Anybody checked out the Eee PC?

[Aaron Sumner]

The tiny, cheap laptop from ASUS is a hit, from what I hear--I ordered one today. Has anyone else looked into these as an alternative to standard Windows/Mac laptops?

[Aaron Sumner]

By the way, for anyone still checking this site--I bought one of these guys and would be happy to give you my three cents.

[Sara Hoepner]

Hey, as I am procrastinating doing school work here--I looked at this online. Cool. Are you liking it?

[Aaron Sumner]

No. My biggest complaint is the keyboard size. I can show it to you on Monday.

[Benita]

Almost a year late ^_^
I bought one several months ago and it is great for travel but had only an 8 GB memory card.
I like the fact that you can store files externally but the programs that my files need to use to run take up far more than the 2 GB internal HD.

I am now saving to get one of the newer models that has a larger internal hard drive storage so I can use it for even more things when out and about.

Once clients get over the ooo's and ahhh's of the PC's size, they like being able to see samples of designs, even flash animated content. It gives them a visual to see while we make notes on modifications or the creation of their web sites.

In all, the mini PC is a fantastic addition to a web or graphic designers tool-set.

[Aaron Sumner]

Benita, do you have the eeePC or one of its competitors? Which OS are you using? I don't like the eeePC I have now but have been meaning to take a look at HP and Dell's offerings.

[Benita]

Hi Aaron
I have the Asus EeePC. I know the keyboard is tiny but that is to be expected with a tiny laptop. It is NOT something I would use for everyday work use.

I had mine reformatted to use the XP OS and also had mini versions of Office and a few other programs installed on a SDHC card so I can open and use the programs.

The price of the Dell and HP mini PC's is still to high and Asus is building more friendly models. The mini PC is still so new that changes and enhancements are always happening.

[Jennifer Gibson]

My husband got one last year but it wasn't long before we invested in new "real" laptops for us both as well.
The Eee is cute, lightweight and very portable and does have more functionality than most phones/pdas; you just have to be willing to compress what you're doing or it can make a great "commuter device" as far as plugging into a monitor & external drive setup in different sites.
The lack of power (and resultant speed and graphics limitations), space issues (customize your OS install to save space but you'll still not get much out of the internal memory), and screen size make it no replacement for a decent desktop or true laptop to me though. Of course realize I'm both a packrat and a gamer, so I find the more robust capabilities of my HP special edition widescreen worth its rather significant weight.