JP
The more I see of ASUS’ Eee Linux laptop, the more impressed I am. ASUS grabbed headlines at the beginning of the month when they announced a compact, attractive little notebook with a bargain-basement starting price of just $199; now HotHardware have spent a little time with the Eee and, despite the daft name, come away sounding pretty impressed.
While it was initially billed as a competitor to the OLPC “third world $100 laptop”(whose cost has surreptitiously crept up to nearer $175 in recent months), ASUS have clarified that, unlike its bright green rival, users all over the world will be welcome to pick up an Eee. As a starter machine the 900MHz Intel Dothan-based Pentium M processor and 512MB of RAM should do nicely, especially when running Linux, and the storage served by a choice of 4GB or 8GB flash drives (coming in at $199 and $299 respectively).
HotHardware’s Paul Jastrzebski found the Eee to be impressively light (tipping the scales at just 0.89kg or around two pounds) and with plenty of ports (4 USB, VGA, microphone & headphones, flash card reader, 10/100 ethernet and modem) to satisfy whatever peripherals you may choose to plug in. One might be a full-sized keyboard, as to keep the size down ASUS have picked a pretty compact ‘board that, while comfortable for the odd email and IM session, wouldn’t be so great for your next big novel. The 4-cell LiIon battery is rated to last around three hours.
As for the OS, there are “Easy” and “Standard” modes depending on the skill level of the user. Beginners will appreciate the straightforward rows of big icons, while more proficient users can switch to an XP-style launch bar and cascading menus. Incidentally, ASUS say they’ve tested the Eee running XP and it’s fine but, given the target price, it won’t be a pre-install option.
What isinstalled is a full version of Open Office for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and the like, internet and VoIP software (with preset links to Wikipedia and online storage services), anti-virus software and a basic graphics program (think more Paint than Photoshop). Apparently ASUS told Paul that they’re planning to develop and include more educational software when it launches in mid-August.
While it’ll be available worldwide, it remains to be seen what the prices will be like outside of the US. I’d love for there to be parity between the Euro and US figures, but it seems almost inevitable that there’ll be a big mark-up (a shame, because at the current exchange rate $199 works out to just under £100!) Still, I agree with Paul that it’s likely to be a hugely successful device.
ASUS Eee PC Hands-on Preview[HotHardware]
18 Responses to “ASUS Eee PC looks even more tempting”
Mat July 5, 2007
199$ = not more than 240 Euros or nobody here will buy….
+1John Bailo July 6, 2007
I will buy 3 of these before I ever buy an iPod.
This is the machine I have been wanting to buy for years.
It will be my portable Internet typewriter.
I want to take it camping and biking and to coffee. I want to write on my website and newsgroups with it and make comments in the Washington Post with it.
I use the Internet for text. This is my machine.
I want it NOW!
+4lamar July 9, 2007
[quote comment="24054"]This is the machine I have been wanting to buy for years.[/quote]
same here. this makes so much sense. my desktop computer is already very like the Eee PC, so the prospect of going mobile at such a reasonable price is exciting.
and sorry to say, i’m tired of waiting for the OLPC to materialize.
+1Mark July 11, 2007
for REAL.. i’m dying to get my hands on a couple of these bad boys.. they are freakin PERFECT for what I want and need.. not to mention millions of other people, especially old people, that spend thousands of dollars on new computers in which they don’t even utilize 25% of the computer’s potential.. in other words, $1000 word processors and email machines.. this is going to be perfect for those types of people, yet still plenty advanced enough for me to SSH in to my machine at home.. sysadmin’s too would surely benefit from this little guy if we can get a terminal services and vnc client installed ;-)
+1eeepcfan July 13, 2007
hey, in england, $199 is £100, which is the price of a 2gb ipod nano here!
+1So, as a student who uses a laptop in school, this will be so much easier to use, and loads more portable than my top of the range toshiba 17” vista ultimate laptop!
It has all the features i could possibly need, and with a 120gb portable hdd for only $100/£50, so for a combined price of £150, this is better value that the archos 704 wifi ($550) I am considering!
Thank you Asus!
IwantaAsusEEE August 11, 2007
I want it now toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!
NeutralFred Doolie August 15, 2007
Oh, yeah! I design websites as my second job and this would be perfect for a portable computer to work on sites and stuff during dead times at my real job.
Neutralsyra August 19, 2007
love to have this stuff !!!
NeutralTerry August 27, 2007
Hey http://www.citrusmicro.com is taking pre-orders for this item. The pre-order is free!!!
Here’s a link:
Neutralhttp://www.citrusmicro.com/web.....ils683.cfm
Matt September 18, 2007
Any news on shipping dates yet? I want one!!!!
NeutralMr.Haker-G October 9, 2007
yes I like him very much but in kosovo haven’t ,I think so !
Neutralpeter November 6, 2007
Hi there folks,
NeutralIt seems that it does not have DVD player. Could someone confirm that is Word and Excel compatible?.
Take it easy, bye.
Jiri November 15, 2007
Has anybody loaded VNC client on the eee and used it to connect to a Windows VNC server? That should be a fantastic combo. light, cheap device and network back to Windows Apps?
If anyone has, I’d be very interested to know how well it worked.
+1Murray Robertson November 26, 2007
I saw one of these the other day. Terrific! A super example of how good Linux can be. I have been waiting for about 30 years for THE computer I really want. I think it is finally here. Thank you ASUS!
NeutralDavid Legg December 17, 2007
I want one too. Is it available for a sensible price in the UK?
NeutralBuy Asus Eee February 17, 2008
I’m also a big fan of the Asus Eee. I can literally take it anywhere :D
Neutralanton May 14, 2008
i want one too i cant wait but i have to wait till we go to the electronic shop…its $459 in australia but dont worry guys i have the money!!!
Neutrali am getting on before july . wish me luck!