Battery controversy

There has been some controversy regarding the battery supplied with the EeePC 900. Versions pre-released to many non UK journalists and reviewers were equipped with a 5800 mAh battery, but the first retail versions in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Singapore were shipped with a smaller, 4400 mAh (76% of that capacity) battery, which commentators note has led to a great variation in the machine's battery life in reviews, in some cases as much as 90 minutes As a result of the objections to this, Asus provided a free battery replacement program in Hong Kong and Singapore, and ran a paid-for battery exchange program in the UK. The UK battery exchange program ran from June 23, 2008 until July 31, 2008.

Asus has stated that the smaller battery is the standard battery for the Eee 900 in Europe, and a longer warranty is provided in exchange, Commentators have noted that the US version launched with the 5800 mAh battery, and a warranty of equal length. Asus have revised their original statement, indicating that the smaller battery is "presently the standard battery supplied in the UK" and "the default standard battery pack for Asus Eee PC 900 worldwide", however Asus will (from June 10, 2008) be providing a battery exchange to all UK Eee PC 900 customers for £10, and are offering a firmware update internationally which extends battery life by 30 minutes ("BIOS 0601: Updated all battery discharge tables to extend battery life").

In Australia and Italy, the situation was reversed: journalists and reviewers received EeePC 900 systems fitted with the 4400 mAh battery but the retail models are equipped with the 5800 mAh battery (in Italy at least at the beginning of sales).

Customers of Media Markt in Italy received the Eee at the beginning (May/June) with a 5800 mAh battery and later (June/July) with a 4400 mAh battery.

Best Buy's custom variants of the 1000HD and 900A also both include a 4400 mAh battery.

Part of the above problem extends from the fact that the entire range were substantially more successful than Asus had originally anticipated. Currently, Asus has several large complexes scattered throughout Taiwan and China, with the largest in the city of SooChow (China), being the size of eight football fields. Upon the unexpected success of the range, Asus factories worked around the clock to keep up supply and further development. Consequently, even within Asus testing labs in Taipei, many variations were found within test models. Generally, however, Asus does inform reviewers that the final retail model may contain different features to what is offered in the review model.