I've carried laptops around, and found them cumbersome and time consuming - the temptation is to carry your full desktop around with you, and eventually this takes a toll on the boot up and close down time which can be frustrating when time is limited. Laptops and motorcycles are not natural partners either, and my personal lappy soon displayed clearly that it was not intended to be carried in a pannier where it was shaken contantly.
I've tried a smart phone, but couldn't get along with the tiny keyboard and tiny screen. Fine for people under 40 years, but frustrating when your eyesight begins to deteriorate.
The Eee is the size of a paperback, with a real keyboard and touch pad. Mine has an 8gb solid state disc, and 512mb of memory. It runs Linux, but also ships with drivers should I wish to convert to
Windows XP. It's my first experience of Linux, and I've been very pleasantly surprised it covers all my needs for a mobile device, reading Microsoft word and Excel etc. The bundled messenger type app, Pidgen fires into life using and log in details, but doesn't support video messaging, for that you need to have Skype, which works well and has the added advantage of being able to call landlines if credit is purchased.
Connectivity has worked well everywhere apart from at home, where it refuses to connect to my wireless router, provided by my ISP Be. Be do not support Linux, and so cannot offer any advice and the web interface is tightly locked down. I'm reluctant to change this because there are other Windows based PCs running quite happily. Connection using a 3G stick worked surprisingly well. I had anticipated problems, but the Eec has software that recognises the device and connects, so I'm happy. I should point out that I've tried the wifi on different routers and it always connects as it should, so the incompatibility is with my equipment.
The Asus support was first class, responding with a series of solution, which didn't work, and concluding with an offer to have the device returned to them, but because the issue is with my Thompson router, I don't think that would achieve anything.
Everything is geared to online use, and I was impressed by the online storage facility providing what appears to be 1gb of free storage, integrated into the filing system, and accessible from any PC with internet access - useful for important documents.
With the device being solid state, and tiny, it should withstand the rigours of travelling by motorcycle - I'll revisit after the summer and review with a few thousand miles on it!
If I can't live without wireless at home I may try the upgrade to XP, but Windows demands much more memory, so while I gain by having access to Windows probgrammes, I lose in processing power. I haven't investigated upgrading the RAM yet, as I'm quite taken with Linux.
Update.
After trying all th esuggested fixes with the Asus version of Ubuntu operating system, I could not get the device to communicate with my Thompson 586 router. I tried to ignore, but like a itch you cannot scratch something had to be done. It came in the form of Eeebutu netbook mix, a different Linux O/S, that with the help of an external DVD drive went on smoothly. It connected to th erouter immediately.
Eeebuntu had a very different feel to the original O/S, but there were downsides. The sound drivers were very inferior, and because of this, using the built in mike/camera for Skype was a dissapointing experience. After a few days it began demanding a password that had not been set - a programme callled Keyring which alledgedly managed passwords began locking me out. I re-installed and this time was very meticulous over the passwords used, but once again it began asking for a password that had not been set. I had one more course of action before I embarked on an exploration of Linux development, and that was to try Windows XP. I had wanted to avoid this, because with a limited hard drive of 8GB, the resources were scarce. I had already upgraded to 2GB ram, and in view of the password problem, I decided to give it a go.
XP installed, using a version from a deceased PC. The Eee was supplied with Windows drivers. Everything worked, and worked well, albeit slower than the Linux alternatives. After the intiial installation, just over 4GB had been taken by XP, but then the dreaded Windows Updates began to arrive. The 4GB has now expanded to 6.8GB, but it's still working well.
If I had the time and enthusiasm, I'm sure the glitches with the two versions of Linux could have been addressed, but it's not something I would want to spend my time on at the moment. I'm waiting delivery of an 8GB SD card and I may re-install directing as much as possible on to the card, if the remaing gigabyte of the C drive shrinks much more. With Windows it works terrifically well, but a larger hard drive would have been welcome.
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You will receive 1 high quality Rechargeable Battery,100% fits!Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery ... more
(brand new merchandise in original packaging)This high capacity rechargeable battery definitely disposes of more power than the battery which was included in the...
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You will receive 1 high quality Rechargeable Battery,100% fits!Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery ... more
(brand new merchandise in original packaging)This high capacity rechargeable battery definitely disposes of more power than the battery which was included in the...
Postage & Packaging: £3.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
You will receive 1 high quality Rechargeable Battery,100% fits!Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery ... more
(brand new merchandise in original packaging)This high capacity rechargeable battery definitely disposes of more power than the battery which was included in the...
Postage & Packaging: £3.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
You will receive 1 high quality Rechargeable Battery,100% fits!Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery ... more
(brand new merchandise in original packaging)This high capacity rechargeable battery definitely disposes of more power than the battery which was included in the...
Postage & Packaging: £3.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Small, good battery life, easy to use, great for wifi, built in webcam. Disadvantages: Linux makes it awkward for non techies to install new software, no bluetooth
excaliburuk 15.07.2008 (16.07.2008)
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Review of Asus Eee PC 701
Advantages: Small, good battery life, easy to use, great for wifi, built in webcam. Disadvantages: Linux makes it awkward for non techies to install new software, no bluetooth
excaliburuk 15.07.2008 (16.07.2008)
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Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Asus Eee PC 701
Mar 12th, 2009
(Apr 17th, 2009)
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