X

Get an Asus Eee PC Netbook for $129.95

Great for kids, students, or anyone seeking a spare PC to toss in a bag for basic on-the-run computing, this Linux-powered refurb will almost certainly sell out.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
You read right: This refurbished Eee PC Netbook is just $129.95 plus shipping. Asus

Holy dirt-cheap Netbooks, Batman! Geeks.com has a refurbished Asus Eee PC 900 for $129.95. (Make sure to apply coupon code 900M at checkout to get that price.) Shipping will run you about $10.

As you might expect, this is not exactly a powerhouse PC. The 900 comes with a 900MHz Celeron processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 4GB solid-state drive (SSD).

Translation: forget Windows. This baby runs Linux, which is absolutely fine for stuff like e-mail, Web, and other basics--but no doubt a deal breaker for some users.

The limited storage poses some problems as well, though you can always expand it by popping in an inexpensive SD card or USB drive. This is a machine best suited to those who work primarily on the Web.

And for that it's aces. I assumed that such a heavily discounted system would have a supertiny screen, but the 900 actually has an 8.9-inch LCD. And Asus Netbooks typically have comfy keyboards, so you should have no trouble getting some work done.

Because it's a refurb, the warranty expires after 90 days. I have no problem with that; the thing barely has any moving parts anyway.

So, if you're looking for a cloud-friendly Netbook at an impulse-buy price, this is the best deal I've seen. I'd say the sellout risk is high, so grab one while you can.