Asus launches tiny PC

Asus has formally rolled out its Eee PC line of sub-notebook computers, a week after UK supplier RM - formerly Research Machines - spilled the beans on two of the models. The complete line-up comprises four computers. Asus Eee PC 701 Asus' Eee PC and... er... Reg Hardware reader, yesterday All four models are based around …

[Shane McCarrick]

I want.......

Thats a yummy looking piece of kit (and I don't mean the model :-) )

Not a bad price either £210 incl. VAT- its a price point where a lot of us nerdy geeks will buy one for something to play with. Where does one procure one of these sexy pieces of kit from?

[Brad]

XP on 4GB?

I suppose as long as you don't mind having no room left to do anything useful with it.

[Ben Brandwood]

Where from?

I've been looking to get one of these for a while, one for just general slumming around in the lounge web browsing, and one for the parents so they can have something cheap and easy to check their email on... Seems idea... But where from, I can't see anything on the Asus site..

[Anonymous Coward]

Where can we buy ?

Hey, im really interested in one of these.

Anyone know any links to people selling them yet, other than RM.

[Geoff Johnson]

Suntan

I'd love to see what she looks like after a few hours in the sun in that top.

[Del Merritt]

Smurf?

I'm holding out for a bright blue case.

[bertie bassett]

'disposable' laptop?

I want one - I want one...

Like lots of people on here I do IT support .. I really like the idea of the HSDPA/WiFi equipped machine provided I can get it to VPN and run remote desktop connections (I'm sure SSH is a breeze)

so if you're away for the weekend (in my case sailing/windsurfing) then you can chuck it in the car and pull it out if needed..plus isn't it the ideal holiday laptop for backing up/displaying those photies and doing the odd bit of webbrowsing - like checking snow reports...

It'll probably be on my xmas present list...

[Alex Taylor]

XP on 4GB ... yes!

Some time ago I worked in a school where a whole room of computers had failed Maxtor hard drives all at the same time.

As a stopgap, I ended up putting 3.2GB drives in some of them just to keep them going ... loaded with XP Pro SP2, Office 2003, and a bunch of media player type software. It fitted into just over 2GB.

[Tony]

Storage...

Who cares it has no 'proper' storage when SD cards, USB flash drives and CD-R writers are so cheap these days.

Go out, do a whole load of stuff, fill the flash memory. Connect to your network at home and dump it all out or put it all on a CD. Machine is ready for next time you need it.

Surely they could have got Paris to model that thing on a beach?

[Dan Germain]

listed for purchase on the RM site

http://www.rm.com/Primary/Products/product.asp?cref=PD1030046

4GB £199 available from 01-Nov

[truetalk]

where to buy

Here http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=Asus_Eee_PC

[Giles Jones]

Clove pre-order

In reply to the guy asking where to buy, you can pre-order one here:

http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?product=9136E4FD-2F3C-4289-84A9-4B96ED813B9D&category=GROUP4

[Geoff Mackenzie]

ASUS product detail page...

I wonder if the Linux operation system [sic] is really compatiable [sic] with XP...

[Paul]

nanobook is better

the nanobook is better for not much more, so I think I'll wait... or, get a Nokia N810 internet tablet instead when that comes out.. or maybe get the Fujitsu U810/U8240 thing... decisions decisions!!!

[Philip Cheeseman]

@ truetalk

That asuslaptop deals bad. Its only the 256Mb version - clove do the 512Mb version for roughly the same price.

[dave]

I really don't see the point

For just a little bit more money, you can get a vastly superior laptop, or a mildly inferior PDA. Either has advantages that pale this silly novely into insignificance.

[Simon Brown]

XP on 4Gb

XP on 4Gb works if you slipstream the latest patches and bloat-grades (like an upgrade but upgrade contains the word "up" implying upward movement, improvement, progression, augmentation of the system to make its performance better rather than a bunch of crufty hacks to work around chasms that shouldn't have been designed into the OS in the first place).

[Bart Wempe]

ye gods.. it's a laptop, not a PC

if it's not a desktop model, it's not a PC.

That one was settled in the 80's ffs.

[Eric Van Haesendonck]

Strorage: room for expansion

I think you really have to consider the built-in storage as rerserved for your OS and any extra application you might want to install. For data storage I suppose you can use the SD slot or you can use an USB thumb drive. With 4 Gb cards and sticks widely availlable and 8Gb ones in the works I don't expect storage to be an issue. 4 GBs just for the OS and apps should be OK if you consider that winXP and most linux distros come on one CD.

What i would like to know however is if you can add extra apps to the built-in linux distribution and how big are the repositories? If I can install a few favorite applications such as Qcomicbook it can be a great little machine.

[Anonymous Coward]

XP?

Why the hell would anyone want to put XP on it?

...madness!

[Robin Mosse]

asuslaptops.co.uk

appear to be offering a 2G/768Meg one as well for another £12

[Phil]

RE: where to buy

Just nick hers when she goes for a dip.

Fiver says it's hidden under that mat

[Sergiu Panaite]

Nice model!

Where can I get one?

I'm still thinking about the tiny laptop/PC though, I'd rather upgrade my desktop first.

IGMC

[A. Lewis]

Me want!

Gimme one now! :)

I've just found a decent forum with a lot more info at forum.eeeuser.com for anyone else who is interested.

[Anonymous Coward]

Storage...

for extra storage, you can add an external hdd in a usb enclosure. But for checking email or reading webpages this isn't really needed. I'm sure soon, we will have a hdd/battery expander backplate for this system. Theoretically all you need is some plastic and standard components.

Btw, someone said it's not a pc. It has a vga and usb ports, so you can place it on a desk, plug in a monitor and keyboard+mouse. I'm sure that would make it a pretty nice and quiet system. (and it's cheap too) Running linux means it can be modded without too many problems, unlike hardware running locked down unix versions like the iphone.

[brendan]

4G

4G is the name not the size of the hard drive. It has a 8gig flash drive

[Andy]

Just needs...

A cd rom

I have a nice touch screen tablet at home, but with no CDrom I cant isntall an OS to it, so its sat there (PXE booting linux distro's is above me)

Svideo out

I know VGA is mroe important but just think with Svideo it would make the perfect device for streaming to a TV

Apart from these they look brill tempted my self to be honest.

[Steve]

Nice

Most of the time I travel with a laptop it's for reading mail, surfing, connecting to something bigger, and doing presentations. That looks like an excellent solution & a lot lighter to carry through airports than some 15" widescreen monstrosity. Dear Santa...

[Phil Endecott]

Tiny screen, poor battery life

All the publicity photos for this thing show it from behind, so you can't see how small the screen is. It takes up only a portion of the lid, with big gaps down either side. There were rumours that they were planning a version with a 10" 1024x768 screen, which would be more usable.

And a battery life of less than 3 hours is silly. Making it small means that it's ideal for use "on the go", yet you can't actually "go" very far before it packs up.

[Nìall Tracey]

Not a PC? What does PC stand for?

At work, other people used to use my desktop.

At home, other people used to use my desktop.

When neither at home or at work, I used someone else's desktop. (eg the Cybercafé's)

When I got a work laptop, only I used it.

When I got a home laptop, only I used it.

The laptop is now the only truly "Personal" Computer.

[Alex Walsh]

XP on flash drives

You're advised to run a special distro of XP if you're using a solid state drive, otherwise the drive life is very very short :)

[Stu]

Eeek!

Well thats a class bit of side-boob, and I suppose the machine looks great in that photograph when I could take my eyes off the hot chick.

But then you look at the RM link that Dan Germain gave us, and it looks like one of those half arsed 'my first laptop' kiddy toys that you need those little plug in cartridges to add new apps to, and doesn't let you do anything with the files but print them to a parallel port.

What kind of a screen bezel do you call that? Its gigantic!

Rubbish imho.

P.S. The smiley icon is for the hot chick.

[Anonymous Coward]

Even better...

... if you have Sling too, so it' do all the above plus give you access to your TV while you're travelling as well.

Def on my list...

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorted!

Thats it - I'm gonna get one and one for the kids, one for the wife, one for the father in law, my neighbours, my pets and casual acquitances.

An easy way to convert them to the power of open source.!!.!!

[Anonymous Coward]

On t'other hand...

... if you just want one for non-work use (web, email, uploading pics etc), get a Nokia N95 instead. Far more portable and its not like the screen's much smaller. Saves you carrying an iPod, phone, camera, camcorder and a laptop. And GPS. And you can watch your Sling content on it.

Er, apparently it does phone stuff too. Does the job imho.

[Groz Bat]

At last...

...an ultra-light laptop that is actually *cheaper* than a normal one!

Crucial questions:

1. Can I listen to BBC radio with it?

2. Can I access and listen to MP3s on my home network?

I want to listen while I'm taking a bath :)

[Bill Coleman]

what's it for?

maybe I'm just not the target demographic, but I'm missing the point of this device. Web surfing, email on the go blah blah... my phone can do that - and it fits in my pocket. OK, this will do it better then my phone and will run linux, windows or whatever. But it's no real laptop replacement. What would I actually use it for? Answer: email. and web. and eh, email. For that price I'd go the extra mile and hack me an iPhone that won't get sand in the keys! ...maybe if i was writing a book on the go it would be useful.

[Haku]

I likey

I've been recently mulling over the idea of getting a portable computer, a laptop is physically too big, a smartphone/pda is limited in functionality, a UMPC appears to be ideal.

This Asus UMPC looks very nice for the price, but only no harddrive is a bit disappointing when they could've increased the size very slightly to accomodate a 1.8" single platter. BTW the screen res is 800x480.

The nicest looking UMPC I've seen, both looks and specs, is the Fujitsu LifeBook FMV-U8240, but where can I buy one?

[Steve]

Fake photo?

Interesting how everything in that publicity shot casts a shadow...

...except the PC :)

[John Stag]

Just what I need!

...and I for one AM talking about the girl.

[Matthew Smith]

laptops in the 80s? You mean the Z88?

It's not a PC. It's a PC compatible.

[Paul Daniels]

Might convert people to linux.

The joke is this thing has more grunt than my home server, that I pxe boot a couple of LTSP clients from (400mhz 256MB). Admitted, the server has a few hundred gig more disk. One of these beasties 3G network card for the road and it's the ultimate road warrior tool. With a solid state drive, you dont have to sleep it or hibernate it while your on the go.

Now, how can I get one in AUS?....

[alistair millington]

it's so pretttttyyyy

Given the pricing in this country is rip off britain, this is one extra thing that makes me want to risk the pathetic US imposed hurdles for a quick trip to new york shopping. (Bend over, Cough, DNA and Finger prints, your life history, mums pet cat's DNA etc etc)

Once in a life time, go over max a credit card and buy all those things I can't get here without a second mortgage.

I want one of these a I am just wanting a little laptop for the web and typing stuff while sat in a comfy chair.

Must be a conspiracy, silly prices here to get us to go over there to shop... helicoptors... anyone else hear them???

[Rich]

RE: XP on 4GB?

Why not.

There are many utilities (e.g. nlite) that allow you to create your own customised CD of XP, provided you have a proper licenced one. It allows you to cut out a lot of stuff you dont need i.e. drivers, games, services etc.... The foreign languages takes up about 100MB alone.

[Allan Rutland]

XP on 4GB

As others have said, XP can shrink very nicely. We use XP embedded a lot, and with plenty of tweaks, even leaving in IE and WMP you can quiet easily get XP down to a 62MB install. It's all a matter of how ruthless you want to be at removing things, and what other things you then want to add...Java etc is a right pain to add. Don't expect Vista Embedded anytime soon though :P