Review of Asus Linux-Based Eee PC 701 227
Bongo Bob writes "CNET.co.uk has up a review of the Asus Eee PC 701 that runs Linux. According to the reviewer. 'It's hard to fault the Eee PC, mainly because of its price. It can be difficult to use because of the cramped keyboard, but it's better than similar-sized laptops like the Toshiba Libretto. If you're in the market for a second PC, or looking for something you can take with you almost anywhere, the Eee PC is definitely worth buying.'"
Smalll inexpensive linux thin client - fantastic! (Score:3, Interesting)
Being solid state - i'm thinking that this thing will be ultra quite too.
Student market (Score:4, Interesting)
Asus Eee PC 701 vs. Alphasmart Neo (Score:3, Interesting)
What about installing fave Distro? (Score:2, Interesting)
Fantastic niche market machine (Score:2, Interesting)
There's a 15 minute response time so I can normally just throw the laptop in the car boot - as a result I've got a fantastic 17" laptop which is great for working on. But it's more luggable than portable. The occasions when I'm going to be more than 15 mins from the car, it's a real pain carrying a laptop weighing over 4 kilos.
I've been in the market for an ultra-portable for the last year. All it needs to do is run Putty, have a web browser, and VNC back to the office for any specialist applications. It'll probably only be used once or twice a week - and by used I mean carried around with me just in case - it'll get switched on less than that. Finally got something on the market at the right price.
Re:...but will it run Vista? (Score:2, Interesting)
Eclipse (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Alphasmart makes me sick. (Score:4, Interesting)
Part of the reason why the machine had an "outrageous" price is mostly because it's a specialty device manufactured in small quantities, and AlphaSmart provides a whole lot of support to their purchasers. They never intended to market the device to end users: it was designed, marketed, and sold primarily to the educational channel. A lot of the larger educational customers weren't paying full list for the product, but even so, it's been priced at under $500 for quite some time.
The Neo is currently $219, which seems totally in line with a mature product based on a low-end 16-bit CPU (IIRC, the Neo is a 68000-derived chip) and Flash memory. While the parts might be $10.. I don't know if you've ever done small-run production before, but it would not surprise me if it cost them (today) $50 per unit to build at a typical job shop. That margin is totally in-line with a lot of other specialized electronics.. you think the $3000 plasma sets at Circuit City cost more than $600 to make? They don't.
Additionally, AlphaSmart used to be very "friendly" with repairs and returns. A lot of the cost of the device included after-sales support. I worked in their repair shop (at least a number of years back, they did ALL of their repairs here in the US), and you'd be surprised what kids can do to these things in an educational environment. Often times, we'd be rebuilding machines for free, or for parts-cost if it was a broken display. We also refurbed the units for schools on a regular basis (send us your entire stock, and we'll clean them up, put the latest software, etc.) dirt cheap.
Lastly, to AlphaSmart's credit, the machine isn't a sloppily assembled Chinese piece of crap toy. It is sturdily built, well thought out, and well supported by the company...
Re:Student market (Score:4, Interesting)