Eeetch

[therru]

I've noticed that there is a new Eee PC out now, a 10" with 250 GB storage space (!) and up to ten hours of battery time (allegedly). It ships with Windows 7, though. But now the old Eee itch has started again. WANT WANT WANT. Although this is probably just me trying for retail therapy. And I should really get a new stationary computer first.

Comments

[pnr]

oh pft, I didn't really need an iPhone (or Pushing Daisies or a werewolf guide book or a Top Trumps dinosaur pack) but I totally got em all this week anyway!

What would you use the Eee for? Can you replace most of the stationary puter time with the Eee?
I know you use the big one for tv, even if it's starting to die it might be able to just handle the tv/movies if you do the surfing and whatnot on the Eee?

[therru]

Actually, I sort of need a computer that isn't automatically connected to the internet. Because when I try to work on my present computer, I *always* get distracted by LJ or my email or some web forum or something else. With another comp I could sit in the kitchen or living room or in a café somewhere, even.

OTOH, I could use a small portable thing that can play video files and things while I'm travelling, and on which I could read ebooks, and possibly be able to connect to teh internet, although I suppose mobile internet is usually a subscription with a fixed monthly cost, which would be rather unnecessary if I don't use it as my main surfcomp. (I'm on a fiberoptic line now.)

ETA: An Eee with this much storage space would be more like a "proper" computer than a mere toy, though.

[sneprinsesse]

It looks very tempting!

I don't have one of those tiny laptops, I have a slightly bigger Dell, it is very handy for travelling, but too big to be small and too small to be big. I can't remember how big or what it is called. Still a noticeable weight to carry around, but fine when going by car :) It came with Vista, which I really hated, but then we installed Ubuntu and now everything is much better. the only thing is that solbirger didn't want the extra weight of a dvd-player.

The thing I have heard about with the very small computers, is that the programs are still made for bigger screens, so they don't always work so well on the smallest laptops.

[therru]

Yes, this one comes with Windows 7 Starter, which is apparently a crippled trial version of Windows 7. Does that suck, or what? I'd probably install Ubuntu on it if I did get it. I have no experience of Linux whatsoever, but I've heard several people say it's not that hard to learn. Earlier versions came with XP which would have been fine with me.

[thedimholt]

These ones (the 1005 and 1008) are getting old... they should come out with something new and better soon! At least I hope so - I feel the need to get a new one. Preferably the same size (though they hardly make any smaller than 10" nowadays), but with better specs and bigger hd. Didn't expect I'd be using it as the one and only primary computer when I bought it... It's working fine for pretty much everything, though, but I find the 20GB (!) hd a bit limiting, and I'd love to be able to play more advanced games... I was very keen on the 1008 when it came out, but the specs are still so limited. :-(

[therru]

I suppose the 250 GB 1005HA *is* supposed to be the something new? Or perhaps just an intermdiate model while they are gearing up for something wholly new.

They might not be the very latest models, but for me there is also the question about price. The new fancy models will inevitably be more expensive. And the 1005HA seems to be a pretty good model. It comes with a 1 GB RAM but has the capacity for a 2GB one if you want to improve it. And a 160 GB hd is pretty OK. :)

But to confound me even more, I've discovered that there are three 1005HA versions -- a low-end, a middle-end and a high-end. The high-end one (1005HA-H) has a slightly better battery and a slightly better processor, which gives it a longer battery life, but it's also at least a thousand kr more expensive. :\ All retailers don't specify which version they sell, but I'll have to assume that the cheaper ones are the low- or middle-end versions.

[thedimholt]

It seems that Asus had basically rereleased a few older models with larger hd and win7. From what I can find, they'll start making better specs soon, with dual core and stuff. They've got a 12.1" coming out soon that seems nice, except it's way too large and heavy for me... fingers crossed they'll release a decent 10" soon.

Yeah... was gonna mention price but forgot. :-) I think the 1005 is a good one, very few people do, after all, buy an Eee for it's power. ;-) And 160 GB is more than ok!

I think your best bet is to go to Expert and talk to them. And if they don't know, they can always take out the box, the specs should be listed on it. Beware of the low end 3-cell battery ones, useless. At least 4, preferably 6 cells.

[therru]

Unfortunately, Expert don't seem to have the 160 GB XP version. And the local branch don't even have that one in stock, so I can't even go and get hands-on visuals. But I've found a white 160 GB 1005HA-M online that I'm contemplating very hard. I do want a white one, anyway -- it should be easier on the eyes. I called them up and the guy on the phone didn't really seem to know much about the comp (didn't even know it came in three levels, for one), but he could confirm that it had a 6-cell battery and up to 8.5 h battery life, and no bluetooth, which sounds like the specs for the 1005HA-M (the middle-end version). As long as it's not the lower-end 3-cell version, I'm OK. Bluetooth would have been cool of course, but I don't have it on my desktop, and USB cables work fine (as long as you have them handy).