ASUS Eee PC 1001PX has a thing for carbon-fiber, starts at $279
By Joanna Stern 
posted March 31st 2010 4:21PM
posted March 31st 2010 4:21PM
posted March 31st 2010 4:21PM
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has a nice looking back and not bad specs but ill wait for the ipad (that was sarcasm lol)
@cocopuffs well it has the resemblance with the 1005-pe though: http://bit.ly/asus-1005p-series
Except for the price...
Does any1 else really like how Engadget is linking their own posts :D very informative!~
@CJisohsocool
Gawker blogs do that all the time. Gizmodo, Lifehacker, etc, always refer to their old posts in a passive manner just like this post here.
@CJisohsocool Yes, I agree this is great, thanks
@CJisohsocool
its called SEO
Pretty sure Engadget has always done that
@Robot Overlord
Kinda, but I don't thunk they've been doing it this way (passivly like IRSX mentioned),
I remember them referencing older posts, though not linking words as part of an article.
Either ways I like it, if you miss something, it's very easy to get up to speed.
omg, Windows XP? It just won't die will it?
XP stands for "eXtreme Piece-of-shit", and 7 stands for "better than the 7 wonders of the world together"!
@JackBauer You're being sarcastic right? XP is actually a REALLY good OS. It's just almost 9 years old, that's all.
As long as Windows 7 Starter Edition is on new netbooks, XP will have a market. I'd pay $20 more for XP over SE.
@iRSX
Windows XP is still a good OS because it's so refined at this point. It'll only die when Microsoft tries to kill it by never giving any more updates. Of all the years I've used Windows XP Pro, I've never had any serious problems with it as long as I run AV software. I'm also using Windows 7 Ultimate and it's good, but that doesn't make Windows XP bad.
@MosesusedaniPad
Oh, I'm not saying XP is bad at all, in fact it's the best system I have ever used up until 7 came out. All I'm saying is that now that we have a good OS to replace XP, and also because XP is definitely getting old (9 years?) we should really just let it go and move on.
@iRSX but it's a piece-of-shit when compared to 7
hm i might have to get the xp version and slap ubuntu lucid lynx on that bad boy. question though, will this n450 atom handle hd 720p mp4/h.264?
With the right codec you might be able to get to work with out stuttering. However, for flash HD right now you need either a dual core cpu, or a gpu that supports flash 10.1 beta.
@Patlex that's what i figured. might have to just get a full featured laptop when i get the cash. might even go mac whenever the new updates hit.
@ryankage The N450/GMA 3150 combination will easily handle h.264 - but not streaming. I can run converted DVD's (converted using Handbrake and played with VLC) full screen -but I convert using the "normal" not high quality setting, and I think that is closer to 480p. I can play Apple HD trailers if I let them load first at 720p - but you have to scroll to see the entire picture (the screen is 1024x600, too small).
@NorCal1953 ya i've been converting 1080p m2ts blu-ray video (you can find the source via google... lol) into 1280x720p hd h.264/mp4 video for zune software, zune hd, and the xbox 360 playback. handbrake works very well at transcoding formats into the same sized files. so if i could get something cheap like this asus eee pc then i could easily transcode files on the go.
I just don't understand the point of netbooks, I'm not hating on anyone who has one but the shitty specs and poor battery life...yeah its BS we use netbooks in one of my classes nicer ones at that and you seriously cant use them with out the changer...
I guess they are cheaper but you get what you pay for, I just bought a Asus ultra-thin laptop and its is great 12hr battery, great specs and a fantastic form factor for around $760.
I know that more than $300...but you get so much more, people say they use them for light work and surfing the internet, office work...who in gods name wants to type a paper on a board so small, their are netbooks out there that cant even play Hulu light surfing my ass.... if you want to watch Youtube and check your email get a data plan on your phone and save your self the $300 and pay your cell phone bill.
@bigmattown
1. $760 is 2 1/2 times the $300 price; no shit you get a better system.
2. Then don't use a netbook for typing a paper, it's not like some law says you can only have one computer.
3. And I am sure I can find an old desktop that can't do the same either, so what is your point?
4. If you pay the $40/m fee for me for a data plan I might consider it. Then again, I'll just buy a 3g card for my netbook and use that instead since I don't want to use some shitty phone to browse the web.
5. Your spelling and grammar suck
@bigmattown
What are talking about poor battery life? Netbooks are known for their insanely great battery life. My 1005HA gets 8 hours and most newer netbooks that use the N450 get around 12 hours or so.
@bigmattown
I think you are overly proud of the Asus ultra-thin (very likely to be the UL30VT) that you just bought. I do think netbooks are too weak for my taste but it definitely has its merits and not completely useless like you make it out to be.
@bigmattown I have a HP mini 210 HD and it's a slick looking little machine with a 1366x766 10.1" screen, broadcom HD video accelerator, chiclet keyboard and button-less multi-touch track pad.
With flash 10.1 beta, it runs HD flash video smoothly, although I don't watch online video much - 'cause that's how I roll. But man, it weighs like two and a half pounds and is small like a motha'. I have a beastly PC and a 15" unibody Macbook Pro, but half the time I just put the mini in my bag and head to a coffee shop and blast away a couple of hours on Grooveshark + Dreamweaver/Illustrator.
With 2GB of RAM, Windows 7 and the 1366x766 screen, it just doesn't really matter. Plus I get 7 hours of life out of it and it's convenient as hell. To top it all off, I got this thing for like $370.
I just wish that this model was more hackintosh friendly -- not 'cause Windows 7 sucks or anything but just because I prefer using Coda/Espresso over Dreamweaver.
I don't know how you've come to hate them so much but netbooks are a major win for most professionals looking for a quick, portable go to machine. That's if you don't already have a more capable machine for those times when you just need the power.
@detusueno
I'ts not hate, it goes the same for a lot of other things like E-readers.
I understand why people like E-readers but for something that does vary few if not just one thing its a lot of money to throw down.
I don't mean to frazzle anyones feathers it's just my thought process, I would never buy a netbook because its cheap but i would for what it can do over all.
And yeah idk what's up with the battery's we have at school they are brand new...
@bigmattown
Asus 1002HA, I get anywhere from four to six hours of battery life. And I type papers on it just fine, thanks.
It's easier to just grab the netbook than lug around the 15" laptop.
@bigmattown
They are probably like those 1st gen 9 inch netbooks with celerons or somethin. I am happy with my netbook (HP 2140), even though it is getting old for a netbook.
7 Starter is fantastic on netbooks, but Microsoft really needs to find a way to drop the desktop background limitation. I personally could care less about customizing the background, but it's a big deal with females for some reason.
@Funke Tobias Dr
My Asus 1001p has an Asus custom desktop, not the ugly green one on my other netbook. So I guess someone (Asus) has figured out how to get a different background. I can get a black background, which saves a little juice since we have LED and not flourescent backlighting, but only by opting into the Windows XP Theme and selecting a black background.
I did try turning off all screen enhancements except clear type to see if that would speed things up, but it didn't help.
Not that the netbook is slow, it's just that my desktop at home is blindingly fast in comparison. The netbook is about as fast as a 5 year old warehouse store, basic desktop. Which in the scheme of things isn't bad.
Who cares about the lid? It would be much more interesting to know if the screen is glossy or not.
Netbooks are the fast food of tech. Cheap.
@juliojorgeortiz
Cheap and absolutely delicious.
$279? It looks pretty nice and if it has 6+ hours of battery life I'll think of getting one. Slap some form of Linux right on it and be on my merry way!
@yah5
Agreed but I think I'd drop in a 320 gb drive, use the restore disk to reinstall WinXP, strip out all the garbage ware and Asus toy programs, THEN install Linux in a dual boot system. I think I'd go with Mint though.
@NorCal1953
Pleasant idea! I was also thinking of Linux Mint.
@yah5 Honestly, in my experience, Windows 7 on netbooks is better. I tried several types of Linux but all of them performed unfavorably. Chalk it up to incompatibility but battery life suffers and performance wise I see absolutely no difference.
Though I'm impatiently eyeing MeeGo..
Carbon Fiber like?
I bought the Asus 1001p from Amazon in early February and it came with the exact same cover you are touting as "new." I don't know if Asus has been shipping the faux carbon fiber all along, or if they ran out of their regular covers and had to drop a few of the faux carbon fiber covers onto the assembly line for a while, but for sure mine is over a month old at this point.
I didn't get the nifty pricing though. The choices I had in early Feb were Win7 Starter w/160 gb for $299, or Win7 Starter with 250 gb plus an upgrade to Wireless N and Blue Tooth for $339 (it may be less now). I chose the larger hard drive and the Bluetooth is appealing to me because it lets me walk around while Skyping home from overseas.
The irony of getting WinXP for $20 LESS is not lost on me. I also bought an Acer ao532h and chose the model with XP and had to pay MORE although it came with a couple of upgrades the Win7 model didn't.
Finally, MS and Intel need to get over their PC Jr. concerns (IBM crippled the original PC Junior so it wouldn't cannibalize XT sales) and let makers install 2 gb of RAM from the factory. I'm getting tired of the drill: order 2gb, unscrew panel, wonder what to do with my rapidly accumulating stock of 1gb sticks.
These things rock, overall, though, I'm addicted to them.
BTW my personal fave is the HP Mini 210 which has the easiest access/upgrade path - the whole back snaps off! (This Asus only gives you one-screw, panel access to the memory stick, and I don't know if there is a free PCI-e mini slot for a Broadcom card - there is on the HP and Acer).
probaly has less than 10% of actual carbon fiber, cause real carbon fiber is very pricey, carbon fiber chop stick aleady cost $150.
@techlord hurr durr or perhaps it has no carbon fiber at all and its a faux carbon fiber finish
@techlord
LOL where do you get carbon fiber chopsticks?
/would use those
@Krantzstone
http://www.carbonfibergear.com/direct/carbon-fiber-chopsticks-with-matching-carbon-fiber-rest
I have a think for Carbon Fiber too (I get a boner when I see the engine bay of a Ferrari Enzo) but that looks like some fake-ass carbon fiber to me.
let's see....
i love carbon fiber. and, in the case of netbooks, i like carbon-look shells that look cool without costing a fortune.
i want a cheap windows computer just to serve the functions of windows without having to destroy my mac's OS trying to set up boot camp. (for the record, boot camp in snow leopard is one of the worst pieces of software apple has made this decade and has börked my entire hard drive twice in the past few months, it's almost as bad as that uber-restrictive iPhone OS that everyone tries to force down their own throat.)
yes please, asus. i'll take one with windows XP, there's a reason it's still offered for sale today: it just works.
that carbon fiber looks good!!! give me better specs!!
Fake CF...oh gee.
I hate glossy a glossy lid as much as the next guy, but there is plenty of Carbon Faux-ber on the Hondas around here. Give me some metal!
hmm... wonder how that feels? The carbon fiber casing that is.