Asus unwraps 10in Eee with 9.5-hour battery life

Asus has introduced its latest Eee PC, a 10in model that will incorporate the latest Atom CPU - the N280 - and a nine-and-a-half hour runtime. Asus Eee PC 1000HE Asus' Eee PC 1000HE: shades of Aspire One? The battery life is Asus' claim, of course, and numbers quoted by vendors are rarely achieved in real-world usage. Asus …

[Anonymous Coward]

Proof if it were needed...

...that the public do not want Linux with all these Windows XP netbooks coming out. There's not even any real argument over price as Windows XP is so cheap and most major OpenSource projects run on Windows as well.

If there is a Linux version, expect it to come out on lower-spec hardware (seems to be the fashion with these things).

[Anonymous Coward]

Look I know the weather's cold, but...

...this *IS* an Eee article - so where is she?

[Jerome]

HD?

HD capable graphics eh... that'll be handy on a 1024 x 600 screen. Please, let's have a little innovation in netbooks, they've all been identical for ages now. GPS, built-in 3G, higher res screen, touch screen... until they get some of that into a netbook, I'm happy enough with my Aspire One thanks.

[Stuart]

My partner prefers 9"

Just like the VW grew the Golf into a mid range car and the Polo into a Golf - we seem to be getting steadily more obese as the eeePc moves into middle age.

Can we have a lithe 9" variant? I really don't want my partner excited by it protruding from my pocket. Quite willing to concede a little battery life which is surely the only justification for the extra size?

[Stephen Orr]

Believe it when I see it

Just had one of Asus's Eee 900s. 7 hour battery life claimed, in practice it's about an hour and a half. I feel completely ripped off, what's the point of having a computer you can take anywhere, if that anywhere HAS to be somewhere with a mains power supply?

It's more than a little bit ridiculous that these netbooks typically have a worse battery life than their big brothers.

[David Edwards]

Agree 3g is the thing

I dont want a bigger better specced netbook I want one with 3G as by design its the thing you use on the move and leave your big laptop at home/office etc

[Kevin Whitefoot]

@AC

Well my Linux Aspire One was cheaper than the XP version and the spec was the same, I think (512MB ram, 160GB disk). GBP199 from ASDA just before Christmas. Mind you I threw out that heap of dependency errors they call Linpus Lite and now run Easy Peasy (that's mostly Ubuntu 9.10, Netbook remix). Works like a dream, pity Acer didn't contact Canonical before Linpus. Can't imagine why I would want XP, nor why I would want to pay the extra for a trifling increase in screen size. In fact if it makes the box bigger it would defeat the purpose of having a SMALL computer.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Anonymous Coward

What about those people who actually *want* linux, such as myself and a huge proportion of el reg readers! Forcing windows xp upon us is a sure fire way of making us look to other SCCs (even if most of us would wipe ubuntu off and install our own choice of distro).

I haven't booted into windows for years, and don't plan to (in fact I don't think I can - I destroyed the windows boot record by accident).

[Anonymous Coward]

@Mike

as it's cold, they could always have the "kitchen" woman, to rustle up a nice warm feeling....

[David]

Old stock

There should be a few bargains to be had with the old EEEs then. Might finally be tempted if the price is right.

[Peter Kay]

Doesn't sound that bad if they don't screw the exchange rate

It's perhaps a bit outside impulse buy territory, but assuming the battery life is genuine 9.5 hours pushes it into the realms of a pick up and put down device. The resolution and hard disk is good enough, and the whole package starts to negate the idea of finding a reconditioned Portege or X Series Thinkpad with a working battery and a warranty.

Still, that only applies if the 9.5 hours is genuine, the keyboard doesn't suck, and Asus don't screw the UK market on price. I'm not holding my breath.

[David Gosnell]

Re: Proof if it were needed...

Or proof that Microsoft have these manufacturers over a barrel if they want to keep their concessionary rates on desktop Windows.

[Rasczak]

Proof ? @ AC

And there only being Black Ford Model Ts was proof that the public didn't want red, green, blue or any other colour of car isn't it. (I know the quote about any colour as long as it is Black is a myth)

As to the lower spec comment, well if XP needs that higher spec to run to the same level as Linux on the lower spec.

[Darren Lovell]

@ Jerome

"HD capable graphics eh... that'll be handy on a 1024 x 600 screen."

Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Jerome. Incorporating HD capable graphics into a netbook will probably be done with the intention of connecting it to some sort of hi-res display, not running HD graphics on the netbook itself.

[Martin]

The public do not want Linux?

Aspire one with Linpus - £175.

Aspire one with XP - £200.

At this price level, why would anyone pay the extra £25?

[John White]

Re: Proof if it were needed... Linux is wanted

Frankly, I DO NOT want Windows XP desktop on my netBook.

I LIKE the fact that there is an OS which suits an SD drive; is solid and simple in interface - I even use and appreciate the linux Asus EEE PC for a quick input interface which does the job.

I have installed Linux distros and Windows (also Solaris and plain Debian) enough times to know I want a machine which is simple to maintain and use and is NOT a copy of my desktop PC . My Psion netBook fulfilled all these requirements (without constant OS upgrades ) for years. The new netBooks, for me, are a hardware/software upgrade on the Psion netBook. My Nokia 9500 operates like a Psion 5MX for ultra portability. The new netBooks with linux I have found to be as reliable as the Psion OS so far and the fast boot time with Linux /SSD disk is the killer, (especially if you're walking about entering info every couple of mins).

Others may want a complete Windows PC in a netBook (why with such a small screen,fiddly touchpad and delicate mechanical hard disk?) but for those who do not - an option for an OEM Linux install is perfectly valid to expect.

In fact, touchscreen EEE PC 901 + (decent) OEM linux = updated Psion netBook

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Proof if it were needed...

@AC-11:48GMT

XP? Ohhhh... you mean that MS "Operating System" that is due to go out of support quite soon now? What pray tell will you be upgrading your nice shiny little netbook to once it's gone? Vista?? Don't think so. Windows 7? I suppose it might work -- if you bought the 2GB memory and 350GB disk version anyway.

I think you'll find that the low spec machines running Linux is not an indication of Linux being poor. Rather an indication that Linux is lighter, more flexible, less bloated and providing of equal or superior performance for less investment in hardware.

@Jerome -- yes I quite like my Aspire One too.

PS: 10" and weighing a ton... a few years back this would've just been called "a laptop". I think they've lost the plot. I'd much prefer keeping the size the same and upping the screen resolution and more memory as standard personally.

[Fred]

Windows again :(

Well the open source projects that I use don't run in Windows or else I would be running Windows.

Not to mention that some of us old farts vastly prefer the types of UI found in X11 to what is available in the Windows or Mac world. If at least there is a practical option to get a refund for the useless bundled software, then it doesn't matter much.

Anyway for now my Samsung Q35, at 11" is light enough to travel with me when I need it. Of course it came with Vista (long gone) but that cannot be helped nowadays alas. I didn't try to get a refund (I should have though) because of the months of paperwork that is typically required.

[Antony Riley]

@AC 11:48

Typically the Linux variants have higher spec hardware and are sometimes cheaper too.

http://event.asus.com/eeepc/comparison/eeepc_comparison.htm

IIRC about 30% of the EEEs sold are Linux, so it's very unlikely Asus would pull the rug out from under them. (People may buy the Linux version and put pirated XP on it, I would if it was for personal use, and I didn't prefer Linux).

Windows XP volume licenses are around $25-50, which is enough to lose you sales when you're competing around the $200 - $500 mark, so claiming it's cheap is incorrect.

Regards open source projects mostly running on win32 you would be correct. Thankfully this is leading to familiarity with Linux amongst end users, which is making switching less of an uphill struggle for Joe Bloggs.

Actually having reread your post, it's so far off the mark I have to wonder if you're just phishing for people to say Linux is better than Windows (Please note that I am not saying that).

[Anonymous Coward]

@Jerome

It's supposed to be a netbook, not a full blown laptop.

You're lucky it features a graphical browser and notepad..:)

[Anonymous Coward]

SOLD!

did someone say HDMI?

Thats Going behind the telly!

If its still cheap its Sold.

Arn't Linux Versions are usually better - Higher capacity SSD's, No fees to MS etc..

[Joe K]

@HD

If you can run this into your HDTV, or a nice monitor, and use a wireless mouse and keyboard, this becomes a very nice media centre.

Just attach a USB drive of stuff, or stream over wifi, and route out to the telly.

Ace, if the processor can handle that i'll pick this up for that reason alone. Anything to ditch the din of having a tower in the living room.

[Duncan Hothersall]

@ Jerome

It might just be that the HD capability is for outputting to an external display attached to that HDMI port...

Oh, and why would you want GPS inside a netbook? Surely you're better off with an external (BT) GPS receiver so you can put it in the best position for picking up the satellite. No point in balancing your computer on the dashboard.

[Christian Berger]

No Linux no use

I mean seriously, if they put on some Ubuntu or something it would be a fully usable computer. With Windows you can barely do anything.

[K]

Yawn.....

Same crap as last year.... yawn, i'm bored!

[Anonymous Coward]

@Jerome

I'm inclined to agree, I like the look of this latest EEE and the price sounds good, but it's not enough to make me want to replace my 701 4G...

[Richard Kay]

No Linux no sale

In my case. And I will be buying a competitor that does very soon now. Linux users are more likely to want one of these things to access applications on the Net elsewhere, rather than to store data locally so why we would want the cost and battery drain of a local hard disk given flash storage sizes and prices beats me. Frankly Windows client support for ssh aware and X forwarding applications leaves far too much to be desired.

[Simon Langley]

I'm with Jerome

I paid £200 for my Aspire One. None of the laptots produced recently offers any real benefit over the machine I already have other than improved battery life but most cost considerably more than £200.

The only improvement I would really like to see (in addition to better battery life) is higher screen resolution and none of them offers that. The laptot sector has really taken off, but almost all the machine are pretty much identical with very little to differentiate them from each other.

Come on laptot manufacturers, show a bit of imagination.

[b]

i agree jerome..

same specs!

i've been waiting for something with AT LEAST a reasonable cpu and AT LEAST 700+ verticle res, but higher would be welcome..

currently got a gutless HP2133 with a very weak 1.2ghz viz cpu in it..PAH!

..decided to use it as a download-monkey instead, but i might replace the mobo if HP give subsequent models some decent beef..

cheers,

bill

p.s. stuff and nonsense: http://www.eupeople.net/forum

[Anonymous Coward]

Bah.

I'll stick with my 17" Sager. Core 2 duo @ 2.6, 1920x1200, 4gb, 375gb, 9800GTS. Runs for two hours on a charge and sounds like a vacuum cleaner, but god DAMN is it fast!

[W]

So...

...if it can deliver on price and spec, it'll supersede the EEEs 901/1000 options and be a serious challenger to the Samsung NC10, which is the currently accepted sub £300 benchmark machine. Or is it? We're waiting on that NC10 review, please, when you're ready, El Reg.

@ Acer Aspire One lovers: You say your machine gives the best bang for your buck. Not after 2 hours of use away from a power socket, it doesn't. Or if you've invested in a bigger bettery it's not such a value for money machine, compared to other offerings, is it?

[Schultz]

10 inch is good

Can pack a decent keyboard underneath.

You like your small size better? Well, size is not everything, and there are many remedial products according to my spambox ...

[Henry Wertz]

No Linux? Blah

This machine sounds great, except I will not buy a machine with Windows on it.

@First post:

"Proof if it were needed... ...that the public do not want Linux with all these Windows XP netbooks coming out. "

The company not shipping one makes no argument over demand. OTHER models that have a XP and Linux version have had brisk Linux sales.

"There's not even any real argument over price as Windows XP is so cheap and most major OpenSource projects run on Windows as well."

There's not an argument over price. It's $25-35. Or even worse on brit models, 25-35 pounds. I deeply object to sending even MORE money to Microsoft for something I will not use. Either knock a bit off on a Linux model, throw in some little extra hardware.. or hell, just pocket the $25. I'll even be fine with it just going to Asus over knowing it goes to Microsoft (PLUS Microsoft I'm sure falsely using this as proof of Windows' popularity.)

" If there is a Linux version, expect it to come out on lower-spec hardware (seems to be the fashion with these things)."

This would be OK with me. If I got one a little slower, but 10+ hour battery life instead of 9.5.. well 9.5 is already a lot, but I do not really need the "extra" speed. Maybe make a Linux one that they can get the price back down $100 or so.

[Patrick]

Cue the obligitory...

Cue the obligitory wow factor I'm impressed that using cut down hardware and small screen that they've pulled off battery life on par with Apple who are using the latest top end components from nvidia 9600 and nvidia 9400 chips and a top end 17 inch ultra Wide colour gamut LCD screen and full kit of add on gear. Good to see all that PC engineering and R&D being spent.

Now at least they've done it at cut down price which is consolation fir something.

[J]

No Linux? Not for me either.

I refuse to buy a computer with Windows. Unless I need one. Which I don't, and haven't for some 8 years, basically. So my search for a netbook, which I intend to buy this year before my annual travel abroad, will completely skip over this Asus. And since I am known to hold grudges sometimes, I might even skip over ALL Asus netbooks if they are ditching Linux on this one...

[Dave]

Yet Another Linux Vote

I'm happy with my Aspire One, Linux edition. Even the small SSD is an advantage - it means I'm less likely to fill the thing with useless apps and it provides an incentive to keep a long-term store of important data elsewhere with only a minimum amount on the netbook. I guess the only think I would have liked is an up-front option to buy the machine with bigger batteries but otherwise the Linux-spec device. The retail cost of a new 6-cell (or even 9-cell) battery is scary.

The Aspire One is what the Eee 90x should have been. Asus need to take a good look at the specs and design it to a netbook price and miss off some of the bells and whistles. Also, 10" is starting to get a bit big, I think the 8.9" screens are about right for convenient portability.

I agree with Mike - where is she?

[Goat Jam]

@David Wiernicki

I've got one of those beasts and I'm lucky to get an hour out of the battery but you are right, it is damn fast!

I can play Oblivion under wine at full res on that baby!

[Anonymous Coward]

Umm

Isn't the reason no Linux version has been announced so that they can just quote one battery life figure, rather than "Windows with 9.5 hour battery life, Linux with 7" or whatever?

I think the problem is that Asus has realised everyone hates Xandros, and they're just waiting for their contract with them to run out so they can stick a distro that isn't quite so reviled on there. All the people whining about how they want a linux version are just going to install their own distro over the stock Xandros anyway, so why does it even matter?

[Stuart Halliday]

Wait for the Next Generation

The main 2 reasons why none of these manufactures offer screens above 1024x600 is :

1. It's a major expensive for them as the LCD screens need to be specially made.

2. More pixels means more power consumed and higher CPU usage.

We'll need to wait until they run out of stock of the old screens and decide to build one with a decent amount of vertical resolution and LED backlight.

[Kevin Whitefoot]

@Stuart Halliday

The One already has an LED backlight: http://www.acer.com/aspireone/.

And the pixel dimensions are already 30% smaller than my BenQ 24 inch widescreen monitor (133 pixels per inch on the Acer, versus 94 on the BenQ, unless my arithmetic is faulty of course).

Smaller pixels are of course better than larger but much smaller and most people won't see the difference. Especially as it turns out that the people buying them are not the kids that the marketing people thought would buy them.

Surely if we want much more screen performance out of small cheap computers we should drop the screen altogether and use virtual reality goggles.

Tux because my One runs Linux (Easy Peasy/Ubuntu 8.10, Netbook Remix).

[Anonymous Coward]

So we're all agreed then...

Practically all of El Reg’s reader base (AKA The Geekdom) would prefer a /*insert your own preference here*/ version of Linux.

Now for the remaining 99% of the world’s population. They just would not give a rat’s big hairy pimpled ass! They want something that they know about, and that looks like that screen there that they see every day in their office, using the computer to be productive in their chosen career. Hmmm. I wonder which group big business would cater for?

FLAME ON!

[Anonymous Coward]

Here we go

Some of you are forgetting that the netbooks were not intended to watch movies, work with Flash development or whatever. It was made for surfing, Emailing and lught applications.

Notebook review said in their editor's choice review that at typical usage, the 1000HE can last a bit over 7 hours - about 3.5 hours or so longer that The Register's choice Samsing NC10.

For those who think there won't ve a Linux edition, there is always:

gdisk 1 /del /all /y

[or Linux equivalent]