Value -
When I started writing this the EEE Slate EP121 was $999.99 for the 2GB/32GB EP121-1A011M and $1099.99 for the 4GB/64GB EP121-1A010M. However, as of today these prices have changed; the pricing is now $1049.99 and $1199.99 respectively. Now you will hear many say that these prices put make them far more expensive than the Apple iPad. Let’s take a closer look to see if that logic holds up shall we?

We will start off comparing the 32GB WiFi iPad2
Price currently is -  $599.99

The EP121-1A011M runs for $1049.99
That makes a difference of $450. Now that is a huge difference. But wait, that is not the whole story.
To truly match up to the EP121 you have to compare Apples to Apple here. That base cost of $599.99 does not include a few items.
So now let’s add up the extras you get included with the EP121 that Apple leaves out.
Cover – We will go cheap here and get the base smart cover at $39.99
Bluetooth Keyboard – Buying the Apple approved version will run you another $69.99
HDMI Port – To get this you have to use an adapter which will run you another $39.99
USB Ports – Chock up another $29.99 fortunately you get a USB port and an SD card reader here, but you cannot use them at the same time. This also applies to the HDMI adapter.
So far we have an addition of $179.96 but we are not finished.
To get limited Flash to work on the iPad throw in another $4.99
For the “office” suite on the iPad it is another $30 (roughly) …
This brings the gap down to under $250 and there is more we can add in here. I think you can see that while the entry level cost for the iPad is less you will more than make that up with other pieces. For those of you that talk about iTunes… well at $14.99 per month for unlimited downloaded music I still think the EEE Slate has Apple beat.

Again it is all about the perceived value here. The EEE Slate will cost you money and a lot of it, but you are getting a lot in return and for most professionals the EP121 is a much better fit than the rather limited iPad2.

Conclusions –
When we saw the EEE Slate/Pad EP121 at CES we were intrigued. Later when we had the chance to take a closer look at one in the Microsoft booth we were very interested. Now that we have had a chance to actually tinker with one, we are very impressed. As a tablet device it hits something of a home run here.  Apple may have opened the doors with the iPad but they do not have the concept down. There is a demand for a tablet that can do real work. The EEE Slate is this tablet. It is a Windows based product that gives you the performance and speed you need to run some pretty demanding applications. We have only hit the tip of the iceberg here and plan to take an even deeper look into what we can do with this product. We do have to say that if you are looking into one you would be wasting money if you grabbed the 2GB/32GB device. After all there is only a $100 difference and the performance/storage improvement is pretty big. Our next move with the one we have is to pick up some additional RAM and a larger SSD (perhaps the 80GB 310 from Intel) and see what we have after that swap. For now we have to say that Asus has a winning product here, we imagine that for the next few months getting one of these will be about as hard as getting an iPad. After speaking with a few stores we have been told that they cannot keep them in stock; as soon as they get them in, they are out the door. If you are looking for a good solid performing tablet with flexibility and options then you might want to start searching the internet and grab one of the EP121 Slates when you can.