Asus' Eee PC on sale with 8GB SSD, 1GB RAM for $499
By Darren Murph 
posted December 1st 2007 8:39PM
posted December 1st 2007 8:39PM
[Via jkkmobile]
posted December 1st 2007 8:39PM
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I'm an owner of a regular 4G, and I don't really see a reason to get this. The 8GB SSD is nice, but not really necessary. I'd rather put another 4GB in mine with the SDHC slot, and even then I probably won't. The 1GB of ram is also nice, and I'm considering breaking my warranty to add my own, but I've found that with my usage, I probably wouldn't notice it.
Basically, I use the Eee to browse and chat and watch movies when I travel. I have it tethered to my ATT Tilt, so it's online anywhere. With Firefox and Pidgin open, I'm still not stressing the amount of memory. And I definitely don't have much installed that would fill up the SSD.
Is me the only one who thinks flash memory isn't ready to be the main memory of a computer?
Most people seem to be just ignoring that SSDs have limited I/O cycles, they will die with use..
It is OK for memories that you will not be using for more than a few years at most (ie. SD cards), but for a computer? I'm not rich enough to buy a computer that will die after a few years, i'm still have a 10 year old computer that I use at my workshop, and the hard drive is working as if it was new...
A good point but for me i don't mind to replace my hard drive in 2 years. I just bought a new hard drive(250GB) for my 6 months old Macbook. I also bought tracks for it($15) so it's very easy to swap the drives, just like batteries. AND i am not rich ;)
ssd is not regular flash memory. no one is ignoring it, most people just already are aware of the difference. an ssd will last longer than a mechanical drive and use less power.
I love the "bigger better 'REAL' laptops are out there..." argument. Totally misses the point. We don't want windows, we don't want to lug a 6 pound keg, we don't want a massive powerbrick, we don't want viruses, we don't want crap components: we don't want Dell or Gateway or (from what I've seen of the new ones in my office) even Lenovo. For $399, the 4gb is one HELLuva machine.
Besides, the flash memory write limit is a myth, left over from the early days of SSD. Read around, it's been debunked.
As to the basic question of WHY? It's insanely portable. I love my MacBook, but at 13.3", it's not the easiest to grab-an-go, even as sleek as it is. To be able to open, write, surf, etc, and then stand, close it and walk off, with no bags to fiddle with, nothing banging or bumping off people or display racks or.. it's wonderful.
Yes, when a larger battery is available, I'll be all over it. But with 3 USB slots, the existing SDHC slot and the 1gb of RAM I stuck in (their "warranttee invalid of seal broken" is in violation of US consumer protection law), it's got more than enough oomph for its purposes.
And it's a moot point 'cause Apple's gonna announce THEIR version at MacWorld (revamped eMate running LeopardLite, anyone?) and then we'll all be in sleek geek tech heaven.
And don't forget that there's a free Mini PCI-e slot waiting for a 32GB or larger SSD to be installed, once they come down in price.
I have an old VAIO that has to be like.. 4 years old now and it's become my primary computer, pretty much, except my desktop at work and I'm considering adding an SSD for better battery life, despite the fact it will cost me twice as much as the laptop is worth.
Think about it.. 2 years ago, I "couldnt afford" to be replacing my 120gb HD cuz I was a high school student and I had to save to buy one. Now I can get a 320gb for 90AUD from my local computer store. Don't you think the same thing will happen with flash memory. If you can't find 8gb of flash memory for less than $20 in 2 years, I'll buy you a whole new computer. I'm sure asus know this and if the HDs start to die in 2yrs time, I'm willing to bet they'll replace them for you with a bigger and better one, no doubt.
For a small fee, of course ;-)
Ahem, just thought about it and realized that I was NOT a high school student 2 years ago, I was finishing my first year of university....
Damn, I feel old.
Have you tried counting for how long time a certain block of the drive can be access before its estimated lifespan has been reached. A flash memory will stand (roughly) 100 000 write cycles. Let's assume you use the computer for 4 hours each day writing on average 5 MB/s. That will give us close to twenty years of usage before MTF is reached. How many mecanical hard drives will give you the same level of security? From a security standpoint flash is much better than a hard drive.
I think that this is more aimed at someone like me - who already owns two full-featured laptops. One a monster 17" Desktop replacement and the other a 13.3" (a MacBook) which I really just use for browsing and Word Processing.
I've got to admit, this version is very attractive. Though, I'd probably switch the OS.
Does anyone know where I could see the Eee in person? My parents are willing to get this for me for a portable to take to class just in case I need it, but I don't know if that 7 inches will drive me crazy. I just need to see it for myself!
People are using 7" touchscreen displays for large CarPC displays (about as big as you can squeeze in a double DIN, so if you can imagine what the monitor would look like squeezed into your car dash, you can imagine how big it is.
Why are so many people enamored with this device?
When Palm was talking about the Foleo, which seems to have similar specs to this thing, the pundits were saying that there was no market for a device like this.
huh, I guess the market is just wrong
The Folio was a far more affected high-concept device than the Eee, and seemed infected with Palm's profound lack of direction since the Treo 650. Palm wants to be all things to all people but scarcely manages to produce credible Palm devices anymore.
Part of the appeal of the Eee is the ability to install your own software and OS, since it really is simply a tiny laptop. Every arbitrary restriction that comes from owning a designer-finessed agenda-driven device has the cumulative effect of discouraging creativity. The Eeee has the advantage of being what you make it, not what dominating media presence thinks it should be.
Perhaps the Folio would have been equally customizable, perhaps not. What it wouldn't have been was interchangeable with any other baseline laptop sans space, size and power. Given the way Palm handled it, the Folio seemed another waystation between vaporware eclecticism and knuckling down to release the new OS Palm's been talking about for years.
foleo was eee pc done the wrong way.
foleo wasnt a stand alone computer in concept - it was a COMPANION device.. a cheap laptop like device to use with your phone.
now eee pc is like foleo in design, somewhat. eee pc is normal x86 though.
and the linux in eee pc isn't some one-shot linux distro made just for this with it's own ui libs...
Go and look at the Foleo pricetag and then you'll understand. The Eee PC is much cheaper and runs Linux with standard Linux apps like Firefox, OpenOffice etc. Palm were smart to kill the Foleo - I think many UMPC devices are going to follow as people realise that small doesn't have to mean expensive.
Nice update. But I'll wait for a version where the screen matches the lid.
If by about april next year they release a 10" version with this specs for about the same price, I'm sold.
I'm currently having a 12" Thinkpad with XGA resolution and I would be happy with 10" and a resolution of between 1024*640 and 1280*800. My machine has a 1.2Ghz P3-m and 640MB RAM and that's totally enough for everything I can do on such a tiny screen.
I guess the thing that disappoints me the most about this is how they seem to be making it difficult for people to hack the hardware for this or make mods to it. For me, whatever manufacturer makes a device likes this that is easy to upgrade and/or easy for users to service themselves wins my vote. For example I would love to see a device where people can easily upgrade the onboard solid state memory by simply swapping an SD or CF card instead of soldering the damn thing to the board. And the price has risen too far above the original estimates for me to bite on this now. I'm glad I optend for the OLPC which will at least be more durable.
Hello???
The Eee has an SD card reader.
I have a 4GB SDHC card in mine.
I almost got an 8GB card, but then I realized that that would be overkill. I have barely made a dent in the 4GB card in the month I've had the Eee. That's the thing that all these naysayers don't get: you don't need a ton of memory to use this thing. I haven't even upgraded my RAM yet, and I probably never will have to.
I forgot to mention that you can boot off the SD card, so you can install your OS on it if you choose.
I have 4Gb SDHC too. Aside from an annoying dialog that asks if I want to browse it when when the system starts, the thing works fine. I also understand that I can replace the 512Mb internal RAM with 1Gb if I wish. I don't know if I can replace the SSD, but as I said, SD works, as would any USB storage device including harddisks.
Personally I'd like an OLPC but only if I could flash it with Fedora or similar. It also needs more memory and other changes to meet consumer needs. I do not understand why they do not produce a consumer version (e.g. in black) and plough the profits into the charitable arm. Everyone wins. The Eee PC proves there is a great demand for this kind of device and OLPC are losing out by not fulfilling it.
I can get a pretty loaded Dell Vostro 1000 for $499 on Dell's Small Business site.
The EEE only practical if it's priced less than a regular laptop.
Once again, someone misses the point.
That $499 Dell gets only an 1 hour (or less) of battery life, from what I've read, weighs >6 lbs with the 4-cell battery, and comes with 512MB of memory.
I'm soooooo not jealous.
I'll keep my Eee.
At David:
If I bite, I'll be getting an Eee to write fiction, criticism and travel journals, which means I'll be using Word. When you break down the Eee's real-life battery advantage, how many hours are you able to get without recharging? I'd like to have some idea how long I can continue writing while riding the trains in Berlin and other places in Europe.
Frastoglegnia:
On the train you won't be using WiFi, so your battery life will be maximized, which I believe translates to about 4 hours, but that's a moot point because all the trains in Europe (especially the high-speed trains: Eurostar, Thalys, etc...) have power outlets at each seat, and the Eee's power adapter is auto-voltage adjusting (120V-240V) AND is the size of a cellphone charger (that is, it's small, and without an in-line brick besides).
Personally, I am a touch-typist, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I can type close to normally on the Eee. The right shift key is slightly moved from the normal location, but nothing a period of habituation can't fix. I'm certain it's got to be better than the Mac Book's bizarre chicklet keyboard! The Eee's keyboard is compact -- it has to be, but it's completely functional.
I have one and am trying it out as a traveling computer. It's quite nice and is doing everything I need of it.
I'm posting from the MSP Airport and compared to my 'other' traveling laptop (MacBook) this thing is impressive.
The MacBook isn't that big but once again I got a chap in the seat in front of me who took advantage of the full recline during the flight out. I couldn't open my MacBook well enough to type so I transferred the doc I was working on over to the Eee with a usb stick and used Open Office to edit/etc.
The _only_ thing that's bitten me so far is that the sleep mode uses up the batteries (as opposed to the MacBook). after ~20 hours it used around 60% of the battery. Not a show stopper but something to be aware of.
The thing starts from a cold boot pretty quickly (I'm using the advanced mode and it's slightly slower). But until they get hibernate working I'm doing a power off when I'm away from power overnight.
Firefox with the Fullerscreen extension makes browsing totally useful and so far I'm not finding any major issues (when you take the price into account).
My previous travel machine was a Sony T150 and that's nice but much larger. Since I gave into the Mac urge I've managed to rid myself of all my win32 based machnes so this fits well.
Sadly there was an article that the eee will soon support MS (offically), that's too bad but was bound to happen.. I just hope the MS tax is massive to get more people exposed to the linux interface.
I have one and am trying it out as a traveling computer. It's quite nice and is doing everything I need of it.
I'm posting from the MSP Airport and compared to my 'other' traveling laptop (MacBook) this thing is impressive.
The MacBook isn't that big but once again I got a chap in the seat in front of me who took advantage of the full recline during the flight out. I couldn't open my MacBook well enough to type so I transferred the doc I was working on over to the Eee with a usb stick and used Open Office to edit/etc.
The _only_ thing that's bitten me so far is that the sleep mode uses up the batteries (as opposed to the MacBook). after ~20 hours it used around 60% of the battery. Not a show stopper but something to be aware of.
The thing starts from a cold boot pretty quickly (I'm using the advanced mode and it's slightly slower). But until they get hibernate working I'm doing a power off when I'm away from power overnight.
Firefox with the Fullerscreen extension makes browsing totally useful and so far I'm not finding any major issues (when you take the price into account).
My previous travel machine was a Sony T150 and that's nice but much larger. Since I gave into the Mac urge I've managed to rid myself of all my win32 based machnes so this fits well.
Sadly there was an article that the eee will soon support MS (offically), that's too bad but was bound to happen.. I just hope the MS tax is massive to get more people exposed to the linux interface.
It's about time someone bought out a really reasonably priced laptop. I am still waiting for the 8Gb version before I commit and I'm reliably informed it should be available Jan/Feb 2008. Until then I'll just have to wait!
Jas.
http://www.jasonslater.co.uk
I'm luvin my Eee PC - now that I've put Ubuntu on it of course!
http://www.internet-tools.co.uk/blog/index.php/2007/11/26/installing-ubuntu-710-gutsey-gibbon-on-my-asus-eee-pc/
I own a black 4gb model. I think the most important improvement they could make is a larger screen with better resolution. It really needs to be 1024x600 at least. It is possible to do some tricks to get more screen space. For example I customised the browser to reduce some space, and work in fullscreen mode when I can. I also installed GNOME prefs to reduce the system fonts that the GTK apps were using. But the resolution is too small. It's still a great device though.
sweet baby jesus!
Just order 8G white (in stock) from newegg
A local PC store's website has shown diff. configurations as well as colors for the EEE to include the ff:
256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB RAM
w/
2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB Hard drive
in white, black, green
My question is for those who have the 4GB version, do you think the 256MB w/ 2GB SSD would be adequate. intending to give it to my pop who only needs it for email, chat, and casual browsing? Or should I get the full bore version?
Thanks
So I'm really not a computer aware person, but I like the idea of this as something I can carry to my university classes to do notes and it won't be weight training. (My laptop is 7 pounds and 3 years old. It is heavy enough it ripped the strap out of the computer bag and fell. And I can barely get it on planes with carry on.) But I'm scared of the Linux and co. I've heard of them, but really don't quite get it. I'm certainly not going to be programing anything. The whole memory thing and loading xp, (buying and loading xp?) makes me worry too. And how much are the cards for extra memmory? Can I load a movie from a usb key, save it and then remove it later without wasting memmory space? Will I be able to print files from it or save and keep writting them for a semester? And what is the benifit of xp or os or the linux it comes with and other systems?
I'm not to worried about the keys or screen. I think I'd go for the 4g since I can't seem to find the 8g or higher on Newegg.
And really, I'm wondering if I should get it now for the start of the next semester, or wait a month and hear what happens from apple or see what they do next. Is it likely to change much in 2 months or for another/better option to come out?
As I said, I have a laptop that is my subsitute desktop. It's 17 inches and can't run games but manages most of what I want. And I figure that once I finish school and settle into a house I'd get a real desktop for games and to run a tablet. I have an external harddrive and a external disk burner.
So, is this rather inexpensive, 'easy', portable thing a good idea for me?
The maximum battery life for this machine is three hours.