When the Eee range of ultra-small laptops appeared they struck an instant chord with users, attracted by the smart looks, small footprint and, above all, low price - at less than £200 it made a laptop alsmost a disposable purchase. More than a million Eees were sold within five months of its launch. As a result, the company has rushed out a whole family of Eees designed for users wanting something a little more than the basic model, inculding this, the Eee 900.

The most obvious change to the 900 over the original is the bigger screen – a still small 8.9 inches compared to the previously weeny 7 inches. This will please those who found the original just a shade too small. They keyboard has been made larger too – making it much more feasible to type longer documents without getting your fingers in a twist.

The other big departure is that the 900 is also available with Windows installed rather than Linux, although at the expense of 8GB of storage. This version is a sop to those who can’t wean themselves off Mr Gates' working environment. Having been a dedicated Windows user for most of my life, I found the Linux version easy to use and – best of all – lightning quick in comparison. OpenOffice – the installed suite of office programs – were incredibly easy to use and surprisingly similar to the costly Microsoft Office programs which I know so well.

There are a few key things business travellers want from a laptop – robustness, light weight, connectivity and good battery life being the most important. The Eee delivers on the first two of these and the third to some extent. The Eee feels chunky and able to withstand knocks and because it uses solid state technology rather than a hard drive for storage, it is more likely to survive being dropped. Weighing in at less than a kilo means that it won’t strain your baggage allowance. In fact, it’s so dinky, that you could easily carry it in a large coat pocket.

As for connectivity, it comes with 802.11b/g wireless built in and getting it to hook up to the internet at hotspots is straightforward. The thing I missed on the connectivity side was Bluetooth, although this has now been added on the later 901 and 1000 models. Still, you can’t have everything on a laptop at this price.

To achieve the magical sub-1kg mark, the maker has supplied the 900 with a 4400mAh rechargeable battery which gives around two hours of usage – not really good enough. Asus has responded to customer complaints about this life by offering an exchange programme over the summer for a longer life battery, although this has now finished. You can also squeeze out an extra 30 minutes by changing the speed at which the processor works if battery life is a big issue. Thankfully, the newer Eee models have better batteries.

The spec

1GB RAM, 8.9 inch screen (1024x600 resolution), 20GB solid state drive (12GB for Windows version), dimensions: 225mm x 170mm x 33.8mm, weight 0.99kg, 1.3MP webcam, 802.11b/g wireless

The hype

They say: Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play

The reality

We say: Easy to carry, Easy to connect, Easy to run out of battery power

The bottom line

£264.38 from microdirect

The verdict

For portability and usability, the Eee 900 Linux model is a joy, particularly for a hardened Windows nut like me. I throw my laptop around a lot so its ruggedness is very welcome. The screen and keyboard are small but, as long as you’re not planning to write a 300-page report on the move, fine for everyday computing on the road. The biggest disappointment was the battery life. Buying a spare bigger battery seems to defeat the object of its lightness.

The roadwarrior rating

8 out of 10