Ultra Portable Pcs: Asus, Acer, Msi

[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

I've tried them all and i think the Dell is the best in the market right now (particularly the quality of display and battery life)

[CDNinKS]

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

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

I've tried them all and i think the Dell is the best in the market right now (particularly the quality of display and battery life)

The Acer Aspire One also has only 8GB SSD, but has two SD slots. One is dedicated and pre-configured for SSD expansion so you can install a 32 GB card to have a total of 40GB SSD.

Does the Dell have this feature? Is their SSD upgradeable?

[Phil Conners]

Any sightings of the Samsung NC10 in Thailand yet?

[whooliggen]

In response to the Nokia/bluetooth problems, I ended up taking the machine into Asus @ Fortune and they ended up reinstalling the onboard bluetooth software. Seems to have done the trick - I say "seems" as I haven't tried connecting to the internet through the Nokia software and instead just go through the onboard offering. In case it was a nokia / Asus incompatibility issue, I just don't want to run the risk of trying it again and being back where I started. I use the Nokia suite for file transferral and the like, but leave the internet to Asus...

Hope that helps...

[GungaDin]

Well, after 8 days the MSI Wind arrived today.

I'm impressed, this is no toy.

The keypad is superb.

2GB RAM

120 GB HD

WiFi

Bluetooth

And a Asus broadband router.

White zipped satchel.

Weight: 1.5kgs in the no-handle satchel.

6 cell Battery is good for 5.5 hrs

Cost: A$659 + del.

Cons: I should not have ordered White.

No hard copy user guide, online only.

In short, I love it !

I'm beside a motel's swimming pool tapping this out.......

[Tywais]

Well, after 8 days the MSI Wind arrived today.

The keypad is superb.

2GB RAM

120 GB HD

I just got mine yesterday. Did you get yours outside of Thailand? Reason I ask is my configuration is 1GB RAM and 160GB HD. Keyboard is very good and found myself typing away with little learning curve on it. I have an ASUS EEEPC 701 but it's at my office all the time, found it to be very useful as a portable diagnostic tool around the laboratory.

Also, what OS did it come with. Mine had Suse Linux Enterprise home edition which is a remarkably complete package.

[BobEggshell]

I bought an Asus EEE 901 20G Black back in July 08 when it first came out. I paid $599 USD.

I work in the computer industry so when the first Asus EEE 700 2G came out OCT 07 I feel in love. I have been watching this market ever since.

When the first netbook from Asus came out it sold very well. Asus then announced that they would be coming out with one with a low voltage CPU (for better battery life) and a bigger screen.

Those were my two requierments for me. I wanted a good battery life so I could take it traveling with me. And I wanted the smallest netbook I could find with a screen that actually filled the lid.

When the MSI Wind was announced I jumped on the band wagon quick. Have a full 80G hard drive sounded pretty good to me. But sadly shipment was delayed a lot. I waited almost two months from the day they came out until I finally gave up.

That is when I bought the Asus 901. And I have never regretted it one bit. I love this little thing. Yes the keyboard does take some getting use to but I have small hands so it never really bothered me.

All the netbooks with a solid state drive comes with two physical drives. One small fast drive for your OS and a second larger slower drive for your data.

They all come with 1GB of RAM. I upgraded mine to 2GB before I even turned it on.

I made a custom copy of Windows XP Pro using nlite. It took me 5 tries until I got it right.

I bought an external DVD burner to do the install. I just had to set the little guy to boot from USB.

I installed the main parts of XP on the faster 4G drive (the Windows directory) and the documents and settings on the slower 16G drive. I also set it up so any software I install automattcly installs to the slower 16G. My configueration took up about 200MB on the C drive and a little over 1GB on the D drive. This is with all updated including SP3.

I installed all the drivers that I downloaded from Asus' website. Eveything works great! Every feature works 100%.

I also bought a 16G SD card to use as storage.

I also install Fedora 9 on a 8G USB drive. Any computer that can boot from USB can boot into Fedora 9. I have it setup so anything I do when I am in Fedora will stay and I can use it later. I install software, save files, bookmark websites, change settings. Its all there every time I boot up. I would use this when I went to an Internet cafe in Thailand, but I don't have to any more. I do use it some times with my EEE just to play around and show people Linux. The wife does get confused as she didn't know there was anything other than Windows.

Storage has never been an issue with my EEE. I have (several) external HHDs that I can and do use if I want to listen to music, watch movies or store pictures from my camera.

I took my EEE with my to Thailand back in SEP 08 (this was the main reason I bought it), and it worked great. The wife loved it when I connected to her phone via bluetooth and started playing her music. She was shocked when I first did it though.

I now keep it in my office to browse on the secondary network we have here. I also use it for yahoo chat/web cam with my wife when I am working. I will take it with me any place I travel. And I travel a lot.

I have been following the netbook market still and I now found out I can buy the same netbook as the 901 but with a 160G HHD for $200 USD cheaper than I bought mine for. I might have to upgrade soon. If I do I will be selling the one I have now.

If you want an EEE with the 8.9 inch screen you need to buy now. Asus announced that they will only make the 10 inch from now on (it is the best selling).

I still like the MSI Wind, but it is also the most money. The Acer looks nice, and the 2 memory card slots is really big bonus (one is a 5 in 1 reader), but the 0.3MP web cam is big factor since I web cam a lot. The Dell has the same spects as all the others but with a smaller SSD.

I do all my computer shopping from Newegg ... Just serch for Atom and you will see a list of all the netboook. All of them are between $300 and $400 USD.

They all have about the same spects. So price and the few different features are what I am looking at. Which featurs do I want more.

It also looks like all the netbook manufacters are moving away from the SSD and going with HHD. More sapce is better for most people. This is also something I like. SSDs are nice, fast and save on power; but they also have a short life span compaired to your standured HHD. They have only so many read/writes then the drive is dead.

But as I see it... The netbook market is a perfect nich between smart phones and full laptops. Me being the computer geek I am, I have all three.

Edited November 5, 2008 by BobEggshell

[ThaiLife]

Well, after 8 days the MSI Wind arrived today.

I'm impressed, this is no toy.

The keypad is superb.

2GB RAM

120 GB HD

WiFi

Bluetooth

And a Asus broadband router.

White zipped satchel.

Weight: 1.5kgs in the no-handle satchel.

6 cell Battery is good for 5.5 hrs

Cost: A$659 + del.

Cons: I should not have ordered White.

No hard copy user guide, online only.

In short, I love it !

I'm beside a motel's swimming pool tapping this out.......

Hi GD , ...... can I ask why not the '' white ''

TL

[GungaDin]

Well, after 8 days the MSI Wind arrived today.

The keypad is superb.

2GB RAM

120 GB HD

I just got mine yesterday. Did you get yours outside of Thailand? Reason I ask is my configuration is 1GB RAM and 160GB HD. Keyboard is very good and found myself typing away with little learning curve on it. I have an ASUS EEEPC 701 but it's at my office all the time, found it to be very useful as a portable diagnostic tool around the laboratory.

Also, what OS did it come with. Mine had Suse Linux Enterprise home edition which is a remarkably complete package.

http://onlinecomputer.com.au/ Sydney! Contact is Çarlos.

http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_i...products_id=797

, A$659.00 (660 x 22 = ?bt.)

O/S: Windows XP home.

cheers

Edited November 6, 2008 by GungaDin

[GungaDin]

Hi GD , ...... can I ask why not the '' white ''

TL

My mistake, I should have ordered black.

I can live with White. Easy to spot the dirt!

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Any sightings of the Samsung NC10 in Thailand yet?

I was wondering the same , Any one seen the Samsung NC 10 in Thailand ?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150182

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/computing...0-481336/review

From reading comments on other forums, it seem's that Samsung does not have good customer service reputation

and I wonder just how things would work out with buying this Samsung NC 10 here in Thailand and needing to use to Samsung customer service for some reason - could the equation be ..........

Samsung Poor customer service + Customer services in Thailand = I wish I had bought some other brand

Has any one had dealings with Samsung Customer Service here in Thailand ..?

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Coming Soon , The 8.9 inch YeeLoong Notebook

1)The world's first fully open hardware/software. All system source(BIOS, kernel, drivers etc.) are open source, no close firmware needed.

2)High performance. Tests show that our platform is among the best performance for 7"-9"ultra mobile laptops.

3)Low power. Peak power ~12Watt for SSD version.

4)Low cost. We provide very competitive price.

5)High quality. This product is designed and produced by Quanta Computer, the No.1 notebook OEM factory.

6)Rich expandablity: optional HDD/wifi/camera, internal USB connector for expansion of GPS/Bluetooth etc.

OS -Debian Linux + Lemote Education suites

Mandriva, Sunwah, Slackware, Gentoo etc.

http://www.lemote.com/english/yeeloong.html

[Tywais]

Due to my specific needs I decided to replace the Suse Linux with XP. After the installation and MSI driver installs I couldn't get the Audio device to be recognized. Did a search on the net to see if it was a known problem and came across two interesting sites. One showing the installation of Vista Home and one Vista Ultimate on the UC100 and performance testing. Surprisingly the tests show Vista outdoing XP significantly in performance and video frame rates. The frame rate improvement was explained in that XP uses only 50MB of shared memory for graphics and Vista uses 250MB.

I added an additional 1GB to the Wind giving me 2GB. I have a copy of Vista Ultimate and decided to give it a go. The installation (external USB DVD drive) was somewhat faster then XP and went flawlessly. The audio in this instance immediately worked without any additional drivers. Proceeded to install the other drivers from the MSI DVD, touch pad, System Control Manager (I downloaded the latest version), Bluetooth etc. The only drivers that wouldn't install were the Realtek Lan/Wifi drivers. Downloaded the latest from Realtek, installed and they worked perfect.

Webcam fully operational (uses the System Control Manager). Turned Wifi on and looked for our laboratory access point. Found it and entered the security key and was on the net browsing, really easy. Disabled the Wifi and plugged in a network cable and it promptly began using it and again back on the net. But the Wifi access point and our wired network have DHCP servers so zero configuration.

The Wind performance with Vista is very good, fast startup, program loads and flawless video play full screen. I have a snapshot of the Wind with a video. CPU usage while playing was around 22%, disk drive 1-2%, total memory usage around 590MB and that is with several services running and the video player. All in all I find myself quite pleased with it and happy with the performance. The screen quality playing the video was excellent. Load up 15-20 movies on an SD card (so as improve battery by not using the HD) and you're good for a long flight, well for several hours anyway. I do not have any battery life numbers yet using Vista, but both sites state that battery life actually was better with Vista.

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Tywais, Thanks for that , Whats the screen like ? sharp / crisp /colors , viewing angles etc ..?

[Tywais]

Tywais, Thanks for that , Whats the screen like ? sharp / crisp /colors , viewing angles etc ..?

The screen is remarkably sharp and bright. I have an expensive Samsung 910T and the quality has been hard to beat, but the Wind is actually sharper and brighter. Part of it is due to the pixel density is somewhat higher (smaller pixels) on the 10" MSI, 1024x600 and my 19" is 1280x1024. Actually I probably need to move the brightness down some if running on battery, but it really stands out.

Colors are very bright and accurate. Movie viewing is easy and my eyes aren't the best. Viewing angle for general use is good. I can move well off axis both vertically and horizontally before I see any difference. Have to say, Vista makes it look very professional.

[Tywais]

Just tried a Wifi speed test using our labs internal access point. Of course these numbers are beyond what one can expect at an Internet cafe, but shows no limitation on the Wind - same results as my desktop through a wired lan connection.

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Thanks for that, have you any thoughts as to what Customer care / service / help , is available here in Thailand should it ever become necessary to seek help during the warranty period ?

[Phil Conners]

Coming Soon , The 8.9 inch YeeLoong Notebook

1)The world's first fully open hardware/software. All system source(BIOS, kernel, drivers etc.) are open source, no close firmware needed.

2)High performance. Tests show that our platform is among the best performance for 7"-9"ultra mobile laptops.

3)Low power. Peak power ~12Watt for SSD version.

4)Low cost. We provide very competitive price.

5)High quality. This product is designed and produced by Quanta Computer, the No.1 notebook OEM factory.

6)Rich expandablity: optional HDD/wifi/camera, internal USB connector for expansion of GPS/Bluetooth etc.

OS -Debian Linux + Lemote Education suites

Mandriva, Sunwah, Slackware, Gentoo etc.

http://www.lemote.com/english/yeeloong.html

Hmm, after years of experience with generic Chinese products available here I wouldn't touch it.

Besides they claim they're "fully open hardware" yet using Northbridge/Southbridge chipset which I doubt is open...

[BobEggshell]

If anyone is a fan of OSX or just want to try it out. You can install OSX on the MSI Wind. I might pick one up just to install OSX.

[Tywais]

If anyone is a fan of OSX or just want to try it out. You can install OSX on the MSI Wind. I might pick one up just to install OSX.

One caveat with that is shown below.

NOT WORKING

- WiFi (see below!)

- Headphone port

- Mic port

- Internal mic

- Hibernate - native macs hibernate using EFI signals, which doesn't work on 'hackintoshes'. Still pursuing a fix for this!

Source: Paul's Complete Guide

And this comment:

and the process requires downloading some iffy hacked installers off the torrents.

[GungaDin]

Tywais

Hi, how are you doing with the msi battery?

So far, I cannot improve on 3 hrs, but it's early days yet.

gd

[Tywais]

Tywais

Hi, how are you doing with the msi battery?

What timing. I brought the unit into the lab today to specifically run a battery life test and this is my result.

Turned it on and let Vista boot up. Turned the wifi on and connected to the Internet then started a two hour long movie. I set the Wind for the medium power use level, between best performance and best battery use. Screen shutoff set to 10 minutes, standby set to 15 minutes though I never let it go into standby mode and woke the screen back up regularly. Screen brightness set to around 60-70 %.

The total time on before it shutdown was 4 hours and 15 minutes. Considering two hours playing the movie meant the processor was active from 20-30% CPU usage and the disk drive continuously streaming, I would say that was not bad. Just browsing the web I would expect 5 to 5 1/2 hours usage at least. I do have the 6 cell pack and not sure which you have. Will probably test again playing the movie from the SD drive to see if it improves.

[GungaDin]

Thanks, 6 cell here, i'm still 'curing' the battery.

You're doing well!

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Just wondering if any one with a Eee PC , can tell us how things are going and may be also offer some up to date user comments , it sounds as if the Wind is blowing in the right direction

[Tywais]

Just wondering if any one with a Eee PC , can tell us how things are going and may be also offer some up to date user comments , it sounds as if the Wind is blowing in the right direction

I was thinking about that today and was considering splitting off posts into new topics, one topic under each netBook major brand such as MSI, Acer, Asus and get members to post similar experiences that I've written about for their specific brand/model. Or if kept here perhaps a guideline like below:

* Brand & Model

* Specifications of unit

* Operating system in use and if have installed a new one, experience and gotchas.

* Operation such as Wifi, keyboard, screen usability, battery life, ease of use, limitations, things that are annoying, etc.

Just a thought.

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Just wondering if any one with a Eee PC , can tell us how things are going and may be also offer some up to date user comments , it sounds as if the Wind is blowing in the right direction

I was thinking about that today and was considering splitting off posts into new topics, one topic under each netBook major brand such as MSI, Acer, Asus and get members to post similar experiences that I've written about for their specific brand/model. Or if kept here perhaps a guideline like below:

* Brand & Model

* Specifications of unit

* Operating system in use and if have installed a new one, experience and gotchas.

* Operation such as Wifi, keyboard, screen usability, battery life, ease of use, limitations, things that are annoying, etc.

Just a thought.

I think its a good idea to sort out the ..

* Brand & Model

* Specifications of unit

* Operating system in use and if have installed a new one, experience and gotchas.

* Operation such as Wifi, keyboard, screen usability, battery life, ease of use, limitations, things that are annoying, etc.

Just seeing the crowds gathered around the Netbooks at my local IT mall , I can only see this segment growing in numbers,

as with all things Electronic here in Thailand I all way's tend to shudder at the thought of having to seek any sort of after sales customer service , especially when trying to resolve a possible problem while the thing is still under the manufactures warranty , and I would love to hear from any one who has had to seek this type of help , and just how many Valium tablets it took to keep them from committing murder

[ThaiLife]

Just been reading about the Samsung NC 10 , it certainly looks well built going by these recent Samsung NC10 dissected

photos, just click on the - News.de forums has posted a few pictures of the netbook with its top off. to see more internal photos

http://www.liliputing.com/2008/11/samsung-...-dissected.html

TL

[Veazer]

Just wondering if any one with a Eee PC , can tell us how things are going and may be also offer some up to date user comments , it sounds as if the Wind is blowing in the right direction

I was thinking about that today and was considering splitting off posts into new topics, one topic under each netBook major brand such as MSI, Acer, Asus and get members to post similar experiences that I've written about for their specific brand/model. Or if kept here perhaps a guideline like below:

* Brand & Model

* Specifications of unit

* Operating system in use and if have installed a new one, experience and gotchas.

* Operation such as Wifi, keyboard, screen usability, battery life, ease of use, limitations, things that are annoying, etc.

Just a thought.

It might also be good to maintain a single post with specs / pros /cons for each unit in table format, and maybe a photo or too.

I've had two Acer Aspire One units, but both had lousy fans so I'm going to go with another manufacturer. I'm probably going to get the large-ish Asus 1000H. The HP Mini 1000 looks great and has the best keyboard i've seen, but the 1.8" hard drive and 3-cell battery is a deal killer. I could reluctantly live with the 3-cell until HP or another party makes a bigger battery, but 1.8" drives are too slow and small for my needs.

BTW, there's a great list of netbook hacks here: http://www.liliputing.com/tag/hacks. The 9-cell MSI Wind hack was entertaining looking (last entry), i want to see that guy when he goes through airport security.

[Tywais]

For those who like to play games here is a list of some of the games that can run on the Wind > MSI Windows Games

Found an interesting site that locates videos that can be setup as comparison by entering key words in the top boxes. This one uses "MSI Wind" and "Asus EEE" as the search/comparison terms. Vidarena. The Win/Lose refers to the total number of videos found under the search.

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Thanks for the links , I am glad you pointed this bit out ...

The Win/Lose refers to the total number of videos found under the search.