generative and communication needs. While we wait, I think the Asus EEE deserves a closer look.

The form factor is clearly larger than the handheld category but one gets a keyboard that fits student hands and a 7 inch screen along with a built in camera and wifi. The cost is kept low with the Linux OS and open source or free software. The graphical shortcut start page makes it easy for the first time Linux user to access the available software. What gets me thinking is to combine this small device with a form fitting case that is satchel-like for students to hang on their shoulder whether in school or out in town. The key is making it truly ultra portable so that it will support ubiquitous learning and computing.

Asus has already announced that version two of the EEE will be coming out in April. While I am an early adapter for new ideas and teaching strategies, I am one to wait until at least the second or third generation of a hardware device comes out. I look forward to seeing what bugs are worked out and how Asus might focus even more in making this tool work for the education market.

To see the EEE PC in action, take a look at the video review provided by Wil Harris (a regular guest on  TWIT) at his new tech review site ChannelFlip.

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