ASUS UK are now reportedly telling UK users of the EEEPC 900 who are complaining of the supply of an inferior battery with the machine (see earlier post below) that their much heralded “battery replacement scheme” is on hold “until further notice”. This seems to fly in the face of their earlier press release, which makes a big deal of their wonderful customer service in its rhetoric.

Typical of the responses our UK users are getting from ASUS UK is this one, which eeeuser member loopz posted on the battery discussion thread. loopz says it was received from ASUS customer service in the UK.

Dear Customer,

Like I promised I would give you an update as soon as I got one.
The Exchange for the battery is postponed until further notice.
I am so sorry for this late call but I only heard 2 minutes ago about it.
The minute I know something else I will let you know.

With Kind Regards
Glady’s

It seems to me that, with the competition (for example, the MSI Wind) hot on the heels of the ASUS EEEPC 901, ASUS could have handled the UK battery situation far batter. Potential buyers will surely be asking themselves if this is the sort of after sales service they deserve after forking out their hard earned money on a new UMPC - and they will also no doubt be considering the alternatives.

The ASUS press release quoted by Mobile Computer Magazine’s web page starts off with the bold statement “ ASUS delivers unique customer service“.

UK 900 buyers must be finding the customer service offered by ASUS UK truly “unique” indeed.

Interested in the Eee PC 901? Here’s a roundup of information about it:

• Hands on WiMax enabled Eee PC 901 (engadget chinese)
• Side by side by side: Eee PC 701, 901, 1000 (engadget chinese)
  
• Official Specifications (asus.com)
• Eee PC 901 First Look (notebookreview.com)
• Eee PC 901 Unboxing, First Impressions (laptopmag.com)
• Eee PC 901 Mini Review (laptopmag.com)
• Benchmark/Review of the Eee PC 901 (eeepcnews.de) - The page is in German, but the Video on it is in English, really useful for judging performance

What am I most excited about for the Eee PC 901? The battery life!

Ars Technica is running an article about their first hands-on test of parts of the Ubuntu Netbook Remix. “The Remix is based on Ubuntu Mobile Edition and is designed specifically for mobile computers with a subnotebook form factor.” The Remix is also designed with the Atom processor in mind. Could this be your next operating system?

Asus just did an official press release on the new Atom-based models of the Eee PC. Some of the highlights include Bluetooth, wireless N, and even a “real” 80 GB hard drive in the 1000H model. The prices are $559 for the 901, $629 for the 1000H, and $659 for the 1000 (with 40 GB SSD).