ASUS Eee PC: Laptop, UMPC, or Something Else?
by Jarred Walton on November 30, 2007 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Final Thoughts
There has been loads of praise heaped on the Eee PC since its launch. We're not quite so gung ho about running out and buying them - or recommending them to friends or family - but there's still a good market for the device. As an out of box experience, the Eee PC does prove the viability of Linux. Anyone familiar with computers should have no difficulty using the applications that come with the Eee PC. That's not to say that using the Eee PC and Open Office is the same as running Windows XP with Microsoft Office, but it's close enough that users should be able to figure things out.
Getting all of the drivers and applications to work properly on a Linux installation can be a time-consuming affair for the uninitiated, and ASUS removes a lot of the legwork from the process. For example, Flash works within Firefox (so you don't have to miss any advertisements!), and we watched a variety of video formats without difficulty. DivX, Xvid, WMV, and various AVI and MPEG video files all played without difficulty, provided the resolution was reasonable. (High-definition content proved to be too much for the little Celeron M processor.) What didn't work? Apple QuickTime - all of it - MPEG-4, and x264 content failed to work, and Xvid movies experienced difficulties including crashes and the inability to scan/seek within the video files. Generally speaking, if you stick with DivX or MPEG and a resolution of 800x480 or less, you should be able to watch it on the Eee PC.
Audio file support was also good, although as expected support is lacking for certain codecs. Using the Internet radio icon brings up a website that lists a large number of (wait for it…) Internet radio broadcasts. In testing, more than half of these failed to work, due to a missing plug-in as far as we could discern. If you know your way around Linux, you can probably even address any of these missing features.
Accessing Windows networks was possible, but again the results are hit-or-miss. The Eee PC cannot open hidden Windows shares (i.e., \\computername\c$), but it can open explicit shares. However, when accessing shared folders, we encountered situations where we received repeated prompts to enter our login credentials for every file/folder in the directory. We had far less difficulties using an external USB drive to pass data between computers. We have seen reports that suggest the Eee PC USB ports only function in Full-Speed (USB 1.1) mode. We measured transfer rates between external USB storage and the internal flash drive up over 20MBps, so clearly the USB ports can function in Hi-Speed mode with certain devices. We cannot test with every USB device, obviously, but we did test with four different flash memory sticks and one external hard drive enclosure, and all five devices worked properly with 5-20MBps transfer rates.
The Eee PC is an interesting device, and given the low cost and the features it includes there will certainly be plenty of people that are interested in getting one - the fact that most resellers are currently out of stock is a clear indication of this. It's a novel electronics gadget that's cheap enough that you can buy one to play around with and not feel too bad about the expenditure; if it turns out that you don't like it, give it to your kid/parents as a Christmas present! Alternately, you can give it to your significant other as a fashion accessory. If you're looking for something revolutionary, the Eee PC isn't going to set the world on fire, but that was never ASUS' intent.
Of course, we can say that the pricing of the Eee PC isn't that special. Shop at any of the large computer OEMs, and you can frequently find fully functional laptops priced under $500. They come with Windows, they will have far more storage space, and typing on the keyboard isn't going to cause your carpal tunnels to rebel. For example, the Compaq C700T comes with a CPU that's over twice as fast (1.73GHz 1MB cache) as the Celeron M in the Eee PC, 20 times as much mass storage (80GB hard drive), and a DVD/CD-RW optical drive. You get all that for a price of $449 with the current sale. Unfortunately, if what you're after is something smaller, the 15.4" chassis will disappoint.
The ASUS Eee PC can be a fun computer accessory, but we're not surprised to see that user opinions are split between either loving it or hating it - we've felt the same way at times during this review. Depending on what you're after, it can function perfectly or not at all. If what you really want is an inexpensive laptop, you may be best off spending a bit more money and getting a true laptop. If you want something to stick in your pocket, buy a PDA or an iPhone. If you want an ultraportable computer with somewhat limited functionality out of box - but which can be upgraded with more applications and/or memory iif desired - and you don't want to pay a lot of money for it, then the Eee PC is a good match. Children might also find the streamlined interface to be a better introduction to computers. Alternately, if you're not really sure what you want but you like to play around with computer gadgets and the thought of trying to install Windows XP or a hacked version of OS X Leopard on an Eee PC sounds like a good way to spend a weekend, there are far worse ways to spend $400. Now all you need to do is find one in stock.
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JarredWalton - Sunday, December 2, 2007 - link
As others have pointed out, this isn't competing in the same market as 15" notebooks, or even 12" models. That's both good and bad - I'd personally take a 12" laptop, but then those start at about 3x the cost of the Eee PC 4G. :|Also, you're correct that 800x480 is not a standard AR. It really doesn't matter too much outside of running certain applications, but 16:10 would really be a 768x480 resolution. You're talking about 16:9, when you say 854x480, which is in some ways just as non-standard. I'd still like something higher, though... 1024x640 would be a lot better. It's amazing what 160 extra pixels in height can do. But then it would be more difficult for vision-impaired people to read the screen.
shadghost - Sunday, December 2, 2007 - link
it is a solid state storage device onto the mb, not any standard form factor, non removabletmx220 - Friday, November 30, 2007 - link
I thought the name for these are subnotebooksor is that not standard yet?
nubie - Friday, November 30, 2007 - link
I don't know where Anand got such WRONG data, this clearly shows upgradeable memory: http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=3626">http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=3626The 700 is the version that has been showing up without a so-dimm, that is the "$200" version, AFAIK even the 2GB Surf model with 256MB ram is going to be $300 and have the upgradeable RAM.
As far as the "Voided warranty" bit, the only way the designers/engineers were able to get this put on the market is by convincing those in charge that it isn't a computer, the entire company seems to believe it too.
As far as how small it is and how much money and performance, it is much much smaller than a Vostro (like less than half the size), so it isn't really the same thing, do some price-searching on a laptop this size and you will soon see that the price is less than half as expensive as similarly sized models with equal horsepower.
I think we will continue to see ignorant comments comparing it to laptops for a long time (if not forever), simply because these people have never used something as small as a Toshiba Libretto, let me tell you it is a big step up from a Libretto 110CT (233mmx 32/64MB RAM)
I am just really hoping that we get some competition and have more of these for around $300.
WINDOWS CE!!! Screw that, if you don't understand the difference, STFU!!!.
I have struggled to get a CE device to update its OS, you can't do it, you need the MFR to give you the bootloader and the OS restore, and if it gets FUBAR'd, there is nothing you can do. XP/Linux is infinitely better.
Not to mention the ability to use apps/games/utilities, UGH, CE should curl up and die.
psychobriggsy - Saturday, December 1, 2007 - link
It's clear that the costs on this thing can come down a lot once Intel creates an x86 SoC that incorporates the CPU (like this 900MHz Dothan), the northbridge, a GPU, and a southbridge onto the same package, or even the same die. That's three large footprint chips down to one, plus hopefully fewer support chips.It would also allow the footprint to be reduced so that the 7" screen doesn't need a massive border - making it far more portable. That, or allow the speakers to be placed into the base (like on most laptops), and allow a bigger display to be put in - maybe even a 10" 1024x600.
Don't rule out ARM coming up from below either with competitive SoCs. Look at what the iPhone/iPod Touch can do interface-wise, and Linux runs on ARM without any issues.
JarredWalton - Saturday, December 1, 2007 - link
I have made some edits since the first release of this article, addressing many of the items you mention. However, the comparison to a laptop is not without merit. Yes, this is much smaller - I mention that fact several times - but smaller isn't always better. I can type fine on laptops; the Eee PC keyboard isn't quite at the level of a Blackberry, but as a touch typist I find it nearly impossible to type at anything approaching normal speed. So, from ~70-80 WPM down to around 20-25 WPM. Yay!In regards to the warranty, ASUS has a very good policy on all of their other products. The Eee policy by comparison has been castrated. Zero bright dot? Nope! Two year manufacturer warranty? Nope. I haven't spent much time trying to contact the public ASUS groups for support on the Eee, but others are again reporting less than stellar response times. Top that off with a voided warranty if you upgrade the RAM (I smell a class action suit or at least a change to this policy), and you can see the ways in which ASUS has managed to keep costs down.
Again, that doesn't mean the Eee PC doesn't fill a market niche. I've heard PDA wireless can be terribly painful/sporadic, and other than a few minor glitches I experienced no difficult with the Eee. The screen size is also much larger than any PDA, even if it's still a far cry from a "normal" laptop.
Fox5 - Friday, November 30, 2007 - link
As a PDA user of several years who was sold on their "versatility", I'd say PDAs are nearly useless, same as the tablet PC. Both are devices limited by their performance, stability, size, and battery life.My tablet pc didn't get long enough battery life to use for long lectures, was still too heavy/bulky to make it reasonable to carry around, the screen was hard to write on especially near the edges, and program lag and random crashes killed it for me. Replaced it with a notebook and found it far superior.
The PDA was similar, but it was replaced with a memo pad. My PDA now only sees occasional use as a calculator and often as a gps.
Something that had full pc functionality and performance, even if on the bottom end of it like this eee pc, would be a huge step up. A real, high-performance web browser, real office suite, and what not are far beyond what a PDA can offer, and no other device is this light and this cheap. Sure, there are other $400 laptops, but they're not ultraportable, not even portable enough to wear it'd be no bother to just throw them in a bag and bring them along.
Omega215D - Friday, November 30, 2007 - link
I have the Palm T|X and found that using it to finish off papers I was working on was not a good idea. The keyboard is fine but the screen is a bit too small for that. Then there's using the T|X to access the internet. I hate the browser that comes with the device which takes a bit to load web pages.I find that the Asus Eee PC is what I was looking for. Buying a regular laptop for that kind of price would be a pretty big clunker and the other laptops the size of the Eee cost anywhere from $1100 to $2400. I say the Asus has a pretty clear purpose.
walmartshopper - Friday, November 30, 2007 - link
I just got a Vostro 1400 from the Dell outlet for only $600. It has a C2D, 2GB, 120GB, and a Geforce 8400GS. It's still small and light, and the battery lasts up to 7 hours. It can even run Crysis at 800x600 at low quality and get 30fps. I know I'm comparing laptops that have different purposes, but still it just doesn't seem like a good deal to pay $400 for something so crippled.Plus, I would probably get frustrated trying to type on that thing with my big ol' sausage fingers.
johnsonx - Friday, November 30, 2007 - link
If you can get to a console, is rpm available? If so then it should be possible to install any packages you want from the command line.