PC World pips Asus to UK Atom sub-laptop premier PC World today claimed to have beaten Asus to the punch by launching the first Small, Cheap Computer in the UK equipped with an Intel Atom processor. Advent 4211 PC World's Advent 4211: out ahead of the Eee 901? PC World's own-brand Advent 4211 sub-notebook is essentially MSI's Wind rebadged. It's got a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, …
Funny that, I bought mine yesterday and it's with DHL right now.
Certainly a cursory google search turns up lots of people that have bought one in-store. Perhaps they ran out of stock, and the next expected delivery is the 7th, rather than it not being launched at all.
Got one at PC world yesterday. Firstly its got windows XP on, but with 80GB hard drive should be easy enough to dual boot linux. Someone has already installed MAC OSX on it.
Secondly no it isn't a graphics power house but thats not what I want. I want something small enough to put in a satchel, read the web, get emails and read ebooks on. Also sometimes I may want it to do some work. I've already installed wireshark on it and it runs fine.
Thirdly £279 is not a bad price. It is cheaper than the EEE 901 but the same spec, only £50 more than the aspire(whenever that comes out) but the cheapest aspire version has only a 8GB flash drive, no bluetooth and a poorer WiFi. Best of all it is £50 cheaper than the MSi wind which it is, rebadged. So in that respect it is a bargain.
Dislikes? Well only a 2200 MAh battery so you won't be away long from the power socket for very long, but hopefully that could be upgraded later. Its not much of an issue for me.
I have had this PC for two days. I and two other colleagues bought them from PCWorld Lakeside. I have ditched my ASUS 701 and am now using the Advent which has a much better keyboard and screen display with only a small increase in overall dimensions and weight. Bottom line is that with it running XP (which is very snappy on it) with 80GB storage it is a compelling buy.
Heya!
In case anyone gets one of these, use these wifi drivers (as found on msiwind.net forums here; http://forums.msiwind.net/general-discussion/who-has-wifi-problems-with-their-wind-t764.html) they are a newer release than the ones on windows update, and should clear up the incredibly irritating dropped connection problems
http://www.mediafire.com/?0mt1y2cdxzj
What is the problem with this exactly ? It's actually cheaper than an MSI Wind (at least the price Expansys) cheaper than an ASUS EeePC 901
Certainly looks tempting, the Acer also looks good but no bluetooth and an awful touchpad kinda ruins it.
Not a fan of Advent stuff or PC World in general but if it's a rebadged Wind then who cares ?
Just for future reference before you write an article about availability try checking stock on PC World's web site ;)
Advent branded computers hold a special place for me. They are the only brand of computer where my experiences (or those of the owners) has been universally awful. As I write, I see my partner's ex-laptop and the various USB and Firewire ports that all failed one by one. I see the enormous air vent, that would spew hot air at a rate and temperature that could weld battleship armour. I recall the realisation that this laptop is a frankenstein disaster of desktop and laptop parts, badly thrown together.
Mostly, I recall the experience of trying to track down drivers for the beast. Any sense of after sales support is wholly absent for this, and every other Advent machine I've come across.
For these reasons, I never fail to mention Advent machines when people ask me about what machine to buy.
A steal. And that's for the 80G XP version.
Pity about the tiddly 2200 mAh battery but still good value.
Looks much nicer than the eee900 I saw a few weeks ago
The question is can I buy the XP version and simply upgrade it to Linux?
I understand that the MSI Linux is SuSE Linux - but probably a tweaked version for drivers etc. I suppose it should be possible to get hold of a copy of MSI SuSE OS installation disc.
Anyway nice to see the race to the bottom has started
Asus, Acer,and now Advent (all the As?)
There will be some price movement. I expect the similar spec eee901 will now have to be about the same price or they wont sell any.
............and then MSFT will come under pressure again
Predictions: 9inch Netbooks (any make) for around £250 and eee701 either dropped or selling for around £175 by the run up to next Christmas.
I was struck by Dave's comment about comparisons with PCs of 5yrs ago.
I've done loads of windows rescue rebuilds in my time.
People are always amazed how much faster they run just after a fresh rebuild, even an old machine.
But guess what, after a few months, its back down to a snail's pace.
Why? A combination of crapware & dodgy games (being installed for and/or by kids) and ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE.
Another prediction: Piles of unused XP Netbooks in cupboards/ebay etc because they have become unusable and the owners have gone back to a 'proper' laptop.
Machines like these NEED Linux - precisely BECAUSE there is less of this stuff and (arguably) no need for antivirus sw - to keep running like they did out of the box
"Why is it that we all have to put up with pre-installed windows bollox and we can't have a machine that has nothing on it or better still - A FREAKING CHOICE !"
Because three fat unwashed nerds isn't much of a market. And no-one else is gonna pay *more* for a PC w/out an OS on it than one that'll run their existing apps *even* if doing so stops the Baby Stallman crying.
"People do not buy those device despite of Linux, but because of Linux."
You reckon? Got any proof for that claim? I mean, it's not like PC World's full of blokes with Cheeto-stained T-shirts and neck-beards...
The whole point of the original EEE PC (I have a 4G 701) is that it is robust and reliable. I have just switched to Desktop from 'East' mode and connected it to a nice 16" LCD and full size Logitech keyboard creating a nice desktop setup. The 901 with 20G of SSD and Linux and a decent battery will be perfect. The only benefit the Advent has over the EEE is the keyboard. But the forthcoming EEE PC 1000 solves that one.
Here's a mad idea. Those who want a small laptop with XP can buy this. Those who want a small laptop which has Linux can buy the EEE PC.
If you want a Linux Advent/Wind, then buy the XP one, format it, and install Linux. The saving the Advent offers over the Wind RRP is more than the XP license anyway. Write it off. Or dual boot.
Because there are now quite a few options here in this market, there should be something to suit everyone.
I finally ordered a laptop last week (the gbook from walmart for $379) I am almost as opposed to walmart as I am the Microsoft Tax but after many years of delaying a laptop / notebook purchase because of refusing to support Microsoft and their dirty tactics I could finally buy a laptop / notebook without financially supporting them. (I know that high-end laptops have been available for quite a while with Linux instead of Windows but this seems to be the first I found that provides the economies of scale / mass market without being subject to the MS Tax...)
I am also keeping my eye on the developments with the EEE 901, the MSI Wind, Everex Cloudbook, and Acer Aspire lines...
I seem to remember a while back that someone bought a Dell laptop with XP pre-installed and refused to accept Microsoft's T&Cs. After a bit of a struggle with Dell he was refunded the price of the Windows license and either installed Linux or used a Windows disk he had already paid for.
I'd be interested to know if you could do this with the Advent and bring it's price down further. Annoying PC World would be an added bonus ....
@ The freetards...
For an OS that has just 2-3% (and dropping) of the desktop market and for some pretty valid reasons...Gnome/KDE = shite, distro fragmentation (I mean, how many variants of Ubundoo do we really need, and please don't give me some crap about choice, that doesn't even begin to forgive the distro mess) the racket and demands their greetin' faced evangelising bairns make about not having to pay the MS tax always makes me pish ma self with laughter.
So why not take this to the ultimate end. If you're fed up with paying the 'tax' why not demand that you have a freetard BIOS so you're no payin' out a fraction of the cost of the machine to AMI or Phoenix or whoever in licensing....oh and how about the licenses on all the proprietry hardware and microcode on the mobo's. Or how about having a wee moan and greet aboot how awful Intel are for dominating this particular niche with their Atom processor.
FFS...grow up. You're all just the OS equivalent of the chattering classes, me, I'll stick with a machine with XP. You never know when some freeturd breaks the upstream distro and like hey seeds in a broken crypto lib.
MS are such an easy target, but how do you know your shiney new toy isn't being boxed up by slave labour and employed in factories with shitty workers rights? How about having a wee protest about that instead and choosing a manufacturer that gives a shit and has a social conscience?
Yeah...grow up, go have a life, get a girlfriend, have sex, drink beer, have a wash and get outa yer mummies basements and see the sun and the real world once in a while.
Oh finally....I bought an Asus EEE 1000H with XP cos I neither give a shit about MS abusing their monopoly position (they pay my wages, and rather handsomely too) nor do I care about the exploited workers who boxed and shipped my new toy to the UK in some ozone destroying cargo plane or boat. And you know what I love to rub it under the noses of all you politically correct brainwashed opensource plastic bag recycling bozo's. Oh hell yeah!!!
In the words of Daniel Plainview "I'm finished now".
That works out to about US$560, which is below Asus's price for the Atom version of their Eee laptop (they need to work on that name, BTW - it brings to mind images of housewives standing on kitchen chairs when a mouse shows up). The Atom-packing Eee runs a bit more than US$600.
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