Reactions to story from Notebook and Laptop Reviews

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  Asus Eee PC 900 Review

  http://www.portable-anime.com/archives/363
  9 hours ago in Portable-Anime · Authority: 1

  I’ve had this netbook for about a month now and it’s been great so far. I know the Eee 900 has already been reviewed many times before by reputable sites (it’s even discontinued after a few months after release!), but I just want to toss in my two cents.  You can find a more thorough review with many pics over at NotebookReview.com. Build and design The build quality is pretty decent for a netbook in the budget price range.  The plastic enclosure seems sturdy enough to get the job done.  It feels like a cheap kind of soft plastic material.  I guess you can think of a plastic soda bottle being compared to a tupperware container, with the Eee being the plastic soda bottle. Design wise, I really like the 900 design over the 901.  Asus announced that they will soon be releasing the Eee 900A, which has the enclosure of the 900 but with an Intel Atom processor inside.  I was hoping they would include a larger hard drive, but knowing Asus, they will dilute the Eee brand to its fullest and I may actually get what I want: a 900 enclosure design, Atom processor, and 80GB hard drive. Screen It’s awesome and spaceous.  I can view most websites without having to sidescroll.  Most sites automatically adjust the width so the page will fit just right with any sized screen.  The matte finish on the screen makes it slightly grainy, but I think it’s better than having a glossy that is a fingerprint magnet screen.  Viewing anime on the screen is very nice and the 1024×600 resolution almost perfectly fits the 16:9 widescreen format.  There are two small black bars at the top and bottom and are barely noticable. OS and Software I’ve played around with the Xandros Linux OS and was left disappointed by the lack of updates and applications available in the repository.  Everything worked out of the box just fine, but I wanted more than what was already available.  I also had difficulty installing wifi drivers when I attempted to switch to Ubuntu and had no luck there.  Sadly, I had to install XP and was hoping to be freed from the iron grip of Microsoft.  Either, there’s not enough driver support for Linux distributions or that I’m just too stupid for Linux. Speakers I’m pretty surprised by how well it sounds.  I expected low quality speakers in budget laptops, but this one sounded good dispite the location of the speakers are located on the bottom.  The echo effect on hard surfaces helps with the volume and base a little, but using it on soft surfaces, such as your lap, will muffle the sound. Keyboard It’s funny how the Palm Universal Keyboard has larger keys, but is only an inch longer in length than the Eee 900.  I’d say that Palm’s keyboard would be a good size for a 10″ netbook.  The keyboard is indeed cramped on the 900 at first, but I got used to it after a few weeks.  Also, I have to say that the the keyboard is the poorest quality component in the Eee.  Some keys feel more flimsy than others.  There is a lot of wobble or flex in some the keys.  It just doesn’t have a sturdy feel when typing.  The spacebar has an uneven level in height and other users at the eeeuser.com forums also have the same issue. Touchpad Multitouch is alright.  I don’t really use the zooming/rotating function, so I don’t see the hype in multitouch.  I did program the trackpad to function going backward and forward in the browser by tapping two or three fingers, so that was neat. One thing I didn’t like about the touchpad is that I prefer single finger scrolling and wasn’t able to enable it on the Elantech touchpad.   Using two fingers to scroll just feels like a waste of energy (yes, I am lazy but practical).  Plus notice that our fingers have different lengths?  I have to use my middle and ring finger to comfortably scroll and I don’t like that.  I can’t scroll comfortably with my pointing and middle finger or I’d end up having hook shaped fingers. The touchpad/mouse buttons are pretty stiff and hard to press.  It would’ve been better if the mouse buttons were seperate and easier to press.  Tapping the touchpad to left-click alleviates this weakness, but not for right-clicking. Heat and Noise The 900 does get very warm when plugged-in or running off battery.  It runs almost hot even, but it doesn’t get hot to the point of burning off fingerprints.  Bad for summer, great for winter. Noise wise, the 900 is pretty silent.  The fan turns on when the netbook gets hot (o’rly?), but is not audbile when in public.  The fan can be heard in a dead silent room though, but it doesn’t bug me or I can just drain it out with some music. Wireless Works great.  The connections are strong.  I use the Atheros client utility in X, but it doesn’t automatically switch to available wifi networks.  For example, I use my wifi at home but the netbook still searches for my home wifi when I’m at school trying to connect to the campus wifi.  I would have to manually switch to the campus wifi.  Not a big deal though. Battery Battery life could be better.  I get about 2 to 2.5 hours, maybe 3.  I’m still not exactly sure, but I’ll keep you all posted.  Battery life certainly does feel short though.  I usually have wifi on constantly with 30-50% brightness.  I have the 4-cell 5800mAh battery (lucky me, I feel bad for UK users) in the 900 and am thinking of getting a larger battery.  I probably won’t because I plan to find a netbook with a 10″ screen and 6-cell battery.  I would say a 4 hour minimum battery life would be ideal and I mean 4 hours with wifi on.  I don’t like the marketing gimmick by the companies declaring 5+ hour battery life, but that’s without wifi on.  I mean come on, who uses a netbook without wifi on?  It’s called a netbook for a reason. Conclusion I’m pretty satisfied with the Asus Eee PC 900, however it is still not my ideal laptop.  I originally wanted a netbook with a 10″ screen and a larger keyboard than the Eee 900.  I can live with the speedy SSD, but the 4GB drive for the OS and 16GB for the secondary drive is a terrible decision by Asus.  I know they made that decision to keep costs low, but a traditional mechanical 80GB drive would have sufficed. If anyone has any questions about the Asus Eee 900 or other netbooks, feel free to ask by leaving a comment or by posting on the forums. Score 8 out of 10
• 

  Asus Eee PC 900 Review

  http://laptuoso.com/168/asus-eee-pc-900-review.html
  18 days ago in Laptops · Authority: 9

  Asus Eee PC 900 is a low-cost ultraportable laptop. Along with a 8.9-inch 1024×600 display, the offered EEEPC900-W017 model features Intel’s Celeron M 430 processor at 1.7GHz, a 12GB solid state drive, 1GB of RAM, and a built-in 1.3MP web camera. The 2.5-pound Asus EEEPC900-W017 runs Windows XP Home operating system and comes in white color. The specifications sheet says that Asus Eee PC 900 battery run time is around 2.5 hours. Asus Eee PC 900 Reviews CNet reviews the Asus Eee PC 900 and writes: The good: Bigger screen in same small package; new touch pad gesture controls; long battery life. The bad: Not as much storage space as the Linux version; same old Celeron CPU as original Eee PC; keyboard just as cramped. The bottom line: The 9-inch Asus Eee PC 900 adds a bigger screen and a larger capacity solid-state hard drive than its 7-inch precursor, but the new price has passed the point of an impulse purchase. Rating: Very good, 7.5/10. Notebookreview reviews the Asus Eee PC 900 and writes: Conclusion At a $400 price point the original Eee PC was still a fantastic deal … a practically “disposable” travel laptop. Now, as more and more companies begin releasing their own mini notebooks, the price keeps increasing with only a modest increase in features. The Eee PC 900 would be a “can’t miss” deal if Asus sold it at the same $399 price point as the original Eee PC 4G. Unfortunately, at the current street price of $550 to $600 we have a hard time recommending the Eee PC 900. In short, if you’re in the market for a low cost travel notebook the original Eee PC 4G is still a great notebook. We’ll pass on the Eee PC 900 at its current price. Pros Small and light Reasonably well built and durable Flash-based storage Nice multi-touch touchpad Cons Too expensive for what you get (particularly compared to original Eee PC) 12GB of storage isn’t a single drive (one 4GB drive and one 8GB drive) White plastics “look” cheap The battery meter isn’t very accurate (reports low battery or AC adapter unplugged even when that’s not the case) Temperatures are a little too hot Rating: N/A. Trustedreviews reviews the Asus Eee PC 900 and writes: Asus has done a brilliant job of updating an already great product. The engineers have clearly listened to all the comments regarding the original Eee PC and attempted to put them right. The 1,024 wide screen makes the Eee PC 900 a joy to use, especially if you spend a lot of your time in a browser window. The extra memory and storage are also very welcome additions, and help make this version of the Eee PC a real alternative to a fully featured notebook. Yes the price is higher than the previous model, but I personally believe that the Eee PC 900 still represents staggering value for money. Ultimately, if you want a notebook that’s small, light and still very affordable, the Eee PC 900 should be top of your list. Rating: 8/10.
• 

  Eee

  http://mobydik.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/eee/
  39 days ago in My alter ego · Authority: 2

  Tegenwoordig blog ik op vanop de trein. Terwijl ik vroeger in gedachte mijn overpeinzingen samenvatte op het openbaar vervoer, en later dan ook elke keer vergat, kan ik nu alles meteen noteren op mijn gloednieuwe microcomputer. Asus eee is de naam van het nieuwe hebbeding, 20cm klein, wit en supergoedkoop voor een computer. Ideaal om ’s morgens een ebook te lezen of een aflevering futurama te zien, en om ’s avonds op te bloggen. Een volledige review ga ik niet geven, die zijn er genoeg over heel het interweb, maar toch een paar puntjes; De eee is klein, en dus handig om mee te nemen. Alleen is het toetsenbord dus ook mini en bijgevolg niet makkelijk te bedienen. Het multitouch touchpad – ook gekend bij de macbooks - is superhandig in gebruik. Waarom steken ze die dingen niet overal in? Op de trein ben je niet online. Buiten de uitzonderlijke onbeveiligde wifi’s moet je jezelf dus offline kunnen amuseren, en dat is moeilijker dan verwacht. Ik haal mijn feeds binnen in Google Reader, die ik dan via Gears offline kan lezen. Maar doorklikken in een blogbericht kan natuurlijk niet. Mijn agenda word elke keer automatische gesynct wanneer ik thuiskom, dus ik kan mijn Google Calendar wel gebruiken. En een tekstje zoals dit bijeentypen lukt natuurlijk altijd in StarOffice, maar ik dacht dat WordPress ook gearsondersteuning had ingebouwd… Om het kort te houden, het heeft zijn minpunten, maar het is het geld meer dan waard! Te koop bij ‘the phonehouse‘ of laptopshop.be voor 350 euro, spijtig genoeg alleen de winxp versie. Berichtje aan de mensen van asus: Belgen kunnen ook Linux!
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  7 tester av Asus Eee PC 900 att läsa innan köpet

  http://blogg.tkj.se/7-tester-asus-eee-pc-900/
  57 days ago in Tommy k Johanssons blogg om datorer & Internet · Authority: 159

  Funderar du på om Asus Eee PC 900 är ett bra eller dåligt köp? Det gör inte jag - jag är rätt övertygad om att det är ett bra sådant, men nöj dig inte med min subjektiva åsikt. Här har jag samlat ihop sju olika bra gjorda tester av den ultraportabla minidatorn. De kommer att ge dig en bra bild över Asus Eee PC 900:s för- och nackdelar! Trusted Reviews Asus has done a brilliant job of updating an already great product. The engineers have clearly listened to all the comments regarding the original Eee PC and attempted to put them right. The 1,024 wide screen makes the Eee PC 900 a joy to use, especially if you spend a lot of your time in a browser window. The extra memory and storage are also very welcome additions, and help make this version of the Eee PC a real alternative to a fully featured notebook. Betyg: 9/10 Hot Hardware Asus has done a good job with the Eee PC 900.  Almost all of the things that we - and virtually everyone else - like about the Eee PC 700 have been improved upon in some way, shape or form - except for the price. Betyg: Hot Hardware Recommend Notebook Review Last year our editorial staff was absolutely amazed by the original Eee PC. The original Eee PC finally delivered something that many consumers have wanted since laptops first arrived on the market: an extremely portable laptop with reasonable performance for travel at an extremely low cost. It’s a shame that Asus seems to have forgotten the original idea behind the Eee PC. Betyg: Ej angivet C|Net The Eee PC 900 is a likeable update to the Eee PC 701. We’re disappointed its keyboard is still so difficult to use, but the addition of a larger, high-resolution screen, multi-touch mouse trackpad and better storage gives it the edge over just about all of its rivals. It falls slightly short of a wholehearted recommendation due to the mooted touchscreen version and the huge likelihood that Asus will begin using newer Intel Atom CPUs, but for those who can’t wait, it’s a fantastic purchase. Betyg: 8,7/10 Bit-Tech.net The Eee PC 900 is an exciting little laptop on the surface but, when you break it down to the basics, it isn’t all that dissimilar to the original Eee PC – and that throws the whole thing into a state of confusion. What has the Eee PC 900 got going for it? Well, there’s more memory, more storage capacity and a larger screen. That’s it really and, while the trackpad is nice, it doesn’t anything fundamentally important to the Eee PC. Betyg: 9/10 PC Pro We’ve no doubt that many people are going to hail the Asus Eee 900 as another rip-roaring success and, at least in some ways, we’d tend to agree. But before you rush out and buy one, bear in mind that it’s not without its issues: battery life is pretty poor by ultraportable standards; there’s still not that much storage space; and chubby-fingered users are well advised to try before they regret their buy. Betyg: 5/6 Wired Asus’s long-awaited 9-inch (well, 8.9-inch) version of its groundbreaking Eee PC 4G arrives with all the familiar trappings installed … only this time it’s a little bigger — in more ways than one. Not only is the screen bumped up from seven inches to nine, the RAM is doubled (from 512 MB to 1 GB), the solid state storage system jumps from 4 GB to 20 GB, and, of course, the price takes a leap, too, hitting the $550 mark. Betyg: 8/10 Andra bloggar om: Asus Eee PC 900, Asus, Eee PC, Asus Eee PC, ultraportabel, bärbar PC, bärbar dator, tester, test, review, recensioner, minidator (Intressant?)
• 

  LAPTOP!

  http://xinhuiakaapple5.blogspot.com/2008/06/laptop.html
  62 days ago in ` no words can describe how much I love you ` · Authority: 1

  Deardear's thinking of buying a laptop. For his school work and his project work with his buddies. Also, he says I can use it for my school stuff as well. Hee. The most important function for us in a laptop now, is portability! It has to be light enough. That's why he is thinking about the Asus EEE PC or the HP Mini. Based on looks alone, I'd definitely get the Asus. Lol~ It's so chio! But ultimately, I'd listen to what Deardea wants to get, since he's more knowledgeable at computer stuff. Anyway, we're going to take a look on Sunday~ Btw, I just changed my blogskin, again. =x Enjoy.
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  I’ve sold my Asus Eee 4G. What now?

  http://www.dougbelshaw.com/2008/05/28/ive-sold-my-asus-eee-4...
  93 days ago in dougbelshaw.com · Authority: 111

  I’m a bit of a sucker for gadgets. I keep telling myself that I should hold out for the second generation of things, but I just get carried away again and again. That’s not to say that I don’t buy quality stuff; quite the opposite in fact. Yesterday I sold my Asus Eee 4G to @moodlehotpotato (Mary Cooch) after a brief Twitter chat, Skype chat and Paypal payment. It wasn’t because it didn’t serve a need - it was because there was so much potential there I wanted something that could fulfil that need to the max! There’s many sites and blogs that have waxed lyrical about the Asus Eee 4G. From a teacher’s point of view, this is what I liked about mine: The size and weight mean I can carry it one-handed from one classroom to another. As I teach History in my classroom and ICT in various other classrooms, this is great. Internet connectivity is great: wi-fi is painless to set up I could take it to meetings instead of a pen and paper. My use of it makes staff and students alike want one. It makes the school purchasing a set more likely. It runs a version of Linux customised for that particular device. Anyone who’s used OSX on an Apple computer knows the difference this makes… So if it’s so great, why have I sold it? Well, three reasons: The screen, whilst useable, is a bit small. Newer models have 8.9″ screens instead of 7″ which enables them to utilise a 1024 pixel-width resolution. This makes all the difference when web browsing. Who designs sites for 800×600 in this day and age? (my web stats show that less than 2% of visitors to this site, for example) It hasn’t got Bluetooth built in - I purchased a micro-USB dongle, but it was a hassle to setup. I want things to be straightforward. Newer models have Bluetooth built-in. Battery life, whilst acceptable at a shade under 2 hours in normal use, could be better. Newer models, based on Intel’s Atom processor, promise to drastically improve on that. So what am I going to buy? Well, a post about 4P Computing over at OLPC News (Price, Performance, Portability and Price) showed that only three met the criteria for a true Netbook: 4PC Name Power Perform Portability Price Asus Eee PC No Yes Yes Yes Classmate/2Go PC No Yes No Yes Elonex One Yes Yes Yes Yes Everex Cloudbook Yes Yes No Yes HP Mini-Note PC No Yes No No Norhtec Gecko Yes Yes Yes Yes OLPC XO-1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Of those, the Elonex One only actually has a 300mhz (must have been a mistake), the OLPC XO-1 is garish and not easy to come by in the UK, and the Norhtec Gecko only has a 7″ screen. It was obvious that I was going to have to cast my net wider, which is where the Low-Cost Laptop Cheat Sheet over at Laptop Magazine proved helpful. I’ve taken off the column about US availability as well as removed any that aren’t available in the UK (at least not according to Google Product Search). Finally, I took off any that had 7″ screens, changed the price to GBP, added the Asus Eee 900 and HP Mini-Note, and reproduced what’s left of the table below: Laptop Name Price Operating System Processor Storage Display Size Webcam Asus EeePC 900 ??329.99 Linux/Windows XP 900 MHz Intel Celeron-M ULV 353 12GB SSD (WinXP) 20GB SSD (Linux) 8.9″ 1.3 megapixels HP 2133 Mini-Note ??349.99 Linux/Windows Vista Via C7-M 1.2Ghz 120GB HDD 8.9″ 0.3 megapixels Asus EeePC 901 ??499.99 (pre-order price, likely to be c.??400) Linux/Windows XP Intel Atom 8GB SSD (WinXP) 12GB or 20GB SSD (Linux) 8.9″ 1.3 megapixels MSI Wind ??334.95 Linux/Windows XP Intel 945GMS Atom 80GB HDD 10″ 1.3 megapixels I paid ??219 for my Asus Eee 701, so as you can see my next purchase is going to cost me at least 50% more. But which one shall I choose? Here’s the main positive/negative points about each one as far as I can see: Asus EeePC 900 Advantages: Available now, multi-touch trackpad, lightweight, same size as 701. Disadvantages: No Bluetooth, 901 coming out shortly. Reviews: TrustedReviews PC Advisor CNET NotebookReview.com HP 2133 Mini-Note Advantages: Sleek metal body, WXGA screen, huge hard disk, optional Bluetooth, available now. Disadvantages: Some users complain of fan noise, processor quite slow. Reviews: Laptop Magazine Brighthand Gizmodo Lightning Review Notebooks.com jkOnTheRun (video-based review) Asus EeePC 901 Advantages: Bluetooth, Intel Atom processor (improved battery life). Disadvantages: Potentially expensive, not available now (early June). Pre-release specs: I4U (unconfirmed) MSI Wind Advantages: Bluetooth, 4-in-1 card reader, 10″ screen, Intel Atom processor (improved battery life). Disadvantages: Not available now (early June), likely to be significantly bigger than Asus Eee. Pre-release specs: PC Advisor The Verdict It looks like if I’m going to buy now, it’s the HP 2133 Mini-Note or the Asus EeePC 900. If I can wait until mid-June, I’ve got the option of Netbooks with the new Intel Atom processors - namely the MSI Wind and Asus EeePC 901. I’ll probably wait. But if I don’t, then here’s the HP and Eee 900 head-to-head: Feature HP 2133 Mini-Note Asus EeePC 900 Dimensions (WxDxH) 25.5 x 16.5 x 3.3cm 22.5 x 17 x 3.4cm Weight 2.63lbs (1.27kg) 2.2lbs (1kg) Screen size 8.9″ WXGA 8.9″ Processor Via C7-M 1.2Ghz Intel Celeron M ULV 900Mhz Memory 1GB 1GB Operating System Linux or Windows Vista Linux or Windows XP Battery Life c.2 hours c.3.5 hours Storage 120GB HDD 12GB or 20GB Bluetooth Yes No WLAN 802.11a/b/g 802.11b/g Keyboard size 92% 80% Multitouch trackpad No (scroll zone) Yes Webcam 0.3 megapixel 1.3 megapixel ExpressCard/54 slot Yes No SD card reader Yes No Case Anodised aluminium Plastic I reserve the right to make a carefully-considered, well-researched impulse purchase…
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  Asus EEE lanseras i Sverige

  http://peko.se/blogg/2008/05/25/asus-eee-lanseras-i-sverige/
  96 days ago in Frihetens vingar · Authority: 46

  Asus EEE lanseras i Sverige May 25th, 2008 Jag tror att vi kommer se många fler enkla lösningar med flashminnen såsom Asus EEE. Här nedan ser du att det också går att få in Windows XP på datorn (varför man nu för allt i världen skulle vilja det). Kolla också in Notebookreview om Asus EEE PC 900, Notebook review att tweaka Asus EEE. Det som är graverande är ju snabbheten. Tekniken innebär dock att vi får snabbare och mer trådlösa nätverk. Varför kan vi inte kräva ett gratis trådlöst nätverk i Stockholm av våra politiker? De verkar ju inne på att vara världsklass enligt deras vision. Borde vi inte då vara världsbäst att använda trådlöst nätverk? Jag misstänker dock att politikerna mest är inne på att vara världsklass på visioner än att verkligen genomföra dem. Jag kommer dock att fortsätta hetsa de och se till om vi inte kan förbättra skolan enligt deras vision. Jag påminner återigenom I Stockholms Skolplan kan vi läsa: “Modern informationsteknik erbjuder nya möjligheter för kunskapsinhämtning och individualisering. Ett av stadens åtaganden är därför att genom IT i skolan medverka till att de enskilda skolorna ökar såväl sin pedagogiska kompetens som sin tekniska kapacitet vad avser IT.” Det rimmar dåligt med deras sätt att kontrollera skolornas IT-Utveckling med ett taskigt nätverksystem som är urslött och ett undermåligt kommunikationssystem som är inlåst mot Microsoft och Tieto Enator…i alla fall till 2010. Dela med dig:De här ikonerna leder till bokmärkestjänster där du kan dela med dig och upptäcka bra webbsidor.
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  Good laptop reviews of the week: Asus Eee PC 900, Toshiba Satellite M305 and more

  http://optimitza.cat/news/2008/05/18/good-laptop-reviews-of-...
  103 days ago in news about laptops and computers - optimitza.com · Authority: 2

  Good laptop reviews of the week: Asus Eee PC 900, Toshiba Satellite M305 and more May 18th, 2008 Here you have the laptop reviews I have found this week: Acer Aspire 8920G (18.4″): Laptop Magazine. Asus Eee PC 900 (9″): Notebook Review, PC Magazine. Asus U2E (11.1″, with SSD): Trusted Reviews. Asus M70S (17″, sporting 1 TB hard disk): Notebook Review. Alienware Area-51 m15x (15.4″, with Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTX: Digital Trends. HP Compaq 6720S (15.4″): Notebookcheck. Lenovo Ideapad U110 (11.1″): Geek.com. Toshiba Satellite M305 (14.1″): Notebook Review, Digital Trends. Tags: review Posted in laptops, review
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  Buenas reviews de portátiles de la semana: Asus Eee PC 900, Toshiba Satellite M305 y otros

  http://optimitza.cat/actualidad/2008/05/18/buenas-reviews-de...
  103 days ago in noticias sobre portátiles e informática - actualidad en optimitza.com · Authority: 1

  Buenas reviews de portátiles de la semana: Asus Eee PC 900, Toshiba Satellite M305 y otros Mayo 18th, 2008 Aquí teneis las reviews de portátiles que he encontrado durante esta semana: Acer Aspire 8920G (18,4″): Laptop Magazine. Asus Eee PC 900 (9″): Notebook Review, PC Magazine. Asus U2E (11,1″, con SSD): Trusted Reviews. Asus M70S (17″, con 1 TB de disco duro): Notebook Review. Alienware Area-51 m15x (15,4″, con la Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTX: Digital Trends. HP Compaq 6720S (15,4″): Notebookcheck. Lenovo Ideapad U110 (11,1″): Geek.com. Toshiba Satellite M305 (14,1″): Notebook Review, Digital Trends. Compártelo Tags: review Posted in portatiles, review

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