Windows XP-powered Eee PC laptop: $400, April 9th
By Ryan Block 
posted Mar 30th 2008 12:31PM
posted Mar 30th 2008 12:31PM
P.S. -If you are, for whatever reason, itching to read more about current hardware running the 7 year old OS, Laptop's got a hands-on. Nothing that wasn't already out there though.
Engadget, could you give us a chance to win one of the 13" versions. that would be very nice of you.
I kind of want one, but I am not sure I can handle that small of a screen. 12" to 13" is the smallest I think I could go for my main laptop, which is what I am looking at since I am looking for a ultra portable.
Theres a load of 12/13" laptops out there.
Acer TravelMate 6292? (~$800)
I know, I am actually looking at the X300, should be able to get a nice discount from work too. I just don't need the SDD version, especially for the price.
"12" to 13" is the smallest I think I could go"
That's what she said.
Why was the photo switched? The original image showed the 9 inch screen.
I was at the HEB Plus (Yes, a grocery store), and they were selling Eees.
Id rather get the Eee than, say, a PSP2 or a new Nintendo handheld.
There are plenty of 12/13 inch 1-1.5kg laptops about, but expect to pay a hell of a lot more for them than an eee. For me the 7inch screen on my eee is absolutely fine for when I'm on the go. Indeed, the small footprint is actually handy when you have f-all legroom on cheapo transport.
how much will the new 9inch version cost with xp?
eeePC 9" price + Windows XP CD price
for now
399 euros.
they have already said that in the beginning the 8gb will feature XP while the 12/20 will either have options or be limited to linux at least that's what i remember. could be wrong.
now, if your in america (like me) the answer is more then the cheapest of the full fledged laptops.
kind of pointless now. though still for the size i guess it's alright
For a minute then I thought they were releasing the 9" version in 10 days.
Damn you engadget... my heart skipped a few beats!
This thing offers more than the first computer I ever owned - a Pavilion 8570c - Pentium 3 450 mhz with 256 MB RAM (maximum) and a Geforce 2.
I got that computer over 7 years ago and it still works fine with Windows XP - I use it to copy DVD's.
I could get this Asus and use it to download and store illegal files from Limewire.
Please... Never say 'innit' again...
Just when I thought it had gone out of fashion with the chavs over here, too.
I have a feeling it was said in jest..!
i think this sucks big time. instead of re-hashing an old (still vulnerable) os on great hardware. asus should´ve refined the open source os to take full advantage of itś platform.
So will the 4G with Linux drop in price, or will both the Windows and Linux versions cost the same?
at this point you would think almost the same since xp is on its way out the door, which is sad because Vista is a resource hog :(. They should've just called vista "Windows XP Enhanced"
I figured it out!
The $400 XP unit is a 4G Surf, not a 4G. You can tell from the fact that it has a 4400mAh battery (and the smaller listed battery life to go with it). Thus, the unit is the same as Asus is selling for $350 with Linux. The RAM is probably non-upgradeable too, which is a shame given how much Windows apps can benefit from another 512mb.
So essentially you trade the web camera and extra battery capacity for Windows XP Home edition. I think that makes sense in terms of pricing. I do have two questions though:
1. Will this be a clean Windows install, or will we see demo versions of Norton Anti-virus and other bloat?
2. Is the operating system installed on an SD card? That would effectively disable the SD reader.
>>LG-CU920
The official specs list a camera
Bummer...a step in the wrong direction, IMO.
Linux made this laptop great, it pushed Linux into the mainstream. Allow Advance Mode w/o a hack would have been ideal.
Because choice sucks!
These devices are supposed to be vehicles for Linux promotion not device to be used by however the user sees fit.
Linux has not been pushed into the mainstream? Where do people get the information to make this assumption?
Linux (all distros) comprises 0.65% of all desktops / laptops accessing the interwebs. That is less than 1%. I would hardly call this mainstream.
err, that should read "Linux has been pushed into the mainstream?"
Would you be more comfortable with being pushed into the mainstream?
I have heard a lot more buzz about linux from family, friends and co-workers, more so than I had 10, 5 and even 2 years ago.
My parents have been moved to Ubuntu since their aging desktop become more work than it was worth to reload the entire OS and re-setup everything. There was a slight learning curve for them, but they are content and can do everything they did before and their computer runs much better.
fred
If the playing field was even, and all PC came with a choice Linux and Windows, then I'd have no problem with Asus doing the same here, but Linux has to fight for get itself installed on PC, and when it does, I like to see it do well. Asus has done great with the EEE PC, with Linux. And I think it was helping Linux gain mindshare(not a ton of market share)
Draaaainage!
Its not in the mainstream, but the Asus EEE PC seems like a great computer to push it there, with a desktop line coming soon, low priced, very portable Linux running machines could show the world how great Linux can be
"Because choice sucks!"
Most of the time, "choice" means choosing between one version of preloaded Windows, and another slightly more expensive though identical looking version of preloaded Windows.
I think you are both being a bit hypocritical here. Linux users don't like it when they are not given preloaded Linux as an option, and Windows users never complain about choice when all computers are preloaded with Windows.
I like the idea of providing more options, I do however hope that regardless of what operating system they ship with it they remember that the EEE-PC gained its popularity as a cheap, light laptop/UMPC loaded with great free software, not as a $700 somewhat heavy run-of-the-mill computer preloaded with trialware.
There's a reason why Linux isn't main-stream. Most computer users are dumb, and they need their hand held to double click an .exe to install something, let alone having to go through the terminal to do something similar.
"click an .exe to install something"
FAIL
Windows is not an OS fit for use by human beings. I happen to use one that is.
I used to have a Pontiac LeMans that I built into a pretty impressive street machine. Even though it was fast, and the amount of skill it took to drive that thing straight down the road and, more importantly, to stop at a destination, was impressive, I sure enjoyed it when I finally graduated to a tight, powerful new car w/an automatic that actually allowed me a free hand to light a cigarette or use the turn signal. And I didn’t feel a bit insecure that it was so easy to use.
I learned to use a computer using MS-DOS. Now I use Windows XP. I didn't buy a computer to impress anyone with how smart or skillfull I was. It's a tool, and I want it to be as easy to use as possible. I still go to the DOS screen every now and then, if I want to check something out or if I’m feeling nostalgic, but I don’t have to deal w/that [syntax error] or [invalid parameter] message anymore if I don’t want to. And it doesn’t bother me a bit. If I'm "dumb" because I prefer easy, so be it.
I'll leave Linux to the "smart" people.
"I learned to use a computer using MS-DOS. Now I use Windows XP. I didn't buy a computer to impress anyone with how smart or skillfull I was. It's a tool..."
And I'm sure the same could be said of Ethana2.
I've been using computers for a long, long time, since Linus Torvalds was playing with a VIC-20. And I'll tell you, we've come a long way in the twenty five years since that system was still on the market. Windows reflects this with an interface that's easy to use. Linux is still stuck in the 80's with an archaic, cryptic, and counterintuitive design. Elitist nerds who think that "frustrating" and "versatile" are synonyms are quick to give that design undeserved praise, but the reality is that Linux makes things that SHOULD be easy in the 21st century needlessly aggravating.
I bought an Asus EEE with Linux installed on it. After weeks of fighting with the operating system, trying to install stubborn programs, and typing data into a dated command line, I gave up and installed Windows XP instead. Now, everything works. Games and emulators run more smoothly, and the interface is comfortably familiar instead of strange and inscrutable. The EEE is an all-around better machine with Windows XP, and even Asus knows it... it's reflected in their sales projections.
???The picture on the main page shows the Eeeeee with 8.9" but the Eeeeee XP version is 7"???
When the big one is comming??
Crazy guys...
I doubt very much that there will be a 7" EeePC with XP pre-installed. XP simply isn't cut out for the low screen resolution. That's one of the reasons for the 9" model with a higher resolution.
Fair enough, just used that image to get the point across. Will swap it out.
Wow.. Ryan's comment isn't Highest Ranked! Quite an odd occurrence...
"When the big one is comming??"
Thats what she said.
>Void
This whole article is about the 7in XP Eee PC.
>Void
This whole article is about the 7in XP Eee PC.
I was hoping these computers stay with Linux on them. Hopefully no one takes this the wrong way. I love Windows XP and I enjoy using Linux. I just thought this would be the PC that would lead people to Linux, the PC that evens out the operating system playing field.
you say 7 year old like it's a bad thing..
I like my operating systems like I like my women: seven years old.
Anyway, if we're going to call XP that old, shouldn't we hold OS X to the same standards? That came out in 2001 and the code base is still largely the same. It's like we're completely ignoring the service packs.
staying with linux = selling about 1/10th of what they could
remember these things are supposed to be practical and XP is still champ at that
Linux is perfectly fine for what these laptops are meant for, simple computing and surfing the internet. Plus it allows for it to be complete customized and streamlined for the hardware.
People aren't used to Linux but it is in no way less functional than any other operating system if it has the right drivers.
I am on my eee PC right now and loving it, still using the original OS, with some minor tweaks, but I could really see why people would be attracted to an XP version, despite the fact that XP will be dead in a short amount of time (too bad, Vista takes WAY to much to run on this thing)
--P.S. These eeePC's are really only for secondary computer use, if this is your main, then I feel sorry for you.
I'd like to buy one of these... just need a light laptop on the go. Like this one. Size doesn't matter, but it's the weight. Of course, I can also buy the MBair, but that's 10x of what this is.... OS, doesn't matter. It's ultra portable, so as long as the usual web related apps work then it's fine.
according to the RM site (the UK brand) there will be a higher spec with windows in May:
http://www.rm.com/primary/products/product.asp?cref=PD1030046
...well higher than my 4G/512mb...and at a remarkably reasonable price
That picture looks like the laptop wasn't properly setup so the resolution size stayed in the center.
No thats the whole screen the surrounding area isn't a screen.
Lol. I know. It just looks that way 'cause the screen's so small.
XP powered? I was hoping for a solar or fuel cell powered one ...
i dunno... this smells like MS was completely panicking that customers would get used to like the preinstalled xandros linux and talked Asus in bundling XP with it. granted, it makes no sense to me: I've been using my imported 8G for quite awhile now, and while windows fundamentals (official stripped-down XP SP2) worked really well on that little sucker, i finally went back to xandros, it's just a better and tighter fit, especially the awesome easy desktop. for power user stuff I still can boot the full desktop.
don't get me wrong, I'm a big XP fan, but it makes absolutely no sense to me buying it with XP Home pre-installed, especially when it really is just plain old XP Home and not something specially customized as for example this really fantastic Windows Fundamentals.
Smells to me more like Asus know they'll sell more lappies if they offer a range of Operating Systems to buyers.
A lot of people just won't buy something if it's not windows.
ThinkPad 15.4'' widescreen R Series notebooks
From: $710.00*
Sale price: $452.61*
Please support the Linux version. The screen is too small do do anything that would require windows to be installed. I bought the EeePc just to support Linux.
and save whales
It would be nice to not see such a propagation of otherwise similar models, which will only drive costs up. I would prefer to see the image for the "F9" restore moved from the limited space internal drive to a cheap USB key. The USB key could have both the Windows and the Linux restore image on it. If the user wanted Windows they would just enter their Product Key, which would be sold separately, allowing for just one line of hardware and more usable space on the internal drive of the Eee. I'm assuming the Windows version will also have some kind of F9 restore function built in, does anybody know if that is the case?
No kidding, I remember when my parents picked up their XP machine in early '03.
It was *so* much better than our ME machine (yes, we unfortunately suffered through that abomination).
excellent, soon we will just get a free one with an internet subscription.
Geocaching With Team Hick@Heart
Finally! I was thinking of getting one of these for my younger brother. All he really uses a computer for is email and some web browsing. This should do the job, no?
no
No? Why not?
I have an nlighted version of xp running on my 4g surf and it is significantly faster of a bootup than that video by about 8 seconds.
And xp works great. I need to open my docx and pptx from school, so linux did not work for me.
Lucky you, ISO is about to make things even worse.
ISO? Not familiar with that TLA. Do you mean international standards organization?
Dave.....Windows XP enhanced? Try Windows XP Buthered, Neutered and Annoying.
lol we've had this in new zealand since last week. i unboxed it at work on thursday
Damn. Having in Australia early too would be nice
Microsoft has announced that it will not allow OEM licenses to be loaded on PC's after June. I wonder how long this XP version is going to be available. Actually I'm wondering if Microsoft is going to make a last minute change and let XP live on a bit longer. With this new mini-laptop market just starting to take off it seems really stupid on Microsoft's part to halt sales of XP. I can't even imagine someone trying to run Vista on one of these. It would take 10 years just to boot up. If they gave XP a facelift, and a new name like "Micro Vista" it would sell like mad on these things. I think their marketing team is asleep at the wheel.
I'm new to Linux, and I have a question. I'm going to be first in line for one of these bad boys when it comes out (Linux version of course). I was just wondering whether Wine works w/ Asus's version of Linux, or if we need Ubuntu to use it? (not that it will have any effect on my decision to buy it.)