Ultra Portable Pcs: Asus, Acer, Msi

[mc2]

commart is now on in QSirikit and all the mini's are there. I went down yesterday and did some recon.

Acer one 120GB model w/windows came out on top for me, despite a smaller 8.9" screen. the specs for 15,500 are pretty good. What set it apart was a 6 cell battery, 3 USB ports not 2, 5in1 card reader not 3in1, expandable RAM to 2GB (just). The down side is the speakers being on the bottom of the unit damages sound quality, couldn't even hear it inside the show really, and a glossy case, fingerprint hel_l! but at least you get a choice of 4 colours. If you are planning to buy one there, go to the main Acer stand, bargain to 15,500 and get extras thrown in, they wouldn't budge below the price though.

The rest of the comparable 120Gb HP, Mini, ASUS all had similar spec if not identical, but were 19,990 and up plus VAT, 5000 baht for an extra inch of screen....less USB ports, some bigger keyboards ...... hmmmm It finishes on the 16th, so I can wait.... next year maybe

Oz

I came to exactly the same conclusion yesterday and after walking away for one last fact check will be buying one today.

Almost slipped and took the linux 160gb one.. Then spotted the bigger battery on the XP one, that alone makes the price difference workable (the difference between 120 GB and 160GB seems irrelevant on a little machine like this) and a legit XP is just gravy as this is going to be for the GF and its one less hassle dealing with WGA or other issues for her limited PC experience. Me I wanted to tinker with a linux one and would probably go ubuntu for myself but she needs to stay with things as familiar as she can. Now if I can just steer her away from the pink one !!

If the linux 160gb had a big batt or if any of them had bluetooth built in I would have walked away with one on impluse.

Were any of the extras they were throwing in worth having ??

I had a pack of 4 pens shaped like hands, a bottle of water and I think that was the extent of the freebies, mostly just throwaways you would get at any exhibition, not even a decent mouse mat this time.

have they no shame ?

I would have thrown those "freebies" back in their face.

[mezzoninny]

Just bought the Dell Mini 9 from an IT fair in Chiang Mai:

12,900bhat for the 1GB Ram version ..but only 8GB SSD

Is that with Windows or Linux? And it's been years since I bought a computer in Thailand, so I'll need to ask a dumb question: is the system in Thai, or in English?

Thanks in advance... Dell is not selling the Mini 9 in my country, so I'm wondering if I should pick one up in Bkk.

[itsgottabedone]

Just bought the Dell Mini 9 from an IT fair in Chiang Mai:

12,900bhat for the 1GB Ram version ..but only 8GB SSD

Is that with Windows or Linux? And it's been years since I bought a computer in Thailand, so I'll need to ask a dumb question: is the system in Thai, or in English?

Thanks in advance... Dell is not selling the Mini 9 in my country, so I'm wondering if I should pick one up in Bkk.

It is Windows XP in English, although the keyboard is dual English / Thai. In answer to the earlier question the Dell Mini 9 has an SD/MS/Pro MMC expansion slot, although i tend to use a USB memory stick to view videos etc. 8GB is not big, but if you're using it a second laptop / desktop, i find it more than enough to load the basics (Windows Mail Live, Messenger, Firefox etc) and the 1GB RAM ensure it runs smoothly. Also it has 3 USB ports, which is 1 more than my Dell XPS laptop!

[vagabond48]

Although, I have a dell laptop latitude. I am considering getting a much smaller and lighter asus 901 to take with me when I travel outside of Thailand.

Can someone shed some light, why the unit comes with 12g when loaded with xp or 20g when loaded with linux?

With xp, do you get a smaller flash drive?

Thanks

Anyone know the answers?

[Phil Conners]

Possibly they wanted to maintain a certain price. With the cost of Windows there was less money left over for a larger drive? Just guessing.

[mezzoninny]

Thanks for your help, itsgottabedone! Right now I kinda have a crush on the Latitude E4200.

I think I've seen Asus say something about Microsoft's licensing, that restricts the storage size allowed for these computers, but that could be a superficial answer used to cover up something else (cost?). I'm such a conspiracy theorist

[LivinLOS]

Thanks for your help, itsgottabedone! Right now I kinda have a crush on the Latitude E4200.

I think I've seen Asus say something about Microsoft's licensing, that restricts the storage size allowed for these computers, but that could be a superficial answer used to cover up something else (cost?). I'm such a conspiracy theorist

They were selling the Acer one with a 160gb hard disc and XP yesterday.. So dont see a connection...

[Veazer]

Thanks for your help, itsgottabedone! Right now I kinda have a crush on the Latitude E4200.

I think I've seen Asus say something about Microsoft's licensing, that restricts the storage size allowed for these computers, but that could be a superficial answer used to cover up something else (cost?). I'm such a conspiracy theorist

MS sells a cheap version of XP home for netbooks (ULPC license) but the manufacturer cannot have more than 1GB of memory on the machine or drives bigger than 160gb (previously 80 gb)

[ThaiLife]

I wanted to know if the ASUS N10 - J was on sale here , so Ive just telephoned ASUS Thailand and spoke to a notebook sales person who confirmed that in fact this netbook / notebook is on sale in Thailand , I ask the sales person where I could go and see one in person , her answer was.. not sure

review - http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4686

so has any one seen the ASUS N10 - J here any where ..? :D

TL

[ThaiLife]

I wanted to know if the ASUS N10 - J was on sale here , so Ive just telephoned ASUS Thailand and spoke to a notebook sales person who confirmed that in fact this netbook / notebook is on sale in Thailand , I ask the sales person where I could go and see one in person , her answer was.. not sure

review - http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4686

so has any one seen the ASUS N10 - J here any where ..? :D

TL

Just found this from ASUS Thailand ..

http://event.asus.com/th/2008/notebookoct/Page2.htm

23,900 Baht

TL

[ThaiLife]

As the netbooks don't have an optical drive and a 56k dial up modem, can any one please recommend

an external ( small ) USB Modem and an USB optical drive , which are available here in Thailand

Thanks TL

[ThaiLife]

PCMAG , Latest Netbook Buying Guide ..

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334960,00.asp

TL

[Phil Conners]

PCMAG , Latest Netbook Buying Guide ..

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334960,00.asp

TL

Thanks - it sort of repeat what other tests have said before: "Out of all the netbooks available in the market, the $400 MSI Wind is the best deal. " ...

[pitrevie]

I wanted to know if the ASUS N10 - J was on sale here , so Ive just telephoned ASUS Thailand and spoke to a notebook sales person who confirmed that in fact this netbook / notebook is on sale in Thailand , I ask the sales person where I could go and see one in person , her answer was.. not sure

review - http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4686

so has any one seen the ASUS N10 - J here any where ..? :D

TL

I bought mine from CA Mobile Ltd IT Mall Fortune Tower Building 4th Floor 24,900 with legitimate Win XP Home

[ThaiLife]

Thanks pitrevie , here's the ASUS N10 users Forum .. http://www.n10user.com/

TL

[Jockstar]

In Oz the N10 is selling for $999

[tjo o tjim]

Just got an Acer Aspire One/160GB. Impressed by battery life, construction quality isn't bad. But, first time I have used Windows in years and that is depressing.

This should hold true for most netbooks, so I will share one comment on performance that I didn't really catch on to with the reviews. I was running PowerPoint and Firefox at the same time, and it was just painfully slow. So, I figured multi-tasking is out. While only running one application improved things, it still wasn't good enough: the anti-virus protection had to go as well.

Without anti-virus, the laptop is pretty snappy, and PP/FF can run at the same time with acceptable performance. FF alone is fast.

Now I just need to figure out if I re-format the thing with Linux or OSX. As my main machine is a 17" MacBook Pro, I would rather go with OSX, but it looks to be a little messy to install and update.

[ThaiLife]

Thanks for the report, I think there's certainly other owners who would love to have a Leopard purring away on their netbook

and from what ive read its getting easier to do . please let us know how things go

TL

[GungaDin]

PCMAG , Latest Netbook Buying Guide ..

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334960,00.asp

TL

Thanks - it sort of repeat what other tests have said before: "Out of all the netbooks available in the market, the $400 MSI Wind is the best deal. " ...

I think I got a bargain at 14,900bt for the spec I listed earlier.

[Phil Conners]

PCMAG , Latest Netbook Buying Guide ..

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334960,00.asp

TL

Thanks - it sort of repeat what other tests have said before: "Out of all the netbooks available in the market, the $400 MSI Wind is the best deal. " ...

I think I got a bargain at 14,900bt for the spec I listed earlier.

Best prices I've found online for Thailand are here - http://www.itmeeidea.com/index.php?keycode...2P11P34P393P394

I had reason to go to Si Racha today and found an Axxio Pico (rebranded MSI Wind) but a 160GB/1G/3cell version for 18,000. Needless to say I passed on the offer. Not only was it not a good price, but why pay a premium for a rebranded netbook.

[endure]

Anyone know if 6 cell batteries are available for the Wind/Advent in Chiang Mai?

[348GTS]

I bought my Asus Eee1000H back at the beginning of September I guess when they first came out. I was initially going to get the Acer One or the Asus 901, but that keyboard was just too small. The Acer looks fantastic, and was really cheap (at the time, 10500 INCL VAT), but I was turned off by the fact that they are really difficult to upgrade and didnt come with Windows (the cheaper model). I deliberated for a week or so and then went back to make my choice and it was then that I saw the 1000H and common sense prevailed. The bigger screen and keyboard (10" screen is the perfect size for a netbook) won me over, plus the specs of 1024 RAM, 80GB HDD, Windows XP and built in wireless & Bluetooth are more than sufficient. And of course the 6hr+ battery life was the clincher. I got it in black with non-thai keyboard for 18300 I think it was (INCL VAT) which I thought was a pretty good price back then. More than I planned on spending, but I am happy with my purchase and it went travelling abroad with me the following day.

Incidently, I was curious about the MSI Wind as it would have been a contender for sure, but I didnt see any anywhere at that time. Ironically, the night after I bought my Asus I flew to Singapore and saw one in an electronic shop in the airport (I think it was about S$750 but I cant be sure). It is a nice machine and I had a few moments of second guessing my purchase, but overall I have no regrets with my Asus. I love these netbooks, they are so small and light, no more carrying around big heavy laptop bags everywhere

[ThaiLife]

Thanks for the up date, its good to hear how people are getting on with their netbooks after using them for some time ,any one else care to let us know how your netbook is performing

TL

[HKCU]

Currently i'm using the Eee PC 1000H. Bought it end of July @ Tukcom in Pattaya and i'm very happy with this device. Before i used the first Eee PC 701 4G for about 7 months.

Two things i like especially with the 1000H. The multifinger-touchpad and the long battery life. If you compare the size of the touchpad from the 1000H with other devices you will see that it's much bigger. And it supports multifinger gestures.

The other thing is the 6 cell battery. I can get easily 6 hours with WLAN on and brightness maybe around 30-40%. Battery life is in my opinion the most important thing for such a device. If you want to by a netbook, look for one with 6 cell battery. Many users get disappointed, because their 3 cell battery last only 2 or 2.5 hours.

Finally one question:

Did anyone see the Eee PC 901 with integrated 3.5G modem for sale here in Thailand? I didn't have the chance to visit the recent Commart fair, where ASUS and AIS offers some packages. Acer also offers the Aspire One A150 with integrated modem, but personally i prefer ASUS. I don't like the glossy display in the Aspire One.

Greetings,

HKCU

[CDNinKS]

Acer Aspire One 8G SSD now selling for 8700 Baht in Songkhla

[Phil Conners]

Still no signs of the MSI Wind in shops in Pattaya but I just saw it advertised by the SE-ED bookstore chain for about 18,500 incl VAT (160 GB/6 cell/Linux version). Still had to be ordered though, one week delivery

[Jockstar]

Well after travelling in Thailand for the last month. I have to say. For what i needed it for the Acer Aspire One performed very well. Picked up Wifi in a few locations no problem. When up country i just plugged my Nokia phone into it and could at least get online. Its not heavy and can easily slip into a small backpack/bag. All in all very inpressed. For AU$400 i got a bargain. BTW when in CM i saw the exact same(except Thai keyboard) for 19500 baht.

[pete_r]

A question about the HP Mini 1000: Anyone knows if it is available with a Thai keyboard?

I've seen models with only US keyboards so far.

[Veazer]

A question about the HP Mini 1000: Anyone knows if it is available with a Thai keyboard?

I've seen models with only US keyboards so far.

I can't answer your question unfortunately, but just want to point out that they seem to be rather poor quality compared to the other offerings. I was really interested in them initially but after seeing how badly the demo models fared after a little customer handling i'm very happy i didn't choose the mini 1000. the demo models i looked at almost all had sloppy hinges and parts coming loose. combine that with the fact that they only support 1.8" hard drives and they lost all appeal for me.

[robertthegreat]

I was looking to buy an Asus 1000H went to Pan Thip only found 3 2 with Linus and one with XP they siad stopped making them is this true. The Xp one was 18900 baht which at the exchange rate of the UK pound is very expensive. I have a 701 for traveling and wanted a bigger sceen i will try Fortune and look there.