The Asus Eee Now Available For Pre-Order

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mobileplanet.com/d.aspx?i=158478&partner=pthoughts' target='_blank'>http://www.mobileplanet.com/d.aspx?...rtner=pthoughts</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/trusted-reviews-ASUS-EeePC.jpg" /><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.mobileplanet.com/d.aspx?i=158478&partner=pthoughts">Asus EEE is finally available for pre-order</a> from our affiliate partner Expansys! This is a bit off-topic for this site, but I figure every good geek likes small computers. ;-) <br /><br />If you haven't been following this device like I have, here's the quick version: the Asus Eee is a small (7" screen), light (2 pounds), inexpensive laptop that uses solid-state (Flash) memory for storage (15 second boot up? Check!) and runs a Linux-based operating system but can also have Windows XP installed on it. The big news was that this was supposed to come out at $199, but apparently Asus had trouble sourcing the screen for the price they thought they could get - so the price jumps $100. I suspect it was more along the lines of "Hey, people are freaking out about this, let's make some money while we can!". Whatever the reason, it's shameful Asus would announce a price of $199 and not deliver - yet at $299 it's still an impressive little device for the price and I want one. ;-)<br /><br />First there's the <a href="http://www.mobileplanet.com/d.aspx?i=158478&partner=pthoughts">$399 version</a> which is dubbed the Asus Eee PC 4G. It differs from the less expensive unit in that it has a bigger 5200 mAH battery (which lasts 3.5 hours), and an integrated 0.3 megapixel Webcam. The <a href="http://www.mobileplanet.com/d.aspx?i=158477&partner=pthoughts">$299 version</a> is similar, but instead uses a 4400mAh battery and lacks the Web cam. Trusted Reviews has the <a href="http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2007/10/30/Asus-Eee-PC-4G-701/p1">first full review on this product</a> that I've read, and it gives you a solid overview of the device.

[mv]

I´m so in love... it is just too nice. :)

[unxmully]

Looks like Cnet.co.uk did something similar on the 22nd of October http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39030092,49293507-1,00.htm

[mikeypizano]

Ok, someone please answer me: if its a 5200MAH battery and all flash based, plus a smaller 7" display, why does my Acer with a TURION get 3hrs (quoted) off 4400MAH with a hard drive and 15.4" wide?

[JonnoB]

If this system had a touch sensitive display and the screen could be folded all the way back into a 'slate' mode, it would have been the perfect Origami (UMPC). The price matches what was originally promised too.

[ADBrown]

Ok, someone please answer me: if its a 5200MAH battery and all flash based, plus a smaller 7" display, why does my Acer with a TURION get 3hrs (quoted) off 4400MAH with a hard drive and 15.4" wide?

Amp-hours are only one part of the battery capacity. Watt-hours tell the whole story. Volts x amp-hours = watt-hours. Chances are that the volts on your Acer battery are twice those of the Eee battery.

[mikeypizano]

Its 14.4V and 65Wh on my Acer...

[Joelacrane]

What!? That is insane! My Axim cost me more than that would.

[felixdd]

Is the user battery removable?

Personally I'd buy the lower-end model, and then buy the high-capacity battery.

If it had a touch screen and flipped around (as jonnoB also mentioned), it would've made the perfect replacement for my Intermec.

I'm still so very much in love though. But if I didn't already have my X60s, I'd be all over this.

[mikeypizano]

I do belive it is. I seen a video at http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/11/02/up-close-with-the-eee-pc-user-interface-part-1/ and they said there is only 1.4GB free on a 4Gb model. NO THANKS!

[cmonkey]

If I'm not mistaken, the $299 model also only has 2gb of flash.

I think there is a 4gb model planned for $350 with the smaller battery and no webcam.

[unxmully]

I do belive it is. I seen a video at http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/11/02/up-close-with-the-eee-pc-user-interface-part-1/ and they said there is only 1.4GB free on a 4Gb model. NO THANKS!

If you watch the video to the end there's a lot of additional stuff under the covers that's not visible - a lot of KDE it would appear. It might be nice to see how much space is left after a really stripped down ubuntu is installed.

[Deslock]

I'm a fan of small laptops, but this one has only two things going for it: price and Linux. Otherwise, it's underwhelming due to its poor battery life and tiny screen. If you want to run Windows on a small laptop and can spend more, a Panasonic R7 weighs the same, has an 8 hour battery life (6+ real world), 10" XGA screen, Core 2 Duo CPU, larger keyboard, hdd, etc.

It was rumored that Asus would release a version with a 10" screen... if they could do that while increasing the price only $50, this would move from lame to interesting. There's plenty of room in chassis... it's certainly not using the footprint of the device efficiently with that tiny 7" screen.

As it stands, the XO (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Home) looks more exciting. It also has a small screen (7.5"), but it can be used as a tablet, has better battery life, interesting recharge options, and a 2nd screen mode (1900x1200 high-contrast monochrome) for reading in direct sunlight. The unknown is how good/bad the screen will be in color mode (it uses an abnormal pixel geometry... it'll be disappointing if that results in a fuzzy image).

Currently it costs $188 (it's supposed to drop to $100 next year). I'm gonna check it out via the give one, get one program (http://laptopfoundation.org/en/participate/).

Alternatively, the Nokia N810 has the same resolution as this (while weighing only 8 ounces).

[unxmully]

I'm a fan of small laptops, but this one has only two things going for it: price and Linux. Otherwise, it's underwhelming due to its poor battery life and tiny screen. If you want to run Windows on a small laptop and can spend more, a Panasonic R7 weighs the same, has an 8 hour battery life (6+ real world), 10" XGA screen, Core 2 Duo CPU, larger keyboard, hdd, etc.

And $2000+. At five times the cost it hardly seems fair to compare them.

It was rumored that Asus would release a version with a 10" screen... if they could do that while increasing the price only $50, this would move from lame to interesting. There's plenty of room in chassis... it's certainly not using the footprint of the device efficiently with that tiny 7" screen.

Agreed. Or even just extended the full width of the chassis and left the height as is.

As it stands, the XO (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Home) looks more exciting. It also has a small screen (7.5"), but it can be used as a tablet, has better battery life, interesting recharge options, and a 2nd screen mode (1900x1200 high-contrast monochrome) for reading in direct sunlight. The unknown is how good/bad the screen will be in color mode (it uses an abnormal pixel geometry... it'll be disappointing if that results in a fuzzy image).

Currently it costs $188 (it's supposed to drop to $100 next year). I'm gonna check it out via the give one, get one program (http://laptopfoundation.org/en/participate/).

Alternatively, the Nokia N810 has the same resolution as this (while weighing only 8 ounces).

I have an N800 and the big drawback is the lack of software. As a linux you expect all the software to be there and it's not, porting is too hard so software is limited. The eee is a full laptop running a full distro so it's all available to you.

The first thing I would do, and I am considering buying one for fun, is stick a stripped down Ubuntu build on it with XFCe as the window manager.

[sub_tex]

The first thing I would do, and I am considering buying one for fun, is stick a stripped down Ubuntu build on it with XFCe as the window manager.

That's exactly what I'm looking at doing with it.

Slap Xubuntu (http://www.xubuntu.org/) on it and I'm good. 4 gig SD cards are $25 online. 8 gigs is way more than I would need on a portable.

[unxmully]

The first thing I would do, and I am considering buying one for fun, is stick a stripped down Ubuntu build on it with XFCe as the window manager.

That's exactly what I'm looking at doing with it.

Slap Xubuntu (http://www.xubuntu.org/) on it and I'm good. 4 gig SD cards are $25 online. 8 gigs is way more than I would need on a portable.

That's what I looked at yesterday. Just for a laugh I built a Parallels VM using a 4GB disk and with an ubunulite installation I had about 55% of the disk free. Replace abiword and gnumeric with OpenOffice, find a lighter browser than firefox, put your media on a big SD card and your sorted.

[luzofan]

I am using EeePC to reply this. After WinXPpro+Office2003+Firefox+viorious small softwares installed, still 1.2GB left. I break the warranty to add Ram to 1GB &amp; create a 32MB RAM disk for browser cache, the EeePC is FAST!

[Steve Jordan]

I don't know... as nice as this package is, and as much as I looked forward to it, the fact is that you can get full-fledged Windows-running laptops (okay, low-end) for under $400... November's already running sales. I'm just not sure smaller size and quick-booting is worth sacrificing the flexibility of a standard laptop.

Maybe if I get a chance to see one in the flesh, and actually try it, I might be convinced. But these days, with CompUSA gone and few stores offering real opportunities to try hardware, I don't know when I'd get a chance to try one.

[martin_ayton]

I'm seriously interested in getting a couple of these as on-the-road credit card processing terminals, which would use our internet-based 'virtual' terminal: When we go out on the road, we are always moving fast, and our equipment can take a beating. The solid-state drive and smaller screen would seem to make this a pretty robust device. And if one did get broken, then the financial loss wouldn't be too huge. What I would need to do is to add internet connectivity via a 3G data card or usb device and, if possible, a usb connected credit card reader.

For those of you who have / have seen this device, does this sound like a reasonable scenario?

[Jason Dunn]

I don't know... as nice as this package is, and as much as I looked forward to it, the fact is that you can get full-fledged Windows-running laptops (okay, low-end) for under $400... November's already running sales. I'm just not sure smaller size and quick-booting is worth sacrificing the flexibility of a standard laptop.

People say exactly the same things about Pocket PCs. ;-) Ultimately it needs to fit into your lifestyle and workflow, but personally I can see a lot of advantages in a small, light laptop that's highly optimized for a few key scenarios. I really wish they would have hit the $199 price point though, and I'm disappointed in the battery life. I was hoping for 5+ hours. All in all, it's still a compelling device based on what I've seen.

[Steve Jordan]

People say exactly the same things about Pocket PCs. ;-)

Yeah, but a Pocket PC fits in my shirt pocket. It's uber-portable. The EEE isn't much more portable than a smallish laptop, and I'm not sure of any other convenience/advantage it has that can't be duplicated with a laptop, other than quick-booting.

You're right, if they'd hit the $200 mark, or even less, it would be a different story.