I am trying to resist the urge to order one of these things (no one has them in stock, they seem to be flying off the shelves). I can’t really afford to blow £220 (~£190 + tax) on something that I don’t exactly need. But I am sorely tempted… think I might lose the battle.
I’m also wondering if this tiny PC could be a little breakthrough moment for Linux - apparently it will run Windows XP perfectly well, but why bother when the installed customised version of Xandros Linux that it comes with is fine, easy to use and does everything you need? And you can switch to a full-blown KDE desktop if you want, by installing a couple of extra packages.
So, anybody got one yet? What do you think? Wait for the Mark II next year?
My boyfriend got one. I’ve only gotten to play with it a little bit (since we’re currently in different countries) but it’s pretty darn awesome. I think the size of the screen and keyboard take some adjusting to, but I bet the adjustment would go quickly.
I think it’s great as a secondary computer - very mobile, light and you wouldn’t believe the amount of attention you get in public (great way to pick up girls - or guys). I wouldn’t want it as my primary, though.
I am ever so tempted to buy one. The only thing that’s stopping me is the next generation one due in April 2008 has 8GB of storage. I still might have to get one anyway, especially if it helps me pick up chicks.
I once had a Libretto, which this reminds me of. I hauled that thing all over Europe on a vacation once, and barely noticed I had it most of the time. A machine this small is not for everyone, but it is pretty cool to have a PC that almost fits in your pocket (well, not quite).
My son wants a smaller portable, and I recommended this to him. He checked it out, and found that they are going to come up one the same size, but with a 10-inch screen, plus more RAM, so he is going to wait to see what that is like and the price.
Otherwise, he would have ordered one right away. He has been wanting to move to Linux anyway.
These devices have potential - I don’t think it’s realised yet, but future versions that have better screens and lots more storage space are going to be well worth a look.
What do people envision themselves doing on this? You’re not going to use it for all your applications. It holds the same amount of music as what. . .and iPod Nano?
Do people have a lot of days where the laptop is just too big, but they’d really like to be able to run just a couple applications.
Is it just going to be a glorified iPod that people are going to surf the web with in a coffee shop?
Is it useful, or just another toy to spend $400 on?
I think they’re probably going to get used primarily as internet devices for casual surfing - in the armchair, in the coffee shop, and so on. There will probably be a few business users who prefer them for bashing out a few reports, emails and stuff on the train, salespeople who use them for presentations and other stuff, plus a whole bunch of geeks who have to have one because they’re cute.
There definitely is a market for a highly portable device that runs desktop applications, but I think this one is pitching slightly below that capability - mainly because of the limited storage space and smallish screen.
OK, I’ve managed to try one out in a shop. The screen is just too small to be useful, for me. Otherwise, I liked it. The keyboard was usable, the whole thing seemed responsive. I was surprised how fast OpenOffice loaded. Even with the preloading options I have never got it to load that fast when I’ve tried it. And it does boot up very quickly. If it had a 9" or 10" screen I would have bought it, although I read elsewhere that rumours of a forthcoming 10" model have been scotched by Asus.
As for it being a toy, of course it’s not as powerful as a “grown up” PC (nothing wrong with Celeron Ms, though - they’re just Pentium Ms without power saving and a slightly smaller cache, 90% as fast MHz for MHz). This laptop should be as fast as budget full-size laptops of three or four years ago, which is enough for most purposes.
This thing is extremely portable. It really is tiny. I think you’d be much more likely to casually take it with you while you’re out and about, rather than lugging a laptop around in a backpack.
There are those of us who do a lot of work on computers but really only need a web browser and a word processor. I do a lot of work in coffee shops, different offices, home, etc. and a lightweight, easily portable laptop - to supplement my main computer - would be great. I suspect that’s the main market.
My boyfriend is getting me one for Xmas. I have a gigantic clunky laptop, so this will be a secondary computer for school, etc. I have too much to write and not much time, so this way I can just pull a computer out of my purse and start typing on my break at work.
I wonder if this machine is able to support the maximum specified current draw for USB devices when running on battery power only - that is, whether it can run a USB-powered removable hard drive. If so, while I’m sure that would eat up the batteries, it would be a fairly good solution to the smallish storage space.
I imagine people would just stream music off of their home networks or use internet radio stations. Personally, and I realize I’m in the minority, I haven’t had more than a half dozen MP3s on my main home computer for about 5 years now. So assuming it has enough juice to stream music and video, I don’t see the lack of hard drive space being a huge issue.
Does anyone know whether the Asus Eee is compatible with a Mac? I’ve been considering computerizing all my client information instead of carrying it around in a briefcase. I was thinking of getting a Palm PC but wasn’t too thrilled about having to input lots of info via stylus when interviewing new clients. I didn’t want to buy a full price laptop because they are so pricey, and I only need it for documents. My main requirements are that it be compatible with my Mac so I can do data backups, and that I can lock programs for security.
