I’ve sold my Asus Eee 4G. What now?
I’m a bit of a sucker for gadgets. I keep telling myself that I should hold out for the second generation of things, but I just get carried away again and again. That’s not to say that I don’t buy quality stuff; quite the opposite in fact. Yesterday I sold my Asus Eee 4G to @moodlehotpotato (Mary Cooch) after a brief Twitter chat, Skype chat and Paypal payment. It wasn’t because it didn’t serve a need – it was because there was so much potential there I wanted something that could fulfil that need to the max! 😀
There’s many sites and blogs that have waxed lyrical about the Asus Eee 4G. From a teacher’s point of view, this is what I liked about mine:
- The size and weight mean I can carry it one-handed from one classroom to another. As I teach History in my classroom and ICT in various other classrooms, this is great.
- Internet connectivity is great: wi-fi is painless to set up
- I could take it to meetings instead of a pen and paper.
- My use of it makes staff and students alike want one. It makes the school purchasing a set more likely.
- It runs a version of Linux customised for that particular device. Anyone who’s used OSX on an Apple computer knows the difference this makes… 🙂
So if it’s so great, why have I sold it? Well, three reasons:
- The screen, whilst useable, is a bit small. Newer models have 8.9″ screens instead of 7″ which enables them to utilise a 1024 pixel-width resolution. This makes all the difference when web browsing. Who designs sites for 800×600 in this day and age? (my web stats show that less than 2% of visitors to this site, for example)
- It hasn’t got Bluetooth built in – I purchased a micro-USB dongle, but it was a hassle to setup. I want things to be straightforward. Newer models have Bluetooth built-in.
- Battery life, whilst acceptable at a shade under 2 hours in normal use, could be better. Newer models, based on Intel’s Atom processor, promise to drastically improve on that.
So what am I going to buy? Well, a post about 4P Computing over at OLPC News (Price, Performance, Portability and Price) showed that only three met the criteria for a true Netbook:
4PC Name | Power | Perform | Portability | Price |
Asus Eee PC | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Classmate/2Go PC | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Elonex One | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Everex Cloudbook | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
HP Mini-Note PC | No | Yes | No | No |
Norhtec Gecko | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
OLPC XO-1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Of those, the Elonex One only actually has a 300mhz (must have been a mistake), the OLPC XO-1 is garish and not easy to come by in the UK, and the Norhtec Gecko only has a 7″ screen. It was obvious that I was going to have to cast my net wider, which is where the Low-Cost Laptop Cheat Sheet over at Laptop Magazine proved helpful. I’ve taken off the column about US availability as well as removed any that aren’t available in the UK (at least not according to Google Product Search). Finally, I took off any that had 7″ screens, changed the price to GBP, added the Asus Eee 900 and HP Mini-Note, and reproduced what’s left of the table below:
Laptop Name | Price | Operating System | Processor | Storage | Display Size | Webcam |
Asus EeePC 900 | £329.99 | Linux/Windows XP | 900 MHz Intel Celeron-M ULV 353 | 12GB SSD (WinXP) 20GB SSD (Linux) | 8.9″ | 1.3 megapixels |
HP 2133 Mini-Note | £349.99 | Linux/Windows Vista | Via C7-M 1.2Ghz | 120GB HDD | 8.9″ | 0.3 megapixels |
Asus EeePC 901 | £499.99 (pre-order price, likely to be c.£400) | Linux/Windows XP | Intel Atom | 8GB SSD (WinXP) 12GB or 20GB SSD (Linux) | 8.9″ | 1.3 megapixels |
MSI Wind | £334.95 | Linux/Windows XP | Intel 945GMS Atom | 80GB HDD | 10″ | 1.3 megapixels |
I paid £219 for my Asus Eee 701, so as you can see my next purchase is going to cost me at least 50% more. But which one shall I choose? Here’s the main positive/negative points about each one as far as I can see:
Asus EeePC 900
Advantages: Available now, multi-touch trackpad, lightweight, same size as 701.
Disadvantages: No Bluetooth, 901 coming out shortly.
Reviews:
HP 2133 Mini-Note
Advantages: Sleek metal body, WXGA screen, huge hard disk, optional Bluetooth, available now.
Disadvantages: Some users complain of fan noise, processor quite slow.
Reviews:
- Laptop Magazine
- Brighthand
- Gizmodo Lightning Review
- Notebooks.com
- jkOnTheRun (video-based review)
Asus EeePC 901
Advantages: Bluetooth, Intel Atom processor (improved battery life).
Disadvantages: Potentially expensive, not available now (early June).
Pre-release specs: I4U (unconfirmed)
MSI Wind
Advantages: Bluetooth, 4-in-1 card reader, 10″ screen, Intel Atom processor (improved battery life).
Disadvantages: Not available now (early June), likely to be significantly bigger than Asus Eee.
Pre-release specs: PC Advisor
The Verdict
It looks like if I’m going to buy now, it’s the HP 2133 Mini-Note or the Asus EeePC 900. If I can wait until mid-June, I’ve got the option of Netbooks with the new Intel Atom processors – namely the MSI Wind and Asus EeePC 901.
I’ll probably wait. But if I don’t, then here’s the HP and Eee 900 head-to-head:
Feature | HP 2133 Mini-Note | Asus EeePC 900 |
Dimensions (WxDxH) | 25.5 x 16.5 x 3.3cm | 22.5 x 17 x 3.4cm |
Weight | 2.63lbs (1.27kg) | 2.2lbs (1kg) |
Screen size | 8.9″ WXGA | 8.9″ |
Processor | Via C7-M 1.2Ghz | Intel Celeron M ULV 900Mhz |
Memory | 1GB | 1GB |
Operating System | Linux or Windows Vista | Linux or Windows XP |
Battery Life | c.2 hours | c.3.5 hours |
Storage | 120GB HDD | 12GB or 20GB |
Bluetooth | Yes | No |
WLAN | 802.11a/b/g | 802.11b/g |
Keyboard size | 92% | 80% |
Multitouch trackpad | No (scroll zone) | Yes |
Webcam | 0.3 megapixel | 1.3 megapixel |
ExpressCard/54 slot | Yes | No |
SD card reader | Yes | No |
Case | Anodised aluminium | Plastic |
I reserve the right to make a carefully-considered, well-researched impulse purchase… 😉
Doug – re using it at meeetings instead of pen and paper – did you ever get into PDAs? Couple of colleagues use them all the time in meetings – I tried but was never really sold on them.
I’m going through exactly the same process Doug, and narrowed it down to the same choices. One thing you didn’t discuss is weight – the HP is a lump compared to the eeePC. The other problem is battery life, which frankly, is rubbish.
So on balance, I’m waiting to see what Apple announce at WWDC on June 9th, then I’ll decide.
I did have a Sony Clié for a time, but didn't find it ever so useful. One of our Assistant Heads has a PDA, but I've always preferred mini-laptops. When I was an undergraduate (1999-2002) I had an LG Phenom Express running Windows CE that I used to take notes on. It had a touchscreen, but only a Serial port for connectivity. It was fairly advanced and turned a few heads for it's time, though… ;-)
How are you getting on with your Eee? As I mentioned to you, it's changed the way I do things, and so can't wait to get my next model! :-D
A very good point, AJ. I'd be gutted if I bought something just before WWDC and Apple pulled a Netbook out of the bag. I shall wait until then. :-p
Also: http://www.3mobilebuzz.com/2008/05/28/the-3-dongl…
Hi Doug
Well, I've managed to get an OLPC … I had to have it sent to friend's house in Canada & she brought it when she came.
Yes, it is garish, and so far I've not yet figured out how to get it onto the University Network. However, what I'm enjoying is investigating the educational potential of it, albeit in a rather limited way, as I've got no-one to mesh with & share experiences. Oh well! It's a good talking point, too!
However, just to add to your choice dilemma; have you seen http://www.liliputing.com/2008/04/over-past-six-m… More "4P" computing than you can imagine! (I *think* it's an Aussie site, as they sometimes mention both US & AU $ in the pricing)
Just seen a preview for the MSI wind at http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/notebooks/0,1000000333,39427750,00.htm
They seem to like it!
I find the Asus Battery poor and the mouse buttons hard and unresponsive.
Chris
test