ASUS $199 Eee PC laptop

[inthell]

Since it's reportedly coming soon.. thought ppl might want to discuss. i think it makes a good sitting on the toilet or coffee shop laptop

"One of the biggest news stories out of this year?s Computex wasn't of a new chipset, GPU, or graphics card, but rather of the announcement of the ASUS Eee PC"

Specs http://www.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=7317
Display:7"
CPU & Chipset: Intel mobile CPU & chipset
OS: Linux/ Microsoft Windows XP compatible
Communication: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet; 56K modem
WLAN: WiFi 802.11b/g
Graphic: Intel UMA
Memory: 512MB, DDR2-400
Storage: 4/ 8/ 16GB Flash
Webcam: 300K pixel video camera
Audio: Hi-Definition Audio CODEC; Built-in stereo speaker; Built-in microphone
Battery Life: 3hrs (4 cells: 5200mAh, 2S2P)
Dimension & Weight: 22.5 x 16.5 x 2.1~3.5cm, 0.89kg

Review http://www.hothardware.com/Art..._on_with_the_ASUS_Eee/

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2141742,00.asp

at that price im probably getting one..

pros
It uses a solid-state disk, and a quick 15-second boot time
no hard drive and cd drive = less noise, moving parts, and may be battery usage.
ultra portable only 2 pounds!
cheap $199 duh
it's an ASUS product
512 DDR2 should be fine for Linux, Firefox, and Open Office ..

cons:
screen size (might wait for the 10" version)
disc space (just add a usb flash drive i guess)
not available until august
its a first gen product so might have quirks and warranty is unknown still ??
no hard drive and cd drive (i guess some might see this as a con, a hdd would be nice)
weird name "Eee PC 701"

--
This might be the 10" version http://www.pcmag.com/image_pop...1871,iid=177098,00.asp

 

[zig3695]

all i can say is W.O.W.!!! that machine has more power then many people's pc's and its $200? am i missing something? i know there isnt a harddrive, but you could add you external you have lying around no problem. i have an NEC mobilepro900 and its bascially junk. it stuggles bigtime to handle large playlists and its basically useless. this though, looks like the real deal in handheld pc's for two BIG reasons, price and power. this looks like the answer for my mp3 needs at work. my ipod keeps killing harddrives and im sick of fixing that expensive little player. my mobilepro 900 just isnt fast enough for general mp3 use.

 

[Scouzer]

Wow.

 

[Parasitic]

I'm getting one if it's only $199.

 

[TC10284]

Excellent! If they are that price, I'll get one also.

 

[inthell]

shoot the 10" version isnt coming until next year. i'll just get the 7" and be happy.

Heres VIDEO !! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFLJJw6WRqM ...blog http://chasblogspot.blogspot.c...ee-701-video-with.html

 

[AmigaMan]

how would one install an OS in it? I didn't see a CD/DVDROM in it.

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
how would one install an OS in it? I didn't see a CD/DVDROM in it.

it has linux in it

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: clandren
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: AmigaMan
how would one install an OS in it? I didn't see a CD/DVDROM in it.</end quote></div>

it has linux in it

what if I want to put my own distro or if I want to install XP? It says it's compatible with Windows. Can you install Windows or Linux off an external USB CD/DVD?

 

[inthell]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: clandren
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: AmigaMan
how would one install an OS in it? I didn't see a CD/DVDROM in it.</end quote></div>

it has linux in it

</end quote></div>

what if I want to put my own distro or if I want to install XP? It says it's compatible with Windows. Can you install Windows or Linux off an external USB CD/DVD?

looks like its possible but i've never tried http://learn.clemsonlinux.org/...Install_from_USB_drive

 

[frostedflakes]

This sounds awesome, can't believe I am just hearing about it. For $200 I'd definitely pick one of these up. I'd assume this model includes the 4GB SSD?

EDIT: err I see in one of the links it's $200 for the 4GB, $300 for the 8GB. VERY NICE!

 

[dp004i]

I highly doubt they'd be able to pull it off for $200 - the thing is basically a full-fledged laptop, yet it's half the price of a craptacular Palm LifeDrive. A high-quality 4 gig CF card alone is close to $90-100...

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: dp004i
I highly doubt they'd be able to pull it off for $200 - the thing is basically a full-fledged laptop, yet it's half the price of a craptacular Palm LifeDrive. A high-quality 4 gig CF card alone is close to $90-100...

Who said a high quality part would be in this thing?

Asus puts craptacular parts in their laptops.

I practically threw away my A8Js for what a cop-out the parts are in that thing.

 

[dighn]

at that price I'd definitely get one. seems useful and portable enough for reading, e-mails and light productivity work etc etc.

 

[dementedlemur]

Here's a site with some nice high res pics:
http://www.hothardware.com/Art..._on_with_the_ASUS_Eee/

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: dementedlemur
Here's a site with some nice high res pics:
http://www.hothardware.com/Art..._on_with_the_ASUS_Eee/

You realize that link was in the OP, right?

 

[postmortemIA]

with its resolution, you can open up terminal...

 

[w0ss]

I will grab one of these when they come out. With 3 USB and an sd card slot you have room for many extra gigs of storage. I will just use it to watch movies on a plane. with a 4gig drive and a 2g/4g sd card that is plenty of storage.

 

[Looney]

I think i just heard Palm curl up and cry in a corner.

 

[aceO07]

The resolution doesn't seem too horrible considering that it's 7" screen.

I'd be interested in the 10" model if the prices aren't much higher. The waste of space around the 7" screen would drive me crazy. Hopefully solid state drive prices will go down more.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

i wonder what kind of games you could play on it

From the specs, I'd say Quake 3 is a definite possibility...

Quake III Arena Minimum Requirements

* Platform - *nix or Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT4.0(with service pack 3)
* Processor -
o Intel Pentium 233mhz MMX with 8mb video card OR
o Intel Pentium II 266mhz with 4mb video card OR
o AMD 350mhz K6-2 with 4mb video card
* RAM - 64MB
* Hard disk space - 25MB for game files, 45MB for swap files
* Video card - 3D accelerator with full OpenGL support

Save for the last item on that list (I'm not very familiar with the Intel 910 mobile chipset performance), I think the Eee provides more than enough "oomph!"

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Would be perfect for a drop in carputer

 

[JEDI]

op:

can u update your post with "900MHz Intel Dothan based Pentium M CPU"?

-------------------

why didnt they include a basic dvd drive with it?

and what's the max resolution? 800x600?

hm.. my basic winXP ghost image with Office + Norton Antivirus is 4gigs.

wait.. this is a 900mhz computer?!

goes to dig out 1gig Win98/Office97 image.

 

[aceO07]

I have a P3 800mhz laptop, it can run WinXP just fine. I do have 640MB ram and 7200RPM drive though.

 

[shadowofthesun]

What I find interesting is the Linux + Windows key combination...

In reality, I would like one just because it is cheap. However, I would find it hard to justify the purchase because I am more inclined to prefer performance over portability. I would sacrifice a little portability and step up to a 13" Like the dell M1330, or even a full size 14" or 15.4" notebook. Either of those would be portable enough for my own needs... It's not like I can pack this laptop into my pocket, so at the point where I am still going to bring around a laptop bag, I might as well fill it with a faster, more powerful laptop.

I do agree that this is an amazing product, however, especially at the price. I think alot of people with different portability requirements may enjoy this laptop... but I think I'll pass.

Just my $.02