Ports on the Side and Back
The Asus Eee Top is propped up using a very simple metal stand, letting you place this all-in-one PC just about anywhere you have some space for it. After setting it up on my desk (the most boring of locations, really), I noticed that Asus really loaded this thing with plenty of ports. On the side, you get a pair of USB ports for handling flash drives and that kind of thing, as well as a multi-card reader.
Around the back, you’ll find a connection for Gigabit LAN (there’s also integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi if you want to go wireless), no fewer than four additional USB ports, the DC power port, and three audio jacks that can provide instant support for 5.1 speaker systems. These same audio jacks can alternatively be used for your headphones and microphone.
I’m quite impressed with the number of USB ports provided (six total), making it very easy for you to tack on additional peripherals when you need them. Two of these ports will be used right away for your keyboard and mouse, but the other four can be used for whatever you’d like. Thanks to the integrated webcam and mic, you don’t need to use up a port for that purpose.
Blue Glow for the Win
It seems that Asus really wants to push the Eee Top as a lifestyle product and one that happens to boast a little dash of style. They already remind you that you have “that magic touch” to use the touch panel display (there’s even an on-screen virtual keyboard if you want it), but they go even further than that.
You’ll notice the clear acrylic portion that makes up the bottom part of the Eee Top. Well, this whole thing lights up a brilliant blue when the computer is turned on, thanks to a lightbar located on the underside of the monitor. The computer has underglow effects! As far as I can tell, however, there’s no way to turn this off.
Premium Sound is Pretty Loud
While it certainly won’t compete against the more expensive computer speaker systems on the market today, the built-in speakers on the Asus Eee Top ET1602 were actually quite impressive right out of the box. There’s a pair of 4W speakers embedded into the lower bezel of the Eee Top and they can pump out quite a bit of sound.
Is there a lot of bass? No, not particularly. Is the sound particularly crisp-sounding? No, I wouldn’t say that either. I would say that the sound is definitely a notch above what you’d find on most consumer-level notebooks and it’s better than the el cheapo speakers that usually accompany budget PCs.
Should we be attributing this to the SRS-Enhanced Premium Sound system? Perhaps. These aren’t the biggest or most powerful speakers, but they’re perfectly adequate for a casual movie-watching session.