Asus 'eee' mini laptop

[magnetman]

The biggest consumer of power on my boat is the laptop computer .

 

I've seen a miniature laptop at PC world called the ASUS 'EEE' and it seems to be 9 volt and about 1 amp power draw which is a lot less than a standard PC type laptop. I think it would be a good device for internet use. some of them are Linux OS which apparently makes them tricky to set up with a USB dongle but some of them are windows XP which is alright maybe those ones use more power .

Has anyone tried one? They are a bit small and lack a hard drive but for internet use without downloading they should be okay and the reduced power consumption would make quite a big difference to the charging regime.

 

I quite fancy one.

[Serendipity]

The biggest consumer of power on my boat is the laptop computer .

 

I've seen a miniature laptop at PC world called the ASUS 'EEE' and it seems to be 9 volt and about 1 amp power draw which is a lot less than a standard PC type laptop. I think it would be a good device for internet use. some of them are Linux OS which apparently makes them tricky to set up with a USB dongle but some of them are windows XP which is alright maybe those ones use more power .

Has anyone tried one? They are a bit small and lack a hard drive but for internet use without downloading they should be okay and the reduced power consumption would make quite a big difference to the charging regime.

 

I quite fancy one.

 

Those dongles are quite Linux friendly now - I had to look into it for a client, but then the eee XP version came out so got him that instead. It won't use more power.

 

In turn, I was going to get myself one, and then the Advent came out (XP) which is larger screen, proper hard drive, nicer keyboard, and all round better industry reviews. I've been very pleased with it, but use it with a mini inverter on the boat.

[twocvbloke]

The biggest consumer of power on my boat is the laptop computer .

 

I've seen a miniature laptop at PC world called the ASUS 'EEE' and it seems to be 9 volt and about 1 amp power draw which is a lot less than a standard PC type laptop. I think it would be a good device for internet use. some of them are Linux OS which apparently makes them tricky to set up with a USB dongle but some of them are windows XP which is alright maybe those ones use more power .

Has anyone tried one? They are a bit small and lack a hard drive but for internet use without downloading they should be okay and the reduced power consumption would make quite a big difference to the charging regime.

 

I quite fancy one.

 

I haven't seen an XP EEE (could be the Desktop version), but the laptop, well technically Notebook, is very power efficient, they have Solid State hard drives (no moving parts, size varies with each model), no optical drive, built in WiFi, expandable via USB, basically a very good little internet browsing tool, it also comes with a reduced version of OpenOffice I believe, so you can use it with your regular MSOrifice files...

 

So, if you're interested, go for it, I thoroughly recommend it (going by the high praise from an EEE owner!!!)...

[magnetman]

Those dongles are quite Linux friendly now - I had to look into it for a client, but then the eee XP version came out so got him that instead. It won't use more power.

 

In turn, I was going to get myself one, and then the Advent came out (XP) which is larger screen, proper hard drive, nicer keyboard, and all round better industry reviews. I've been very pleased with it, but use it with a mini inverter on the boat.

the Advent sounds interesting, I guess if you are using an inverter this is because the machine is running on a voltage above 12v?

I currently use a Philips 'sub-notebook' with Windows Vista (nightmare) and it does cane the batteries.

for the next 15 months I'm tied to a Huawei E169G USB dongle on 3-mobile excellent "High Speed Downlink Packet Access" coverage as it happens but would that definitely work with an XP version of the 'eee'?

[Marc Harris]

I have one.... (the 701 model)

 

Bought it at launch with linux loaded onto it, and replaced that with Xp within a week. The default OS is okay for browsing t'interweb, doing the office basics etc.

 

It's now our media centre, running through a 32" LCD screen with 5 x 300gb usb hard-drives for storage!

 

It's 11w power draw is awesome when we are out cruising, and it's power is enough to watch HDTV (x.264 720p encodes) through the tv when we are in the marina.

 

Mine will hapilly overclock to 1.1ghz, which is more than enough power to run most things (even some older 3d games) at decent speeds.

 

If the 7" screen is a little small, then look at the 900 or 901 model (901 has the new intel atom processor, which is a little slower at some things, and a little faster at others - but with much less power usage). The 701 model can squeeze 1024x768 onto the little screen, but it does get a little "blurry". 1000x600 res is very good though.

 

http://forum.eeeuser.com/index.php

 

Has an absolute mine of information, tips, tricks, and guides about the 'lil wonder!

 

Go for it......

 

Marc.

[Chris J W]

for the next 15 months I'm tied to a Huawei E169G USB dongle on 3-mobile excellent "High Speed Downlink Packet Access" coverage as it happens but would that definitely work with an XP version of the 'eee'?

 

Assuming it's bog-standard XP then you shouldn't have any issues.

 

Have you thought about downgrading the Philips machine? I keep thinking about doing it with my Tosh laptop, but then I think about the migration nightmare and have a sudden attack of 'can't be arsed'.

[magnetman]

I have one.... (the 701 model)

 

Bought it at launch with linux loaded onto it, and replaced that with Xp within a week. The default OS is okay for browsing t'interweb, doing the office basics etc.

 

It's now our media centre, running through a 32" LCD screen with 5 x 300gb usb hard-drives for storage!

 

It's 11w power draw is awesome when we are out cruising, and it's power is enough to watch HDTV (x.264 720p encodes) through the tv when we are in the marina.

 

Mine will hapilly overclock to 1.1ghz, which is more than enough power to run most things (even some older 3d games) at decent speeds.

 

If the 7" screen is a little small, then look at the 900 or 901 model (901 has the new intel atom processor, which is a little slower at some things, and a little faster at others - but with much less power usage). The 701 model can squeeze 1024x768 onto the little screen, but it does get a little "blurry". 1000x600 res is very good though.

 

http://forum.eeeuser.com/index.php

 

Has an absolute mine of information, tips, tricks, and guides about the 'lil wonder!

 

Go for it......

 

Marc.

 

will a Linux version work with my Huawei E169G USB modem? I have read some of the eeeuser things and it seems you might have to be a bit of a wizard to get it to work which is why I was thinking of the windows XP version.

 

this one looks interesting:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Asus-Eee-PC-701-lapt...id=p3286.c0.m14

[Serendipity]

the Advent sounds interesting, I guess if you are using an inverter this is because the machine is running on a voltage above 12v?

I currently use a Philips 'sub-notebook' with Windows Vista (nightmare) and it does cane the batteries.

for the next 15 months I'm tied to a Huawei E169G USB dongle on 3-mobile excellent "High Speed Downlink Packet Access" coverage as it happens but would that definitely work with an XP version of the 'eee'?

 

Don't know - I'm just using a tiddly inverter 'cos it's easier for now.

 

That Huawei works perfectly with Linux/Mac, and will certainly work on the XP eee. Unless you prefer Linux, there's not much point going for it on the eee since MS threw their weight in on this 'new' version of XP for netbooks (after previously announcing XP's end of life date). It was done because they could see the threat from the rising popularity of these devices all running Linux.

 

 

will a Linux version work with my Huawei E169G USB modem? I have read some of the eeeuser things and it seems you might have to be a bit of a wizard to get it to work which is why I was thinking of the windows XP version.

 

this one looks interesting:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Asus-Eee-PC-701-lapt...id=p3286.c0.m14

 

 

That's the old 7" screen - hope your eyes are better than mine

 

Edited to say:- A common comment is that a lot of web pages don't fit properly on the 7" screen and you have to scroll around to see them properly.

Edited September 4, 2008 by Serendipity

[Marc Harris]

will a Linux version work with my Huawei E169G USB modem? I have read some of the eeeuser things and it seems you might have to be a bit of a wizard to get it to work which is why I was thinking of the windows XP version.

 

this one looks interesting:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Asus-Eee-PC-701-lapt...id=p3286.c0.m14

 

Hmmm.... you might have a bit of trouble getting the E169G to work in the default linux... looks like the E220 is the easy to use one on linux.

 

Having said that, if you do buy a cheap linux model, it takes about 30 minutes to put XP on it if you need to. It's not at all hard, just requires a 1gb+ usb drive, or usb cd-rom.

 

Marc.

[Robbo]

The biggest consumer of power on my boat is the laptop computer .

 

I've seen a miniature laptop at PC world called the ASUS 'EEE' and it seems to be 9 volt and about 1 amp power draw which is a lot less than a standard PC type laptop. I think it would be a good device for internet use. some of them are Linux OS which apparently makes them tricky to set up with a USB dongle but some of them are windows XP which is alright maybe those ones use more power .

Has anyone tried one? They are a bit small and lack a hard drive but for internet use without downloading they should be okay and the reduced power consumption would make quite a big difference to the charging regime.

 

Me friends got one, (7" one), confirmed works with 3G USB dongle (model E220). For me the keyboard is too small, screen doesn't have a high enough res for "real surfing" (even the 9" one). Battery life is same as a normal lappy.

 

IMHO You'll be better off with a cheap laptop, cost isn't that much more. A good buy if you want a small laptop would be a second hand 12" Powerbook from Apple. There around £250-300 on ebay. A 1.5Ghz model, superdrive, 1.25Gb are the best options for the 12" Powerbook. You'll have a more powerful laptop for around the same price as the Eee but much better keyboard/screen for not much more footprint.

 

 

Quick edit to confirm the E220 USB dongle works with OS/X.

Edited September 4, 2008 by Robbo

[Marc Harris]

Don't know - I'm just using a tiddly inverter 'cos it's easier for now.

 

That Huawei works perfectly with Linux/Mac, and will certainly work on the XP eee. Unless you prefer Linux, there's not much point going for it on the eee since MS threw their weight in on this 'new' version of XP for netbooks (after previously announcing XP's end of life date). It was done because they could see the threat from the rising popularity of these devices all running Linux.

 

 

 

 

 

That's the old 7" screen - hope your eyes are better than mine

 

Edited to say:- A common comment is that a lot of web pages don't fit properly on the 7" screen and you have to scroll around to see them properly.

 

If you are running Xp on the eee (the 701 model), you can use http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=18260 to make 800x600 & 1000x600 & 1024x768 fit on the screen without having to scroll

 

 

Me friends got one, (7" one), confirmed works with 3G USB dongle (model E220). For me the keyboard is too small, screen doesn't have a high enough res for "real surfing" (even the 9" one). Battery life is same as a normal lappy.

 

IMHO You'll be better off with a cheap laptop, cost isn't that much more. A good buy if you want a small laptop would be a second hand 12" Powerbook from Apple. There around £250-300 on ebay. A 1.5Ghz model, superdrive, 1.25Gb are the best options for the 12" Powerbook. You'll have a more powerful laptop for around the same price as the Eee but much better keyboard/screen for not much more footprint.

 

 

Quick edit to confirm the E220 USB dongle works with OS/X.

 

There are many more powerful notebooks for the price of the eee, but not many that do the same for 11w of power, which is the most attractive part of the eee from a boaters point of view imho

[Robbo]

There are many more powerful notebooks for the price of the eee, but not many that do the same for 11w of power, which is the most attractive part of the eee from a boaters point of view imho

 

True, According to my little device my Powerbook uses about 21w, 35w if the battery is getting charged (it drops if the battery is > 80% charged)

Edited September 4, 2008 by Robbo

[Marc Harris]

True, According to my little device my Powerbook uses about 21w, 35w if the battery is getting charged (it drops if the battery is > 80% charged)

 

That's not bad at all!

 

I mainly bought the 'eee' cos i wanted one (just to throw in a bag and take stuff round with me), then i realised how much more it could do, and became almost manic about it!

 

I've also got a 15.4" (1920x1200 res) Alienware gaming rig laptop (that munches it's own battery in 30minutes), but when we cruise, that gets put in a cupboard, and the eee serves all my needs. Keyboard is a little cramped (but i got used to it very fast), and 1000x600 res keeps me happy while firefox'ing the forums (though i also do that on my nokia n95 at 320x200 )

 

It's horses for courses i suppose, and not everyone will get on with the lil eee.

 

I'd recommend to Magnetman to try one first to see how you get on with it before making a purchase. (If you live near to me, you're more than welcome to come round for trial run)

 

Marc.

[Robbo]

That's not bad at all!

 

I'll check how much my parents laptop uses, they have a 2 year old ish 15" Dell laptop. I'll post the results here.

 

 

I've also got a 15.4" (1920x1200 res) Alienware gaming rig laptop (that munches it's own battery in 30minutes), but when we cruise, that gets put in a cupboard, and the eee serves all my needs.

 

I used to have a 17" Dell laptop also at 1920x1200 (at 15.4" at that res the screen must be sharp!). Sold it the other year as I found it too big to use as a laptop. (My Powerbook is perfect size for using when sat front of the telly!).

 

I use the Powerbook mainly for surfing, as a TV, PVR, DVD player. (Unfor. it only has a 80Gb harddrive, that + Lovefilm = need for big external drives!)

Edited September 4, 2008 by Robbo

[magnetman]

I'll check how much my parents laptop uses, they have a 2 year old ish 15" Dell laptop. I'll post the results here.

 

 

 

 

I used to have a 17" Dell laptop top also at 1920x1200 (at 15.4" at that res the screen must be sharp!). Sold it the other year as I found it two big to use as a laptop. (My Powerbook is perfect size for using when sat front of the telly!).

I just put the clamp meter over one wire from the inverter and my laptop is currently using 4.3 amps the battery is being charged. Thats quite bad i reckon. My mum had an apple G4 on her boat and I'm sure I read it taking 4 amps or thereabouts maybe I got that wrong. maybe my clamp meter is screwed but I don't think so.

 

11w sounds like a really good thing to me.

 

Thanks for the offer of a trial on your 'eee' Marc Harris , but I'm not local any more although I did once have a long term mooring at Bishop Meadow lock opposite the Astrazeneca factory in Lufbra I'm now based on the Thames.

[Robbo]

I just put the clamp meter over one wire from the inverter and my laptop is currently using 4.3 amps the battery is being charged. Thats quite bad i reckon. My mum had an apple G4 on her boat and I'm sure I read it taking 4 amps or thereabouts maybe I got that wrong. maybe my clamp meter is screwed but I don't think so.

 

I'll get some full readings tomorrow and post here. My energy device thingy is one that things plug into... this one. Friend sold his Eee, so won't be able to do this one...

Edited September 4, 2008 by Robbo

[sueb]

The biggest consumer of power on my boat is the laptop computer .

 

I've seen a miniature laptop at PC world called the ASUS 'EEE' and it seems to be 9 volt and about 1 amp power draw which is a lot less than a standard PC type laptop. I think it would be a good device for internet use. some of them are Linux OS which apparently makes them tricky to set up with a USB dongle but some of them are windows XP which is alright maybe those ones use more power .

Has anyone tried one? They are a bit small and lack a hard drive but for internet use without downloading they should be okay and the reduced power consumption would make quite a big difference to the charging regime.

 

I quite fancy one.

Do you run your laptop on 12v or 240v?

Sue

[Lady Muck]

Dell have just launched the netbook as a rival to the eee. Comes out in August Dell Netbook and is the same price.

 

I have friends who have the eee and they're happy with it, they use it as a basic machine when out and about, bit of emailing and word processing and that's about it.

Edited September 4, 2008 by Lady Muck

[magnetman]

Do you run your laptop on 12v or 240v?

Sue

its on a 12vdc to 230vac Qausi Sine Wave inverter. I tried a 12vdc-20vdc converter but I'm pretty sure they have the same efficiency as the inverter anyway and I found it less reliable. To be fair I haven't actually tried this particular machine on a 12-20v converter.

[stort_mark]

The biggest consumer of power on my boat is the laptop computer .

 

What about a Blackberry? I took the laptop with me recently, but found I was only using the Blackberry..it's always on, and is good for e-mails and 'quick' writing, and Internet access. Useless for anythingmore complicated, obviously but uses virtually no power. Appreciate that the Blackberry service can be quite expensive though.

[Lady Muck]

What about a Blackberry? I took the laptop with me recently, but found I was only using the Blackberry..it's always on, and is good for e-mails and 'quick' writing, and Internet access. Useless for anythingmore complicated, obviously but uses virtually no power. Appreciate that the Blackberry service can be quite expensive though.

 

Mine costs about £40 a month. If you get one, your thumbs will hate you for it thought!

[stuart]

It you look at the Advent PC already mentioned it has come out a lot better in reviews than the EEE

 

If you buy from PCW business its also a bit cheaper http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/ADVNB027

[magnetman]

It you look at the Advent PC already mentioned it has come out a lot better in reviews than the EEE

 

If you buy from PCW business its also a bit cheaper http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/ADVNB027

Just got one of these from PC world and its superb. Windows XP the mobile USB modem sorted itself out straight away. nice and light and about 2 amps through the inverter where a normal laptop was about 4.

 

Nice little machine.

[Tortoise]

and I said I'd never post again ...

 

I've used a linux EEE with the 3G dongle (E220, the round-end wider white one) very easily, the only problem being picking up the password to log into the site (which is sent as a text message to the units SIM card, and I needed to borrow a PC to use the inbuilt software to get it). The setup was great for blogging the summer's adventures (including sorting out pictures), as well as reading other people's. Shout if I can be of help setting it up. Car adapters as easily obtainable for the computer.

 

I've ended up using it as a main 'sofa' computer for email etc - I'm using it now. It's what Apple should (and could) have made five if not ten years ago...

[Lady Muck]

I'm really tempted to get the new one (when it comes out) I wonder if it'll be this side of xmas. Of course its an expensive toy for us - I'm a slave to Adobe CS3 - I need a big monitor or a widescreen laptop at the very least, but I thought It'd be fun to have -also t'other half is going to visit a friend in Cambodia after xmas - I'm really not happy about him schlepping one of our big work laptops over there purely for using skype and email.