Asus Eee PC 8.9” Netbook Tablet PC

Jumping and Sprinting, Racing and Browsing

A steeplechaser’s take on the EeePC netbook tablet

I love to use the computer. I’m always goofing around on my favorite forums, or checking the Woot deal of the day, or forwarding hilarious yet heartwarming chain emails to all my friends and business contacts. It’s the best!

But as an Olympic steeplechase hopeful, I don’t spend a lot of time sitting on a sofa or at a desk, so laptop and desktop models are not really for me. I need a computer that goes where I go!

The Asus Eee PC netbook tablet has multi-touch functionality, making it easy and intuitive to tap, drag, pinch, or flick my way through all my computing tasks—even while sprinting at full speed, or leaping over a barrier. It’s somewhat shockproof too, which is good, because I do get jostled in a race.

With just a couple of simple gestures, I can zoom in on photos or reposition them for optimal viewing, which is great for showing off snapshots to the hyperventilating mass of humanity to my right and left at the 1500 meter mark. I don’t know if you knew this about steeplechasers, but a lot of us are big-time shutterbugs. Look, here’s a good one of dew on a spider’s web. Oops, hang on, barrier jump coming up here.

Yes, I guess you could say it’s “like an iPad” in the way you interact with it, but honestly I’m kind of sick of constant iPad comparisons. You’d think Apple invented the tablet-style computer. It’s like—imagine if you always wore clog sandals, like, everywhere. And then suddenly one day people started saying “oh, hey, I like your Crocs.” And you would have to tell them they weren’t Crocs; they were just regular old clog sandals. I’m telling you it would get annoying. Maybe that’s just my hangup, though.

Just a second, barrier jump coming up.

Another thing I like about my Asus tablet is that I can use it as a netbook with a keyboard and trackpad on those rare occasions when I’m sitting down. Like if I have to ice an injury or something.

But don’t get me wrong. It isn’t perfect. It’s not even a little waterproof, for example. I’ve lost several tablets on the water jump at the back turn. Careless of me, really. I just hate to be away from Facebook for too long. What if someone Superpokes me?

Speaking of that, though, here’s the water jump coming up. Would you mind holding my tablet for a sec?