Dell to launch 'Eee PC beater' today Dell is expected to unveil its eagerly anticipated attempt to out-Eee Asus' Eee PC later today at an event focused on a "new generation of mobility products". The PC giant is saying nothing, of course, beyond admitting that it will be hosting an event this afternoon - first thing, San Francisco time; that's where the launch is …
Let's just hope that it keeps to the spirit of the original EEEPC.
There have recently been lots of band-wagon-hopper-on-ers with "EEEPC beaters" that work out as follows:
* Bigger screen - because we think the EEEPC screen is too small
* Larger keyboard - because you need to be able to touch-type properly
* Faster CPU - so you can run better software
* More RAM - so you can run more software
* Big disc - we all need lots of space
* Windows (XP or even Vista) - that's what everyone wants isn't it?
* Bigger price tag - hey, all the above don't come cheap!
Er, so basically it is just a standard laptop with some marketing rubbish aimed at stealing some of the shine
As well as the 8.9 and 12.1 models that have been reported before, Dell is apparently going to be releasing a 10" one in October. I sincerely hope this lauch is going to kick prices down to we they should be. The current going rate for an Atom-based laptot seems to be around £300 (Aspire One at the lower end and Wind at the upper end), which quite frankly is too much. If Dell can bang them out for £200 they will have the market sewn up and one of these really can become a useful addition to a desktop replacement unit.
Looking forward to a BOGOF deal dropping through my letter box any week now!
So in my experience by the time you've specc'd it to be usable, cut it back down to fit your budget, realised that you can have better spec for half the price by going down a different route that gives you a special offer and finishing weeping in frustration at the order process (online or via phone in my experience) Asus will have launched another half dozen EeePC variants and you'll have to start the whole thing again!
SOMEONE JUST TELL ME WHAT TO BUY!
"""SOMEONE JUST TELL ME WHAT TO BUY!"""
Get a HP 2133 if you want something that resembles a tiny laptop instead of a big PDA. 1280x768 is key, and I still haven't seen resolution specs on the Dell. I know the Via chip blows in the 2133 (except for hardware AES, that's neat) but who needs speed these days? Distcc and a little skillful trimming makes Linux quite useable in most cases.
Anyways I'm jetlagged beyond repair right now so thats all I've got to offer. Also a HP 2133 could smash an Eee to bits and not get much more than a scratch.
May be nothing, but the Apple earnings conference call warned of lower margins and the popular 12 inch Apple laptop was discontinued two years ago and never replaced. Why?
"We have some investments in front of us that I can’t discuss with you today where we are going to be delivering state-of-the-art new products that our competitors just aren’t going to be able to match and as a result, I would see gross margins being about 30%, and that’s all I can tell you at this point."
And it starts this quarter:
"As I look forward to the September quarter, I would see gross margin being about 31.5%, down from the 34.8% as a result of primarily three factors: ... second, we’ve got a future product transition that I can’t discuss with you today ..."
These points were mentioned several times. Something's happening in the next 4-6 weeks.
How many people are absolute DELL haters...?
Regardless of the changes they might have made to their support and design in the last 2 years, it just goes to show that it's 10 times more expensive to lose an esxisting customer than get a new one...
So Dell will get new customers by entering a new market segment...
For me, I'll get one next year when version 2 is released with WIMAX/3G onboard...
Paris... ah, Paris...well because it's um, Paris right!
For all those who have moaned previously about el Reg not having reviewed the Acer Aspire One, here's the link:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/03/acer_launches_one/
Personally I'm quite please with the eee PC 4G I picked up from eBay for around GBP120 last week.
Let's see what Dell offers.
I just ran through a dummy order for an "Inspiron 1525" and the delivery fee came out at £20 inc VAT.
Perhaps the £60 fee I see people quote is for full systems and not laptops? Still pricey, I suppose, but maybe a netbook will be cheaper :-D.
If Dells machine lives up to the hype and delivers a decent 8.9" with a 5hr battery for around £200, then I'll buy one; otherwise I'm going to pick up a cheap 4G.
baby laptops!
well, according to general opinion it would seem that it's either the beefed up EEE, the 901 or whatever, the msi wind, the acer inspire one or a dell..let's see what they can muster, i hope it's SSD based.
a collection of baby laptop stories here (mostly acredited reg stories), all welcome!:
http://www.eupeople.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487
cheers,
bill
I went to the dell website (convinced that the UK site would be several months behind, I decided to hit www.dell.com).
On the front page there are 3 boxes along the bottom, ones says "Headlines"
That looks promising... So I click the picture of the 2 laptops shown at the top of that box...
"The page you requested may no longer exist on Dell.com
* There may be a misspelling in the URL you have entered
* The page or file you are looking for has been moved, retired or is no longer available"
Ahhh... normal dell service has resumed!
The URL for the curious/bored is...
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2008/2008_08_12_rr_000?c=us&l=en&s=corp
Read the not very small print behind the headlines. Here's CPW/AOL, the others won't be any different in principle.
CPW/AOL deal 1: A £300 laptop "free" with a 40GB/month broadband deal included as part of £20/month landline contract (plus BT rental). On a TWO YEAR contract. Two year revenue at CPW: £480+ (plus £300+ on BT line rental).
CPW/AOL deal 2: no "free" laptop, 10GB/month broadband for £10/month (after 3 months at £5), NO minimum contract term.
Note how the two deals aren't feature-by-feature comparable, go check the details if it matters.
Still think the laptop is "free"? I don't, though for some tiny number of people it might be "convenient" to pay for it like this rather than up front or on credit card or whatever.
i believe you are refering to:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/07/16/eb_acer_aspire_one/
which states:
"We've not had time to conduct a full review - our unit's on the way, Acer says"
@chatterbox
review? comparison with eee/wind? ultimate group test for win and justice? <puppy dog eyes>
Yes, it looks nice, but it has an HDD not flash storage. As for it being able to "smash an eee to bits", will its HDD still work? I've lost count of the number of times I've dropped my eee onto a hard floor - the screen remains open (those hinges are strong puppies), and the whole thing keeps running with no hitch.
As for those who wonder why we're not interested in real laptops - price, and size. I want something I can slot into my 30x45x10cm bag - the eee fits nicely, and I have room for a book, wallet, Blackberry and sarnie.
I wish articles would stop calling these things cheap. Small and convenient, yes. Cheap to purchase? Considering what you do get with these eg a decade old, discontinued operating system (XP) and what you don't get eg an optical drive, these things are small in size and value, not cheap. $100 laptop anyone? Pipe dream?
As others have pointed out, you can get more value from purchasing a normal laptop, but a big goofy looking laptop just doesn't have the same 'cool factor' as these ladytops. (My ladytop will be pink with a Hello Kitty theme on the case.)
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