Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

OK, I'm starting to see the point. Maybe they're not direct competitors, simply because the Eee lacks the hybrid mobile phone size. But I still think that people potentially buying the 810 will have the Eee on their list, which is why Nokia need to be watching it. People are going to think: "Well, the Eee is cheaper and includes a keyboard... while the 810 is a third more expensive and a keyboard is extra." Remember that it's only when you get to use an 800 that you understand how usable it is. You have to use it to "get it". I think that new buyers won't have that point of view.

I might buy an Eee because, as somebody said, they're just so damn cheap. I also like the idea that they're silent. Then again, I already have a notebook (Macbook) that's only a little bigger and heavier. Both will need to be transported in a bag.

I'll also bet that the Linux installed on the Eee is a LOT better than the OS2007 in terms of stability and software choice. It's a x86 Xandros distribution, probably based on KDE, so practically every piece of Linux software out there should be available already as a binary. If you can't get it from Xandros then you'll probably be able to get it from whichever Debian distro this Xandros is based on.

No porting, no recomplilation for ARM processors, no messing around. To me, this is one area where the Eee wins massively over the N800. I've been complaining elsewhere on this forum about no decent word processor being available for the N770/800. On the Eee, I'll bet that OpenOffice, Abiword, Kword, and others are just a download away.

Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

Xandros is nice. Ubuntu is nicer, but Xandros ain't too shabby. The one thing Xandros got definitely going for it (in my book, that is), is that they're full-on KDE. With Ubuntu, you always have that little nagging voice, saying: "But it's only second choice to Gnome, innit? There has to be something wrong with it".

Of course, at its heart Xandros is commercial, so don't expect all the goodies to be for free (as in "beer"). But heck, I can live with that; I've got money...

OpenOffice.org is pre-installed on the Eee.

Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

The problem isn't the arm-architecture. It's porting stuff to the HildonUI. You can run KDE on the N800. But of course it's not as powerful as the EEE.

The EEE is a very small and very cheap laptop. The N800 is a pocketable companion that you can take everywhere. I can't take the EEE to a party without looking like a complete geek. I can with the N800.

Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

Current reports say that the resolution on the Eee is exactly the same as the N800 on the base models -- 800x480. Of course, the dot pitch is very different, and it's a physically a larger screen.

But as I'm getting used to my 770, and bearing in mind my existing knowledge of GNOME, KDE and XFCE, I'm starting to think that Nokia made a mistake creating an entirely new GUI system for their internet tablets. I could argue that Hildon has been a failure and the developer take-up has been far short of what Nokia might have expected.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it would have made more sense to modify an existing desktop and retain full API compatibility. This would have allowed users to run existing software. OK, it might run strangely, but the modifications would be trivial.

Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

The Kohjinsha SA1, last year's prefigurator to the EEE, has lower CPU specs (AMD Geode 800, a 500 Mhz PIII clone), runs Windows XP quite adequately (for its intended usage : Web, mail, Office apps, video etc., not for number-crunching, ray-tracing or 3D games) in 512 MB of RAM.

There's no reason why the EEE couldn't run it just as well if not better, although it's really meant to run some sort of Linux.

Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

ive been looking into the EEE and one of the main things that initially swung me towards it and away from the N800 is the fact that the EEE PC will have USB Host functionality.
There are conflicting reports about the battery life of the device but i have a feeling that the N800 would win on the front.
The fact that installing software on the EEE will be so much easier is VERY VERY appealing to me as im no Linux master at the moment but i am getting the hang of it.

Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

Hi,

is EEE really not full-screen mini-laptop ?
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...07&modelmenu=1

darius

Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

They did not create entirely new GUI system. Any plain X11 or GTK app compiled for ARM (with right toolchain) will run on the tablet too.

Ever heard of
GNOME mobile and Ubuntu Mobile? They adopted Hildon so perhaps it is not a complete failure ;-)

Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

Just look at it. What does it look like? Like a laptop. It's not exactly like a normal laptop. You get a flash drive and no stuff like Expresscards. That's because of the size and the price. I know it has this iPhonish application starter. But that just starts regular apps, that where designed for the PC. It even features the same architecture as a PC.

It's not a mistake. XFCE, GNOME and KDE where design to be used with a mouse and a keyboard on big monitors or laptops. The Hildon UI was designed to be operated via touchscreen and it was fitted to the high dpi screen on the N** stuff. All the fonts would be very small and hard to read if you'd use a regular XFCE desktop. Just think of all the the stuff Nokia had to do to make these apps usable by touch only. And they didn't create an entirely new GUI system. They extended GTK so it can be used entirely by touch.

Re: Asus Eee PC launched
 

It's still a bit painful to port to Hildon, which is probably why we don't have thousands (instead of dozens) of apps already. Non-Hildonized apps aren't as sleek, mostly (an example of an application where it doesn't matter at all though is the Free42 calculator).