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Fuzzy Logic Should you buy an Asus Eee 901 PC?
Fuzzy Logic Should you buy an Asus Eee 901 PC? | Should you buy an Asus Eee 901 PC? |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Monday, 23 June 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 3 Well, buying now or waiting is the AUD $649 question. When the original Asus Eee 701 came out at AUD $499, plenty of people snapped it up fast. Featured Whitepaper
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The original model has now fallen to $479 in price, which is only a $20 discount, although it has been seen on ‘clearance sites’ like Catchoftheday and Zazz at prices up to half the recommended retail. The reason why the Eee 701 was so popular to begin with is because it transformed the cheap subnotebook into an appliance, especially when loaded with Linux which, generally speaking, doesn’t require massive Internet Security programs to slow everything down. Of course, when you replace Windows XP or Vista with Linux, you then need to learn a new operating system, find new drivers for equipment you own that you probably don't have a Linux driver for on the disk that the hardware came with, and learn how to re-configure things to suit your needs, but with so many web based applications from Google and others, making the switch to a Linux environment has never been easier. And it’s the new crop of subnotebooks that is now getting all the attention. The Asus Eee 901 has better specs and a bigger screen, and only costs AUD $179 more than the 701. There’s also the HP MiniNote 2133, an AUD $899 computer which even comes loaded with Windows Vista, a keyboard that’s 92% the size of normal keys (and much larger than those on the Asus 701, 900 or 901), and a 1280x768 screen resolution on an 8.9-inch screen. The MiniNote really needs an Intel Atom processor instead of the Via C7M it has installed, which is a bit slow, especially when running Vista. I loaded Ubuntu onto the unit I’m testing, and it runs much faster, but the reality is that a new version of the MiniNote will appear in a few months with a Via Nano processor, which promises faster performance than even the Intel Atom, but will probably also come in an Atom configuration. But it does get the keyboard right - while the keys are obviously 8% smaller than regular notebook keys they are much larger keys than those on the Eee PC and are easier to get used to, faster. Acer is launching the Aspire One, and Dell is launching the ‘E’ series and while both promise to run on the Intel Atom and be inexpensive, they’re not on sale yet in Australia. Another contender is the MSI Wind. Due to sell for US $499, it will compete with the upcoming Asus Eee 1000H computer, which will sell for US $649. Both feature a 10-inch screen, a bigger keyboard, and hard disk storage, with the 1000H packing 80GB. Both units will sell for less than AUD $1000 and will create even more price competition. Continued on page 3. |
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