sagephotoworld.com Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I was thinking idly about a travel laptop when I saw the Asus EEPC advertised. At $400 it is certainly small and I do like the solid state hard drive. I'm holding off on buying one though as I don't feel it's a worthwhile investment of $400. Don't get me wrong - I can see a place for a tiddler like this - just not until it gets down to $150 though. What are your opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zane1664879013 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 You pay extra for "small". There isn't anything of comparable size for $400, so unless that small size is important to you spend $550+ on a larger laptop with a faster CPU, more RAM, and larger screen (and Vista, unfortunately). The only disappointment I see with the EEE is the battery life. It really should be longer given the small screen and solid state drive. The second spin of the EEE should be out later this year--it might be more attractive to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pldove Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 My brother just got an EE and I thought "why not just get a used fullsize laptop?" Then I saw why. It's really a nice computer - at its price it's a steal, as far as laptops go. I'm frankly impressed with the build quality, especially after reading all the ninnynet FUD about its cheezy construction. Good image, too. If you need a bigger screen, then don't consider it. If you're considering something that small - and I am now for some occasional applications - it's definitely worth a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I've used that ASUS unit - a friend recently purchased one. My first thought: not too shabby for checking e-mail and some quick casual web surfing. But for those of us that are really visually oriented, the low-resolution display would feel like something of a limitation. The internal drive is solid state (cool!) but very small. After the operating system and apps have their way, there's perhaps 1 longly GB of storage available. So, no chance to use it as image storage. And of course: it's running Linux, so forget most of your familiar desktop apps. It's just a matter of knowing how you'd use it. I think that if the display were about 200 pixels bigger on a side, I'd be very tempted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 It's OK but it's neither fish nor fowl. It's too big for what it does, and too small to be useful. I'd get an iTouch for the same money or less. I got one for my daughter and it's super for browsing, can be used for music, of course, and is basically an iPhone without the phone. And you can stick it in your pocket. If you really need a laptop for serious work, then this doesn't seem to be the thing you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Applebook 80gb drive i gb mem $1100. Runs CS3 jut fine. This is my travel machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_leonin Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 It depends on what you need. The eeePC (and forthcoming Everex Cloudbook (this weekwend) are good for surfing the internet and checking emails on the road, and as a "passthru" device where you can plug in your media card reader into one USB port and an external hard drive in the other. Another option is the Fujitsu Lifebook U810 (a full-on Windows laptop) -- but at roughly $1000; a new model using a 6fGB SSD will be coming out soon. This one actually has a CF and SD media card port, and USB ports as well. There are many so-called UMPC's in the market. However, if all you need is a photo storage device, then a dedicated PSD is obviously cheaper. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_leonin Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 a new model using a 6fGB SSD s/b 64GB SSD... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagephotoworld.com Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 I like the size a lot. Combine that with a portable pocket hard drive and you have something you can use to view and transfer your photos. If you think there'll be problems with viewing under Linux then there's Picassa (which runs under Wine) and various Linux offerings based on Dave Coffin's RAW importer. You can even run XP on it if you so desire. The drivers are all present. My only bone of contention is whether I'd use it enough to merit the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAPster Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 If you want something in that size range, I would suggest getting a Lenovo IBM Thinkpad, like a model Z51. I recently acquired one of these at a bargain price ($450), and feel like I got a great deal. It's got Centrino Duo dual processor so it runs apps just as fast as my AMD Turion 64x2 Gateway laptop. The Windows Vista Business Edition o/s has been solid, though I admit I keep loading the latest updates all the time. My Thinkpad only has 1GB RAM which "bare bones", and not to be recemmended. Better to start with 2GB, and upgrade to 3GB asap. Since I only had 1GB RAM I actually had to go into the Services List and shutdown a number of system services to free up more usable RAM. Now, it only takes up 65% of that available 1GB RAM! :) My only complaint about the Z51 is that the built-in finger-print scanner seems to be a joke. No matter how I tried holding my fingers, the laptop didn't like it, and said 'try again'. So, I've given up on that feature for now, though I may come back to it later. The rest of the unit has looked, felt, and run SOLID. They really do pack a lot of engineering into a Thinkpad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_margolis Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I actually thought about the Asus as a travel laptop but decided against it. Obviously there are some upsides like size and weight but it has two big drawbacks for me: [1] There is not enough space to store photos so an external drive is necessary [2] You can't operate any good image processing s/w with it. In the end I paid a bit more but got a lot more. With a 250Gb drive, I have lots of room for photos and I have an external drive for backup. Also, there is the benefit (for me anyway) that I can run PS on the laptop with 2Gb RAM, saving me time later. If all you care about is internet, I can see where Asus has a winner. The downside is when you want anything else with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagephotoworld.com Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 I can see the Asus as being a winner for a roving photojournalist but only if they make improvements to it. A larger hard drive is essential. It needs at least 32GB and preferably 64GB. Other than that it's just something to play with on a plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_dawson1 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Depends what you want. I am writing this on my eee which I got last week - and I am away on holiday. If you want something that enables you to view photos, back them up to an external hard disk, do word processing, and browse the web and email - all in a really easy to carry package - it's just about perfect. If you want to do heavy duty image processing, or you don't mind a bigger, heavier machine, or you never leave home, there are better alternatives. You wouldn't want an eee as your only PC, but it doesn't take long to become addicted to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagephotoworld.com Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 That was my interest. How many USB ports has it got? Which OS do you use on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_ Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 For travel email and web browsing, an eeePC would be perfect. Wouldn't have to sweat leaving my MacBookPro in the hotel room... www.citysnaps.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagephotoworld.com Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 For transatlantic flights it would seem idea plus I could probably shove it into the Canon backpack together with all my gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles_pugh Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 It's expensive but I take the small Vaio with me on trips. I get a great idea about the shots I took the same day and am able to edit out the junk. It only weighs 2.8 lbs so not only gives excellent resolution but also is very lightweight. Unfortunately, it runs around $2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagephotoworld.com Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Yes. I've seen them. I had one in to fix when I was working as a computer technician. It was a nice little thing but for the price too expensive for casual use and too small for regular use. The lady that owned it said she bought it in New York on a whim then never used it because it was too small. That's what I'm having trouble with about the Asus. It's small which is great for travel but as I don't travel more than a few days of each year, is it really a justification for spending $400 on something that's going to be out of date in 6 months? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorke Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 I just bought one to drag pix (and audio) onto a little La Cie ruggedized drive. Spent a month earlier this year traveling while carrying a 17" Macbook Pro to do the same job -- insane, the Macbook was the largest and most fragile thing in my pack (probably the most expensive too, neck-n-neck with the 5D). Eee + card reader + pocket HD seems like a great travel alternative to the Canon & Epson offerings (okay, it won't take Canon batteries) -- plus it's a web device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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