Mini Laptops, Acer, Asus Eee, H P

[junkofdavid2]

Those small laptops by Asus Eee, HP, and Acer look tempting for me to buy.

Right now I'm using a Toshiba Satellite A100 with 1.72GHz Core Duo processors, 1.5 GB Ram. Pretty reliable but quite bulky and heavy.

Any of you tried using those small mini-laptops?

How difficult is it to use them compared to the more 'traditional' sized laptops?

Would I "suffer" if I shifted to using the small ones instead?

Can it replace my laptop (the same way my laptop 'replaced' my former full sized PC without any problems)??

What do you think?

[Familyonthemove]

I've been using the 4GB Asus EeePc 701 for about a year. I use it when I travel because the 'traditional' lap top was just a pain to lug through the airports.

The light weight and small size are a huge bonus - it's good enough for email, and the bundled software handles Excel, Powerpoint and Word well enough to work on the move. The quick boot and shut down is also great when doing a quick check of mail before a flight or wifi-ing over a coffee.

But .... whenever I have the choice of a full sized lap-top or PC I'll leave the EeePC in it's bag.

The screen size is the only significant issue. The limited processor power and memory are not really limiting factors in the real world ... when using email or basic office functions, but having to scroll up, down and sideways to see whole spreadsheets or emails is a bit of a pain. Typing takes some adjustment, but unless you are a lightning fast touch-typist it's not really an issue.

However - some of the latest ultra-portables have better screen resolution and screen size at the cost of a slight increase in size and weight.

I was looking at the little HP today, and that, together with the new Asus with the larger screen, would be enough to replace my normal laptop.

The keyboard on the HP was particulalry impressive. if I had one of the bigger screen models, I doubt I'd ever use the full sized laptop for work.

But ...... I also use a big 17" screen 'lap'-top at home for photo and video editing ... and there's no way any of the current ultra portables can replace that. But there's also no way I'd use that as a portable, unless I wanted to look like Quasimodo.

So I'll still have at least two lap-tops on the go.

[Merlin]

I've got an Asus EEEpc - the 4G 701. I love it.

The keyboard took a bit of getting used to, but then I change between lots of different keyboards all the time for my work anyway. I've had no trouble at all with it, it's been totally reliable since day one. I put 2G of ram and a 4G SD card in it as soon as I got it.

The wifi has worked faultlessly everywhere I've been - in airports in AU, SG, and TH - picking up signals and logging in automatically. Only on my own home network did I have to put in the WEP passkey etc.

When I flew DRW - BKK via Singapore on Tiger Air, I was really glad I had the EEE - if I'd had a normal sized laptop I never would have fitted it in with the seats so close together. I had it playing podcasts and doing misc spreadsheeting etc - close on 5 hours battery life [it's a bit less than 4 now...]

The included OS is Xandros, which has been fine. They've included the latest version of Open Office, and Firefox etc. Any time I needed a new codec or something it just went online and got it for me - all pretty painless. Such a nice change from windoze.

[britmaveric]

Own a everex 12in, less than 2lb notebook for travel. Must admit quite good, but thinking buying eeee to further cut down in size. I basically only use notebook for surfing/email - so this prob more ideal.

[soic]

I noticed that the Asus doesn't have a CD or DVD Rom drive... has anyone hooked an external up to them? if so, does it support it well. How else would you get new programs installed?

[markwhite]

I noticed that the Asus doesn't have a CD or DVD Rom drive... has anyone hooked an external up to them? if so, does it support it well. How else would you get new programs installed?

An external USB HD and a DVD-RW have been tested here with no problems, though the DVD won't work unless the mains is plugged in.

As for installing new software...well you can download it, install from a networked PC with a shared drive if it's on CD or DVD, or put it on an SD card if your desktop has one.

If it'll be your only machine then you might have to buy an external CD/DVD drive.

[Merlin]

[...snip]

I was looking at the little HP today,

[...snip]

sorry, but I couldn't let that one go without commenting:

There's no way I'll give HP [or Compaq] another cent of my money.

All smiles and promises before you buy something off them, but as soon as you need any service at all, it's hours on hold to the Indian call center from hel_l. Their entire system is designed to fob you off, force you to listen to an endless distorted loop of an instrumental version of "A Time For Us" over and over and over. Then when you actually get to speak to a human they ask you the same questions over and over, that's when you can understand what they're saying through the thick accent...

Inevitably they will promise something [like, the tech will be there tomorrow morning, or the courier will be there to pick up your computer for return/repair/replacement/whatever], then inevitably they don't show up, so you're forced to get on the phone to them again...

and again...

and again...

Scum.

[pilou]

I used to have a 701 8Gb, the screen was really to small for me, now i have a 900 with 2Gb ram and 8Gb SD card. and using XP ( I tried Linux, gave up after a few days..) which completely replace my big laptop when I am on the move. Keyboard is not an issue as I type with 2 fingers... Boots in 30 seconds or less

I could not be happier with it, except the price went down from 19150 only 2 or 3 months ago to 12900 as I saw today at IT City...

If you just want to surf internet , check your mails, chat, watch movies, pictures and work on reasonably sized files, it is more than enough. I don't think you can edit videos or big pictures, after all this is a 900 MHz processor with limited memory .It is just not designed for that.

The new models with Atom processor ( 901 and 1000 ) will last longer on a battery, and the 1000H has a hard disk and bigger screen ,and was 20220 last time I saw it at Fortune. I will stick to my 900 for the moment.

Many other models are now available from other brand, for me Asus is still ahead ... According to a french blog, no less than 23 different models on their catalog...

Cheers

Phil

[soic]

I noticed that the Asus doesn't have a CD or DVD Rom drive... has anyone hooked an external up to them? if so, does it support it well. How else would you get new programs installed?

An external USB HD and a DVD-RW have been tested here with no problems, though the DVD won't work unless the mains is plugged in.

As for installing new software...well you can download it, install from a networked PC with a shared drive if it's on CD or DVD, or put it on an SD card if your desktop has one.

If it'll be your only machine then you might have to buy an external CD/DVD drive.

Thanks... I have one of those huge toshiba gaming laptops, it weighs a ton. It's got all the bells and whistles, but after my last trip home to Thailand, I swore that I'd never take it again; at least not until I go home to stay. I've seen those small Asus and they looked nice and affordable, but I hadn't met anyone that had actually used one, at least not that spoke english and wasn't trying to sell me theirs.

[NextStationBangkok]

If not serious programmers, and if you are not editing videos, it is the right choice.

For example daily tasks like reading news, checking mails, reply to groups like ThaiVisa.com, typing documents, preparing presentations, etc mini Nettops are good enough.

It is portable, reliable (even if you drop the SSD Hard disk will not be spoiled like normal hard disk).

The cnet (www.cnet.com) review says Asus is the best among all, because of the battery life. One is you have compromise with the key pad, it is comparatively smaller than others. But Asus rectified this key board size issue from EeePcc version 1000.

Also it is very environmental friendly by consuming lowest power. Especially if you have children or if you are frequent traveler you have have one with you.

[Crushdepth]

I saw an Eee 1000 last week - it addressed my ownly serious complaints (screen and keyboard size). Looks like a great little machine, just big enough to do some serious work on.

[RKASA]

Get a wireless keyboard and mouse thats what I use on my laptop or should say moble desktop.  My screen size is OK but it may have a monitor jack like my laptop does when at home you can run dual screen small one with the news on it. It would just be a small desktop PC that folds up and take with ya. 

[lazeeboy]

its like watching a 29inch tv and then a 12 inch ,after a short while you get used to it

[Jockstar]

Also thinking about buying one of these also. Maybe the Acer ore Asus one. The reason is more for email , internet. I'm off to LOS in December and really need to be able to online to do stuff. So i'm thinking rather than spend money on internet cafes etc. Also i can get free internet if i goto a hotspot and have a coffee? So i'm reading this closely.

[Jockstar]

Still looking and reading about the OP. I have a question. Since i want to use the netbook for online, i have a Pc at home and also a Xbox 360. How can i set up the 3 of these on a wireless network at home? My desktop will have a fixed cable modem. But what would i need to buy to set up the 3 together? Does that make sense?

[bkk_mike]

Still looking and reading about the OP. I have a question. Since i want to use the netbook for online, i have a Pc at home and also a Xbox 360. How can i set up the 3 of these on a wireless network at home? My desktop will have a fixed cable modem. But what would i need to buy to set up the 3 together? Does that make sense?

Does the Xbox360 have wireless?

Your best option is probably a wireless router. You'd hook it up to your cable modem, and depending on whether the modem has multiple ethernet ports, you'd either leave the PC hooked up to the modem, or connect it through the router.

If you're thinking of playing movies from the PC hard disk on the Xbox, I'd actually recommend a wired connection from the Xbox to the router as wireless networks can suffer more from interference from cordless phones, microwaves, and neighbours who also have Wi-Fi, causing slowdowns that don't really impact on web browsing, but can be noticeable on streaming.

(I don't have an Xbox, so don't know if you'll need to get a wireless adaptor for it.)

As for security, use WPA rather than WEP as WEP encryption can be broken very easily. (It's like MAC address filtering - useful in avoiding someone connecting to your network by accident, but absolutely useless as a security protocol).

[cophen]

You might want to consider the MSI Wind (for those in the UK available as the Advent 4211 from PC Wolrd and £50 cheaper than the Wind). 10" screen, decent size keyboard, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive, XP Home, WiFi, Bluetooth, Webcam & Mic built in. A lovely bit of kit. Quick review here.

Edited August 16, 2008 by cophen

[stumonster]

a good blog to keep up with the latest in the diff flavours of the new mini laptops is http://www.liliputing.com/

[CCCP]

Acer have 2 mini laptops.

An 8GB version at 15K, and a 120GB version at 18k. I just bought the 120GB version and im pretty impressed with it. Available in different colours too.

[joncl]

I've been using the 4GB Asus EeePc 701 for about a year. I use it when I travel because the 'traditional' lap top was just a pain to lug through the airports.

The light weight and small size are a huge bonus - it's good enough for email, and the bundled software handles Excel, Powerpoint and Word well enough to work on the move. The quick boot and shut down is also great when doing a quick check of mail before a flight or wifi-ing over a coffee.

I brought some 4GB Asus EeePc for the kids and what annoyed me was [tounge in cheek] (1) too cheap compared to the other note book we use (2) works too well for what it is (3) upset we never went that route for the office notebooks .

All in all they are the best for users on the move without a doubt.

[bill1960]

I've been using the 4GB Asus EeePc 701 for about a year. I use it when I travel because the 'traditional' lap top was just a pain to lug through the airports.

The light weight and small size are a huge bonus - it's good enough for email, and the bundled software handles Excel, Powerpoint and Word well enough to work on the move. The quick boot and shut down is also great when doing a quick check of mail before a flight or wifi-ing over a coffee.

I brought some 4GB Asus EeePc for the kids and what annoyed me was [tounge in cheek] (1) too cheap compared to the other note book we use (2) works too well for what it is (3) upset we never went that route for the office notebooks .

All in all they are the best for users on the move without a doubt.

The EeePC 1000 looks like a good compromise between screen size and rugged portability.

It has a 40gb SSD so should be fairly robust.

Only problem is the SSD only comes with Linux but I suppose getting XP installed wouldnt be too hard.

http://eeepc.asus.com/global/1000.htm

Anyone seen the 40GB SSD Eeepc 1000 in Thailand yet ?

[Sessachief]

I've been using the 4GB Asus EeePc 701 for about a year. I use it when I travel because the 'traditional' lap top was just a pain to lug through the airports.

The light weight and small size are a huge bonus - it's good enough for email, and the bundled software handles Excel, Powerpoint and Word well enough to work on the move. The quick boot and shut down is also great when doing a quick check of mail before a flight or wifi-ing over a coffee.

I brought some 4GB Asus EeePc for the kids and what annoyed me was [tounge in cheek] (1) too cheap compared to the other note book we use (2) works too well for what it is (3) upset we never went that route for the office notebooks .

All in all they are the best for users on the move without a doubt.

The EeePC 1000 looks like a good compromise between screen size and rugged portability.

It has a 40gb SSD so should be fairly robust.

Only problem is the SSD only comes with Linux but I suppose getting XP installed wouldnt be too hard.

http://eeepc.asus.com/global/1000.htm

Anyone seen the 40GB SSD Eeepc 1000 in Thailand yet ?

[Sessachief]

Hello, no doubt this might seem a little dim, our daughter suggested we get an Apple MacBook for the best of travel,e-mails,pictures etc.

How would one of these little computers, compare for:

E-mails, Skype, pictures, internet browsing, and basic Microsoft stuff.

My wife wants a machine, that is really simple, easy to use , finds Hot spots, does everything automatically, and has long battery life.

Also simple and effective anti-virus updates .... My Mac cost me around £590 so how does that compare?

Any help much appreciated

Edited August 17, 2008 by Sessachief

[thithi]

i've got a mini HP lappie.

the weigh is lighter than a traditional one[of course]

the system working "kinda slow" but i just upgrade the RAM to be 1 GB. but bfor it's 512 MB.

Space : 120 GB. support both Window Vista and Linux.

... there is no cd/dvd drive. need the external one

the screen is a small naybe too small for some people ja

anyway i like it

Edited August 18, 2008 by thithi

[stumonster]

the specs for the new dell mini note 910 are out now - only leaked , but not confirmed

* CPU: 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270

* Chipset: Intel 945GSE UMA

* RAM: 512MB/1GB DDR2 800MHz

* Display: 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel screen

* Video memory: Up to 8MB shared

* Audio: ALC268

* USB: 3 USB 2.0 ports

* Storage: 4GB/8GB/16GB SSD

* Connectivity: WLAN/WWAN, Mini card support for Bluetooth

* Camera: 0.3 & 1.3 MP

* Connectors: 2 full sized minicard slots accessible from bottom of system, VGA port, Ethernet port, headphone, microphone jacks, 3 USB ports, SD-HC/MMC/MS reader

* OS: Ubuntu 8.04 or Windows XP SP2

* Battery: 4-cell, 2.2Ahr, 31Whr or 4-cell 2.6Ahr, 37Whr battery

* Weight: 2.2 pounds with the 31Whr battery

http://gizmodo.com/5038298/leaked-dell-ins...nd-release-date

http://www.liliputing.com/

[sgunn65]

Thanks to this thread I have been and bought the Asus 1000H yesterday. Bought it in Fortune for 17,900 cash. Because i have a business here I get my VAT back so it sttod me 16,700.

Its got a 10" screen 95% size keyboard, 80gig hard drive and was bundled with XP and they also loaded free Windows Office and Acrobat Pro for me.

I have only just started using it but I have my phone connected, the wireless is fast as is boot up and it is light. Happy Days

Thanks all for the advice

Edited August 21, 2008 by sgunn65

[torrenova]

I suppose if you drag it everywhere like when you are out shopping for groceries then minute size and picking up hotspots would be useful but we're not really talking about comparing it to a desktop replacement laptop are we ?

I'm still undecided on the laptop so this discussion is great for me but I have the PC in the home office in Thailand and I'm going down to Singapore for a while so I need a laptop rather than buying a new PC there.

The thing is that I don't reckon these little things can do the job for me although their size and weight would be a great advantage I admit.

The additional problem I didn't forsee is the increasing size of widescreen laptops which makes them even bigger and heavier though with added benefits as well.

So I'm still stuck in the middle with the 3 way choice of widescreen, regular or mini and it is doing my head in.

[nikster]

I suppose if you drag it everywhere like when you are out shopping for groceries then minute size and picking up hotspots would be useful but we're not really talking about comparing it to a desktop replacement laptop are we ?

I'm still undecided on the laptop so this discussion is great for me but I have the PC in the home office in Thailand and I'm going down to Singapore for a while so I need a laptop rather than buying a new PC there.

The thing is that I don't reckon these little things can do the job for me although their size and weight would be a great advantage I admit.

The additional problem I didn't forsee is the increasing size of widescreen laptops which makes them even bigger and heavier though with added benefits as well.

So I'm still stuck in the middle with the 3 way choice of widescreen, regular or mini and it is doing my head in.

Can you get any work done on a 10" screen? I know I couldn't, it's 13" or 14" minimum, and ideally 15" and high resolution. 10" would be good enough for email and some internet surfing though.

[sgunn65]

I am finding the 10" screen certainly good enough for working on word etc. I have not tried spreadsheets yet though. Surfing is fine too. But the real difference is carrying it around and that makes everything worthwhile!!

[Pappiklon]

Bought the Eee 1000 yesterday at Fortune , 17900 for cash, managed to 'blag' a free mouse :-). Got them to install 2GB Ram, 1550Bht extra, theres only one simm slot so they have to replace the 1G supplied.

It's fast...and beautiful, my only criticism is the keyboard feels cheap and plasticky. Overall though so far love it.