How would you change Asus' Eee PC?

The Eee PC's journey from introduction to mass production hasn't been filled with too many surprises, and aside from the obligatory price / release date speculation, unexpected Russian review and even more chatter over the almighty pricetag, it's been a pretty smooth ride. Granted, everyone and their long lost cousin was buzzing about the potential of getting a fully-featured machine in their laps for under two bills, but as these things always seem to go, final figures (for individual consumers, at least) managed to creep up a fair bit. Price hikes or not, it didn't seem to matter much come launch day, as dear ole NewEgg managed to sell right out of its initial allotment, though we're left to wonder if it didn't really have a few more to go around.

Regardless, just about everyone who managed to get ahold of Asus' little darling came away impressed, if not thoroughly pleased, with how much functionality was stuffed into a sub-$400, two-pound ultraportable. Of course, critics were not hesitant to admit that the bugger wasn't perfect, and we've all ideas that a number of you early adopters out there share similar sentiments. So without further ado, why not give the world a piece of your mind on the matter? How would you meliorate the Eee PC? Make it more functional, more fashionable or just (even) more affordable? Chime on in below with your recommendations for the Eee PC Rev. B -- it's not like we don't already know it's coming.

[mauriceh Posted Jan 28th 2008 4:48PM]

Forget the bigger screen and anything else that uses more battery, EXCEPT:
ADD: Built in Bluetooth
Add: Rubber corners to protect it for when you drop it.
ADD: 802.11(draft)N

[deanm Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:31PM]

BIGGGER SCREEN. some smartphones have the same/higher res. More disk space would be nice, and cheaper.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 7:07PM]

Bullshit. I don't need a bigger screen. If I wanted a bigger screen, I would buy a "regular" laptop. This is for the on-the-go person who needs very simple things: WWW, Email, Word precessing, and may be vpn back to the office via the citrix client....

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 7:20PM]

Maybe an 8 inch screen would be good. I find it just a wee bit to small, but otherwise from what I have used it at from my friend, its seems pretty decent. If the cost were a little bit lower I would buy it right away.

[iPodius Posted Nov 10th 2007 1:24AM]

Uh... what smart-phone has a higher resolution than 800x480?

[dannylewis Posted Nov 13th 2007 11:23AM]

I second the bigger screen... or a more creative way to use the screen they have besides putting a black border around it.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 29th 2007 8:41PM]

SMALLER SCREEN, less memory, a CD-ROM, higher price tag and swap all the USB's for one parallel port.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 4th 2008 5:48PM]

LOL @ LPT PORTS!1!1!1! seriously wtf is there anything that actually uses those things? if you need it that bad, get a dongle.

[victorstuber Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:34PM]

Ya, the screen is window boxed. grr.

[cheffydave Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:02PM]

Bigger screen, more memory, black color

[starkruzr Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:33PM]

GeForce 8800 GTX.

:)

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:36PM]

bogger screen, built in card reader, and the abilty to be tablet. I know that won't happen but it's still good the way it is right now.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:37PM]

sorry I mean bigger screen.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:46PM]

I second the tablet notion, especially if they keep it at the same price.

[hatboysam Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:56PM]

There is a built in SD slot

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 7:23PM]

Touch screen would be great!!!

[undooo Posted Nov 9th 2007 9:49PM]

multi-card reader (olympus, sony, CF)
ram change without voiding warranty.

[MacroEQ Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:38PM]

It doesn't need a bigger screen otherwise it would be a laptop. The Eee PC is filling the gap between smartphone and laptop. A larger SSD would be good.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:10PM]

I think he meant a bigger screen in the same form factor. The screen how has a huge-ass bezel, and expanding the screen and resolution close to the size of the computer would be really nice.

[3rdsun Posted Nov 9th 2007 7:10PM]

If it looked like the Asus R2H umpc for the same price that would make me drool. I dont like the mini laptop formfactor

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:38PM]

The name.

[nebulus Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:42PM]

full size screen and I'll put an order straight in...

[nrp Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:40PM]

Just about anything (realistic) this thread will come up with will probably be addressed in the next version. Meaning, 10" LCD, and eventually a lower price for the 7" version. Other than that, Asus has just about perfected this new genre of ultra-cheap ultra-portable laptops.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:50PM]

I can tell you what I'm GOING to change about the EEE! I'm planning on splicing a usb port inside the case and running it back into the mini pci-e port to a 16gb cf card (two if they'll fit) That is, unless someone has a prettier way to add more onboard storage?

[nrp Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:54PM]

8gb SDHC cards are pretty cheap, and 16gb ones are at least less expensive than 16gb CF cards.

[BKKKevin Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:17PM]

Why don't you just pop a 16gb SD card into the provided slot?

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:46PM]

If that entire black area were the screen, I would buy one immediately.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:41PM]

Yeah, I have to agree. Bigger screen (even just fill out to the rest of the frame that it already has. Some of that tablet action (which XO seemed ready enough to put in), including the two button pads on either side (would be great to make this a convenient, if somewhat large, portable game player).

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 10th 2007 8:03PM]

Oh, I'll be using that slot too, not to mention a 2.5" usb drive. I think I'm going to wait until until I see people running xp on their EEE. Has anyone seen video of xp in action on the EEE?

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:42PM]

larger screen to fit a standard sized bezel (10").
8gb SSD
1GB RAM

$499

I'd buy it in 1 second.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:58PM]

All of that plus either an HDMI or DisplayPort video output and I'd get one.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:09PM]

Second that!

The only other thing that I've been thinking about would be a DVI or HDMI port with 1080i capabilities. I know that 1080i is a bit overkill for such a small box, but it would mean that you can hook up to any hidef TV/monitor/projector to make presentations. Think of how friends and family will come to dread the appearance of the "little white box" full of the latest travel snaps.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2007 6:54PM]

With those specs? Count me in!

[BKKKevin Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:43PM]

Easy SSD upgrade capability...

[BKKKevin Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:03PM]

Oh and make the advanced mode option available - but here is the instruction to do it easily yourself... and note that you can make it permanent in thesettings Personalization menu (select Login mode - Full desktop mode)...

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/11/06/eee-pc-tips-a-crash-course-in-linux/

[inkmaster Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:44PM]

Lets see... remove the ugly black border from around the screen

add a bigger screen while you're at it, make a bigger trackpad (w/o it being dented in - basically make it like that of a macbook)

thats it, I'm pretty much happy...

oh yeah! and remove all the damn stickers from the back! - jeeze, the hell is wrong w/ pc manufacturers, why must they put the damn stickers on everything... :/

[TheOtherJames Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:53PM]

Each sticker adds 5 MHz.

[LimboMan Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:48PM]

It's comparable to the automotive world, were adding "-R" "-S" or "Type-this-or-that", "Special Edition", "A-Spec" etc. enhances performance...

[rob98 Posted Nov 10th 2007 10:05PM]

LimboMan is an obvious Honda fan

[iceykitsune Posted Nov 10th 2007 2:10PM]

If the screen filled the black area, Where would the speakers go?

[DCTenor1 Posted Nov 12th 2007 1:53AM]

sides

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:46PM]

Longer battery life (or add an external battery pack option). Widescreen version. More Flash storage. Fix the drivers.

I heard that Rev. B will ship sometime in 1H08 with a ~10 inch screen and a newer Intel processor with even lower power.

I had the opportunity to try a demo unit at local computer store that rep ASUS and I have to agree that it's pretty nice unit for $400. It would be great for reporters/writers.

[littlefreak Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:38PM]

EVDO support!

[aedanna Posted Nov 9th 2007 7:32PM]

But NOT built in! If it is built it it is useless! I will not purchase a device with built in EVDO since each device requires its own $60 per month data plan!

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:51PM]

Just sell it at the price you promised us Asus. That's all I ask for, nothing more.

[tiuk Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:28PM]

Amen.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 10th 2007 9:22AM]

It definitely needs a DVD-RW to be perfect...

[TheHoldSteady Posted Nov 10th 2007 9:40AM]

Or an 8-track.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 5:51PM]

-Bigger screen (supposedly coming next year)
-TWO MOUSE BUTTONS
-More ram (easily upgradable yourself)
-More SSD space (although 4GB + SD storage is fine for me really)
-Firewire port (for giggles)
-More USB ports
-Bigger battery pack (can be sold as an add-on)
-LED backlighting
-Bit faster CPU?

I mean, I love it already. I'm waiting for the black ones to drop and I'll probably pick it up.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 9th 2007 6:13PM]

It has 2 buttons, the main button swivels to each side making it 2.

But like everyone said, bigger screen with higher resolution.