Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

rs-px sees some good points and bad points with the Eee PC. Fair enough. Everyone will see the unit differently. But I don't agree with a couple of his points.

Firstly, to say that the Eee PC is a 'crap laptop' isn't fair, unless your definition of laptop means multimedia powerhouse and replacement for your desktop PC. But then, most people buying the Eee PC in N. America are not buying it as their primary or only PC. They're buying it for a number of reasons (see this thread on eeeuser.com forums). And many of them in fact want it because it is small, light, simple and cheap, not in spite of that. In fact, the Asus pres. came up with the idea of the Eee PC after hearing about the OLPC: he wanted to make a similar device for adults.

I'm not starting an Eee PC versus n800 battle here. Each of these devices has its own merits. Buyers of either one should really understand their motivation for buying one or the other, or they'll be disappointed. And, they'd better understand the pros and cons of each machine, so rs-px is right to point out the features and shortcomings of the Eee PC. Of course, one man's con is another's pro, so I'm here to offer another view.

I strongly considered buying an n800 after the price drop, but chose the Eee PC instead. Why? Not because the n800 is inferior, but the other device appears to meet my needs better. YMMV. I want a portable internet machine. And yes, the n800 and n810 are way more portable. But I realised what I dislike about my Palm and my Windows Mobile PCs are the tiny screens and the slow input method. I wanted a keyboard, and I'm typing this note on a Eee PC. It's actually pretty workable, and I'm close to 75% of my regular typing speed. One minor irritation: the right Shift key is not where I expect it, and I tend to hit the PgUp key instead. This post explains how to switch them around.

I considered buying an n810 instead as it has a keyboard, but after using a UT Starcom for a while, I suspected that the n810's keyboard will be too small for touch typing - it's only half the size of the Eee PC's, after all. This essential difference alone will lead many people to buy the Eee PC over the Nokia. Yes I know I could use a bluetooth keyboard with the Nokia, and I do own one. In my case, I don't want to carry around another accessory. YOU may be okay with that, in which case the Nokia is a better choice. However, most portable BT keyboards require a flat surface to perate on; forget about typing on a train with the n800, but you could do it with the Eee PC.

Next point, screen resolution. Both Nokia and Asus have the same native screen resolution. One useful feature on the Eee PC as rs-px points out is the possibility to plug in an external monitor. I tried that and posted pics on flickr.com.

I want to talk a bit more about screen resolution. rs-px mentioned that the small screen on the Eee PC means that many apps won't fit. He feels that the n800 doesn't have this problem since all its apps have been designed for the 800x480 screen. That's true. The question you'll have to ask yourself is whether you're happy with the limited selection of apps available for the n800 compared to the vast universe of apps available for desktop linux (and thus available for the Eee PC). For me, this wasn't a clear deciding factor, since I don't plan on loading many apps on my Eee PC. If I want to, say, do photo editing, I'll use my MacBook Pro instead.

More on screen resolution. One issue with Eee PC that rs-px didn't mention is that some of the apps that are installed (like kwrite and kate, available from the terminal if you are in Easy Mode, or else from the menu in advanced mode) have some dialogs that are bigger than the screen can display. I cursed this until I read that you can simply Alt-click on any window and drag it to where you want it, i.e. until you can see that hidden OK button.

[edit]: One more thing about screen resolution. rs-px complains that with Firefox, there's not many lines of content visible on the screen because of all the space taken up by the menu bar, address bar, etc, and you can't zoom in like on the N800. That's true. But since it's Firefox, there are a zillion extensions available for it, including Fuller Screen, which not only puts the browser into Full Screen mode, thus hiding the menu bar, but also hides the address bar, tabs and status bar, thus significantly increasing the vertical space available for content.

Another dislike of the Eee PC that rs-px mentions is the fan, which he says is like a Harrier jet. Now this is just dishonest reviewing. Over on the eeeuser forum, he posted an item saying his Eee PC was defective because the fan was so loud. But over here, he's saying that his defective unit is the norm. Honestly, I never thought about the fan noise on the Eee PC until he mentioned it. On my unit, the fan noise IS discernible in a quiet room, though it's not much more noisy than my MacBook Pro under normal operation, and certainly way quieter than most PC fans (and way quieter than any Mac laptop when they spin up to max speed). If your ears are over 30 years old, you probably won't notice the fan in most environments. But if you're the sensitive type, by all means choose the Nokia since it has no fan at all.

But where I differ most with rs-px is with his claim that the Eee PC will ruin the concept of a mobile internet device; people will be disappointed with their experience of the Eee PC and give up on the whole shining ideal that the one true example of the concept (the Nokia) offered. What a load of horse-pucky! I could just as easily say that the Nokia will ruin the concept of a small useful computer for many people. They'll buy an n800, or n810, only to discover that it can be used for practically nothing since there's so little available software (and support for the OS is dropped when a new model is released), and they'll wrongly conclude that all small computers are like that - when in fact if they'd only chosen the Eee PC they would have realised that they had all of linux available to them.

At the end of the day, the arrival on the market of the n800, n810, Eee PC and others can only be a good thing, since it means more choice. Some of us may even choose to buy more than one device, right rs-px?

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

My major complaint towards getting the Nokia Tablet, I have both 770 and N800 and probably will get 3 more N800s for my family members, is the horrible maintenance of the repository. Because of that, most of the installation/revision is worst than teaching a pig to dance. Whereas the eee, ownership of 48 hrs, and has since installed several apps have encountered zero problems with repository.

However, I still recomend the tablets for my family members because of the form factor. Yes, the repository is painful, but not enough for hire and fire. BTW, I have rdesktop/VNC of the two, eee into N800 vice versa, it is real fun.



bun

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

That's a very bold statement to make and I'm not sure what evidence you're basing it on :)

My issue with the Eee is that all the marketing material is pitching it at the ordinary user. The sales projections are extremely ambitious, meaning that Asus see this as a general user device for the man on the street. That's the evidence behind what I say right there.

What I think will happen is this: the ordinary user will see the Eee as a $400/£200 laptop, and think they're getting a bargain. It even looks like a full-scale laptop in the pictures because there's nothing to show scale. The spec will say "7-in 800x480 screen" but that's meaningless to most people.

But what they're getting is a specialised computer, not a general purpose computer. Yes, it can do general purpose stuff, but it requires compromises that the ordinary user might not be willing to make.

I don't think the Eeeuser.com forum reflects the average buyer of this computer. I think it reflects a geeky subset of the user base. Do you really think ordinary people who buy the Eee (students, kids, mom, pop, grandma) are going to look up a special forum and join a community, where they talk about internal specifications and how to hack Linux? I don't think so.

So don't take the views of eeeuser.com forum members as typical of Eee users :) If you know what I mean.

We're agreed that everything is pretty good on the Eee apart from the keyboard and the screen. The keyboard is just about usable but some keys are in the wrong place. I cannot type a question mark without stopping typing and repositioning my hand. And if I hit Enter when I should have hit the apostrophe one more time I will murder somebody...

But if they put in a 1024x800 screen in there, then it would be excellent.

Or you can just select Full Screen from the menu :) This does help a lot but the point is kinda that Asus doesn't enable this by default, or install the plugins you mention (they're open source, so why not?).

The Nokia tablets include a full screen button and zoom buttons. The Nokia tablets are just better thought out. The Eee feels rushed by comparison, although I know that a lot of work went into the Linux distro it uses.

You've been so diplomatic until this point :) I'm offended you think I'm deceiving anybody. Look at the time and dates of the relevant postings. I didn't think the buzzing fan was a fault when I wrote my review. I thought that was just the way it was. I then posted on the Eeeuser.com forums to find out if it was a fault when I realised it probably wasn't right. Check the first message if you don't believe me.

I've arranged for a replacement to be sent to me and have been waiting to post here that I'd made a mistake and that the fan was broken. But the company concerned have been sitting on the package for the last few days (RM in the UK) so it hasn't arrived. I can't post until I have evidence. That would be dishonest.

To sum up, it looks like my Eee is faulty and has a buzzy fan. From what I've read, most Eees have an audible fan, but not one that's noisy. Most of the time they're genuinely silent. I'll confirm this when my replacement Eee arrives tomorrow (hopefully).

I believe that people will buy the Eee under false pretences, which will turn them off small Internet devices. When the prophesied fifth Nokia tablet arrives, as perfect as it is, people will think: "Well, I'm not too sure how usable portable Internet devices are. After all, that Eee I bought was really hard to use. A 800x480 screen just doesn't work."

Of course, they're ignorant of the fact that the Nokia tablets have an extremely high res screen, negating this issue, and also that they're optimised in functionality for a small screen (zoom controls, click and drag panning etc).

I almost agree here :) I think it will be interesting, although I can't say it will necessarily be good. But hopefully other companies will try to compete, and there will be a decent marketplace of cheap and small computers. That can only be a good thing.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

The second-generation Eees are already slated for the Spring (G1 and G2 release timing sound familiar to anyone?). If the rumor still holds, it may not have a fan.

I'd also point out that the ITT crowd isn't a cross-section of n800 owners either; unless it truly is a geek-only device.

when you're comparing the Eee to the n800, you're comparing a "Fresh baked" system with one that is about to receive it's fourth major OS revision. Yes, the Eee will look rough now; Asus needs to build into the brand before they try to mass produce.
The thing has a use, and a role to play, any time you've got a flat surface available, and want to go through booting up a PC.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Actually, I'd say these forums do reflect typical Nokia tablet users :) And I'd also say the eeeuser.com forums represent Eee users right now.

But the difference is that Nokia is still flirting with geeks as part of their five-stage world domination plan, while the Eee aims for massive sales and non-techie users from the get-go. Apparently the Eee designers passed it around family and friends before final manufacturing to ensure they found it easy to use. The Eee is no geek toy. It's computing for the unwashed masses.

So the eeeuser.com forum won't represent typical users in, say, six months time if everything goes to plan. And, if Nokia's plans work out, this forum won't represent their typical users in two/three years time :rolleyes:

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

You may well be right, but I'd rather not, as these here forums are a lot more informative, entertaining and generally full of interesting people, than what I've seen of eeeuser and similar eee-related boards so far...

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

when I look at the box the thing comes in, I see the following pics: a woman using it on a beach, two kids using it, a couple using it on a lawn, a woman by a lake holding it to her chest (it looks tiny in that picture). I do not see any pics of people using it in an office. And in the on-line description at Memory Express, I also see a pic of grandparents using it. the whole emphasis is on ease of use, not power. They clearly state it only has a 7" screen, and runs a simple version of Linux. I don't anyone is being deceived. But no doubt some people will try to do more with it than intended, and end up being disappointed.

I believe you. Now, how about going back to your original post and clarifying that the noise you heard is the result of a bug or fault? Not everyone is going to read through 5 pages of forum comments to get to this point.

So, that res screen doesn't work on the Eee PC but does on the Nokia? I actually don't see much difference. If the res is wrong,it's wrong on both machines. In fact it's worse on the Nokia since the screen is so small that the pixels are tiny - older people will find it very hard to use. If they hold it too close, it will blur (without their glasses), and if they hold it further away, they won't be able to see it. Sure you can zoom in and out, but all of that zooming and unzooming is a crutch to compensate for the too-small screen. I see the same problem with the iPhone, in fact. Having said all that, I'd love to see a Nokia-quality screen in the Eee PC. with the higher pixel density, you could achieve a 1024x768 res in the 7" screen. Or even higher in the rumoured version 2 with a 10" screen.

On the other hand, the Eee PC is not too small for some people, it's too large. It won't be portable enough for them. In that case, they should choose the Nokia.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

You had 800x480? When we were young we only had 40x8 AND we only had characters, none of those fancy pixels:

http://oldcomputers.net/pics/trs80-100.jpg

http://oldcomputers.net/trs100.html


I actually thought this form factor was pretty good. You could type while sitting in an airline seat and still have room for a coffee cup.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Yeah, those things were awesome! What did it have, 16k and a single-density floppy disk? Still, absolutely cool, and a real keyboard.
In all fairness, the screen was 320x64, but only supported 8x8 ascii characters.
(Man, I need to dig one of those out of the attic)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Maybe they are just bored out of their minds because the device actually works properly without any bugs so far and have no need to have threads after threads of bugs and people complaining about lack of apps or waiting for apps to be ported which never happen and if they do they never get out of beta or another OS like "2008" - everything needs to be ported once again. i think i'll just compile one of the millions of x86 linux apps now on my eee. No point in waiting for things to be ported here. openoffice anyone? haha good luck. :)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Hardly. The Nokia isn't trying to be a laptop, and the UI is designed with this pixel limit in mind. Besides, 225dpi is about as high as one could be reasonably be expected to go, and we also want to be able to keep these things in our pockets.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

This went from an honest review to a polarizing debate in a sneeze!

I was one of those Asus pre-order guys, who actually dropped their pre-order. I did so not because the product is bad, but because the n800 price drop hit, and I really did miss my 770 after selling it.

In my personal experience, ASUS has always put out quality product, so I do not doubt the eee is solid. Likewise, my n800 is a great product. Both have their pros and cons. Most of which are very well spelled out even in this thread.

If you're reading this, chances are, you're a geek. Accepting this fact, we are always on the hunt for the perfect gadget/toy.

I really think that the important thing to come from the EEE and iphone/itouch is awareness of "The Walkaround Web" and competition. This competition will hopefully drive Nokia/Apple/Asus/Android to give us that perfect gadget.

Spending $400 on an EEE is not much different from spending $240 on a n800+memory cards and bluetooth keyboard.

Buy what you like. Don't buy what you dislike, but buy one and cast your vote.

It's the only way these companies will make progress toward that perfect device.

Who remembers the HP Jornada clamshells? Back in 2001/2002, that thing was a millimeter away from the perfect device, but high prices drove consumers away and it was dropped in favor of Palm like devices.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Not just any real keyboard: one with ctrl to the left of "A", how perfect! I wish all modern keyboards were like that, although it isn't hard to change. :)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Picture the scene. I'm around 13 years old. I've watched the just-released-to-video Wargames so many times that I'm into triple figures. I can quote the film. I consider myself a hacker although all I really do is cause problems for the tech assistants at school *.

On the cover of a computer magazine I buy is a guy with one of those computers and an acoustic coupler, standing in a telephone box. He's dressed in a trilby and trenchcoat, detective style. It is the coolest thing I have ever seen. I lust after such a setup for many years, pretty much until the Internet arrives. I still lust after it.

* A few years ago I was chatting on a newsgroup about my 'hacking' activities at school, which mainly involved copying games across our network. At one point we somehow discovered the administrator password for the network. All hell broke loose. I recited the story on the newsgroup, thinking it funny, but it was followed up by an irate reply from the very technician who had to chase us all up and fix the damage back in, like, 1986. Whoops. Small world :)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

In a forum such as this, you're probably in good company. For instance, the Poqet PC calls to me to this day.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

According to that Wikipedia entry:

So why doesn't anyone do that now?

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

The Psion Series5 did exactly that, ten years later, and ten years ago :-)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

I read recently that some new processors are doing this, but I can't for the life of me remember details. I think it might have been the new PowerPC chips.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

I don't know how much of the above discussion is just theoretical, w/o having use the device, but having played with mine a bit, to me the 800x480 is surprisingly workable on the Eee. Things do get cluttered fast with tabs, sidebars, etc., but I just don't have those up. The fact that it's Linux makes a big difference, because they have obviously made the OS more friendly at that resolution. On Windows, 800x480 would be a problem. I also have an old Sony Picturebook and the 480 is a problem on that.

I continue to be impressed by the machine, and think that it really does have the potential to make some inroads with the masses if people give it a try. I think it's a fantastic option for people who can't afford a P1610 or TZ but want something to tote to the coffee shop or library, and do their serious computing at home on their desktop.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

They didn't have backlit screens... That'll drain your battery. And, by the way, the ARM
cpu can do some impressive power management tricks, as most of us know from
experience. x86 designs don't have the same autonomy. But they've got Openoffice.
Asus designs aren't all good: the asus mobo on my desktop failed the "Smoke Test," but then again, a year later Sparky still runs without issue. As long as it doesn't make a habit of it.

The Eee is much needed: I was waiting for it too, but with the delays, changes and my laptop's decision to send the dc to the case, I could wait no longer. The n800 I've ended up with does the job better than I imagined.

Oh, and I had the biggest 5th grade crush on a girl who had a Livermore Star 300 baud desktop acoustic modem.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

After looking over the EEE's specs and prices we had an in-office discussion today and came to the conclusion that for a bunch of developers and/or consultics the EEE is the better system.

+ It can play PowerPoints using OpenOffice

+ It has a video out that I can use to attach a bigger screen or beamer (Always can be borrowed at the customers side these days)

+ Large (and expandable) conventional memory and an INTEL CPU means I can run quite a few Demo-Systems on it on a slow but useful base

+ The Keyboard is good enough for the average two finger + thumb typist

+ Small enough to travel in an attache case and still leave room

+ Clearly defined form factor (Subnotebook) instead of "new and undefined"

Now all we wait for is the 9'' model so we can install/use XP on the plattform.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Well, the N800/N810 are N-series devices (note: the 770 is not—there is no such thing as an N770) and would, generally, be deemed inappropriate for office/business use.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

The 770 looked like a nice PDA, had the size of a nice PDA, had the speed of a nice PDA.

If Nokia actually had included the Software to MAKE it a nice PDA I would even still use mine instead of my HCT based Smartphone these days. But since the Smartphone can do most of the stuff the 770 can (except Surfing and showing PDFs - not that the 770 does the latter all that good) AND is a Sync-Capabel Phone my 770 was relegated to a very few occasions where I needed a picture viewer/PDA viewer and don't have a PC nearby or can't/won't bring my Laptop.

With the thing failing more and more (likely dying RAM or Screen) it's not likely I get another Nokia Tablet.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Hey rs-px or anyone else for that matter,

The Eee sounds great for my purposes of web surfing and emails. I just couldn't handle the wireless keyboard with the N800. I was also finding it a little too laggy at times.

Do you know if the Eee or anyother similar UMPC has bluetooth built-in? That way I could tether it to my cellphone for on-the-go connections.

(Don't suggest a dongle! I can't tell you how many times it didn't work with my laptop.)

Thanks!

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

No, it doesn't. However, the answer is not quite as simple as that :) There are rumours that the wifi chip also has bluetooth capacities. So somebody may hack a solution, although don't hold your breath -- the wifi chip is a new variant of the atheos chip, and that's proprietary. So no open source drivers exist for it right now.

So your only solution is a dongle, although I've yet to see anybody report any kind of Bluetooth working over on eeeuser.com forum (I've lost my BT dongle so can't test :(). The Eee has three USB ports and is just another x86 laptop in terms of hardware so it should work OK. But, you know, these are early days for the Eee. Additionally, I can't see any bluetooth functionality built into the default operating system (not even for file sharing).

As for your lagginess using a BT keyboard on your N800, I don't think this is caused by the keyboard itself. I have the same lag on my 770. Are you talking about typing ahead of the cursor when the sentence is more than a few lines long?

I'm hoping that the new OS2008 update will fix this, if only because of those extra 80MHz, but perhaps also because everything is much more GTK.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Quite a few people have gotten bluetooth dongles working on the eee PC forum. I'll be setting mine up next week when I get my unit. It's not very complicated.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

I currently have a N800 and will be buying the N810... that being said, I also bought 2 Eee PC's. One for myself and one for my wife. I really enjoy having and using the Eee PC. It is a great piece of technology, just like I thought the N800 was when I got it. The Eee PC is more PC than Internet Device and we are using them more as an alternative to our other laptops/desktops that we have. It is very easy to throw into a backpack and go. I can type on it with much more fluidity than I would be able to with the upcoming N810. But, in a car/train/bus/plane or whatever... you still have to pull the Eee PC out/pop it open and so forth. Where the N810 is a bit easier to pull out of a pocket and turn it on to use. I do feel there is more functionality to the Eee PC than there will be with the N810. The future is more promising I feel with the Eee PC.

These are 2 different beasts and in my opinion should not be compared to each other. One is more like a PC and the other is more of a mobile device.

I saw on the eeeuser board that someone said his Eee PC was liking to a remote control... just laying around the couch with is remotes. Easy just to grab when watching TV and you want to surf the net at the same time or jot down some ideas and notes. That is a perfect example of what the Eee PC is like.

I absolutely love the Eee PC and I am sure I will love the N810 too.

That is just my opinion though.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

I've had a week now with my Eee and I've learned to love it. But at the end of the day it's still a miniature laptop. You hit the nail on the head when you say the Eee is portable but you still have to "pop it open, and so forth". It has the same use scenarios as a notebook computer. It's just lighter and, when closed, more portable. I carry my Eee all around the house because it's just like carrying a book. I wouldn't do that with my MacBook. But when I open the Eee, it has to sit on the table/lap/arm of the chair, just like the MacBook.

The N800 is a completely different fish. You can just pull it out of your pocket and go. Once you're done, just drop it back in your pocket. This is a really important aspect of the appeal of the Nokia tablets. We're talking about liberty and total integration with our lifestyle.

If you have a bluteooth keyboard, an N800 can effectively mirror the Eee. The problem with the N800 is that it simply lacks software beyond the basics. If only it was x86 compatible. At least then users would have a choice -- use Hildon, or dual-boot into a traditional distro. Who cares if it doesn't look good? That's my choice to take.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Well, debian is fully available for arm (I know because I have it running on an arm based "computer", originally sold as a network drive), so I suppose with some effort you could just run a standard distro on the tablet.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Exactly. This is why is was saying they are 2 completely seperate beasts. The Eee PC is more PC than Internet Device and the N810 is more of a mobile device than a PC.

I will use them both in a daily situation, but pound for pound I am guessing that I will use my Eee PC more since it has more functionality and I can accomplish more with it. But, in those situations where I know I am limited on time or don't have the space... I will use the N810.

As it stands right now... I don't mind carrying around my Eee PC everywhere I go. Like my cell phone, it just goes where I do... end of story. It is small, easy to open, 25 seconds to boot, and 6 seconds to close down. That is my idea of a portable device.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

The first thing i was amazed at was not the cpu power, nor large display, nor keyboard, nor bootimes, but the depth of the linux os software. While penguinbait is providing similar functionality with kde, its amazing to see how much more powerful a big-footprint os. Perhaps with the 810 i will be able to run full distribution by default (all on internal memory). Of course a full distribution does not make easy navigation when changing mp3s while driving :) I hope future ITs provide 'easy' UI and 'complex' UI modes to allow the different usability-factors.

That said, i nuked the xandros and put on xp to see what the hardware can do. Pretty impressed with the tradeoffs they made (underclocking) to allow fanless operation with light usage... if the fan was on all the time i would not want to use it much... would have been perfect if completely fanless.

I see both form factors getting more powerful so hard to say one will replace the other... but i hope eee's get cooler and make use of higher resolutions, and IT's get more depth/compatibility to os.

As of now though i can leave eee running at home and remote desktop into it on the road :) If eee was running ubuntu it might be able to compile for the IT :)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

This may or may not be pertinent to this discussion, but I just showed my N800/BT keyboard off to my granddaughter who is attending JR college and hauls around a laptop.

She was awestruck and wants an N800 so bad she can taste it. And here's Xmas coming up too :)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

"The problem with the N800 is that it simply lacks software beyond the basics"...........upon open box. If you do not mind, as we are doing in this forum, say install Video Center/becomeroot/rdesktop/KDE/Konqueror/MMapper/Canola...I can go on and on, then the tablet is quite comparable to a functional laptop.

As Moviecouple nicely put it, one is a portable form factor, another one is a PDA form factor (Dont frame me, I never say the tablet is a PDA). They are two different form factors.



bun

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Yes different form factors used for similar things... so should the user interface part of the form-factor? Since ITs will get even more powerful should they provide konqueror power, hildon file browser simplicity/safety, or both? (By default/out of the box/fully advertised)

The sheer nature of the high dpi screen for internet surfing requires immersion in the interface while big buttons are on the side for easy navigation? This contrast of DPI (squinting at a portion of the screen while big cheerful buttons on the side) shows different expectactions about depth of user interface.

Nokia should have different resolutions like 3/4 (um 600x360) for use as an accessory and full dpi resolution for power use... and i think different window system for each. That might mean konqueror for full dpi and simple hildon for 3/4 mode.

Or as much as i hate to say it... an iphone interface and a full linux interface. Iphone looks to be a perfect 'accessory' interface which i would love to use while driving or not paying attention, but the IT's full resolution shines when using in a power mode like web surfing or full linux distro. Its distracting to mix the two into a single ui... that would require separate mp3 player, email, im, and maybe maps and calendar/pim features to be refactored for accessory use (out of the box)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

You could go on and on but you would be less and less convincing.
It's closer to the truth to say that the number of usefull apps available from Maemo can be counted on your fingers and possibly using only one hand. Other than the half dozen "stars" there are only utilities and games ported over in hobbists spare time and a big number of then are only shell/dos apps. It is great that anybody can write their own apps from the open source code but the reality of that is a lot of the stuff is of little use except to the creator as a programming project for school and not of commercial quality.
You really have to lower your expectations to think that is a rosy scenario. Perhaps the compatibility changes to OS2008 will help to fix that, I hope so. Although the SDK for the Iphone/touch has not been relased yet, when it is you can expect to see a greater
number of developers start porting over their OSX apps then Linux developers for the 810.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Ugh . . . non-native resolution and fragmenting the interface at least doubling development work. Yeah, this post is rife with bad ideas.

What really needs to happen is the UI rules for Hildon need to be hammered down in a way that's as useful as possible for a device of this form factor and these rules need to be followed.

Are we talking about apps from maemo or for maemo? Either way, this is a pretty weak argument. There aren't many apps available from their respective first-parties for any of the devices mentioned, and there's [i]no]/i] 3rd party development for the iPhone/iPod and the Asus only has so much because it's basically a full desktop Linux. Anyway, I call ********, would you like me to name some for you?

1. maemo mapper
2. FBReader
3. Rhapsody
4. xchat
5. Canola
6. mplayer
7. Skype/Gizmo
8. VNC (both server and viewer—I did a demo of the device over VNC for a couple of friends that were interested in buying . . . it was very cool stuff)
9. UKMP
10. Kagu
11. CarMan
12. Quake I/II
13. Doom
14. ScummVM
15. Tux Paint
16. Bomberman

These could hardly be considered "hobby" projects, and certainly wont fit on one hand (let alone two), and I'm not even going into all the awesome hackish and console stuff.

Really, the maemo platform is still in its infancy. Nokia has defined a whole new device category, and it takes time to get the ball rolling on the software side. Have they made some mistakes? Yes. Could things have been handled better? Sure (though certainly not by you or me ;)). The N810 is really the first general-public–targeted device in this category, and development will start picking up speed as the platform gains more popularity (especially as we're now much more compatible with Gtk upstream, which greatly lowers the barrier to porting GUI stuff). Just give it time. Needless negativity doesn't get anybody anywhere. :)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Hildon is basically taking a full linux ui and making it kinda iphone like... why would you need it otherwise.

The good side is that its pretty usable now...
The bad side is that it is custom user interface they are hoping to get developers on board for... and for a ARM architecture.

Hildon puritanism is one thing... but some folks will want full power and some folks will want easy interface.... you either fragment your user interface approach or you fragment your customer base. I dont think it would be that difficult to redesign those few apps i mentioned anyways and put a name/rules to that 'style' of big button applications that already exist... the very standards you probably think are 'ironing out' hildon.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

I got my eeePC yesterday and after nuking the default install and replacing it with Kubuntu I have a tiny laptop with enough power to do just what I want. It doesn't replace my N800 (And soon my N810) but it compliments it. They're different devices with different goals. If I'm in a shop looking at something and want to check reviews I'm not going to be pulling an eeePC out of my rucksack. And while sat at home watching TV the chances are I'm going to be sat with my eee rather than my N800.

We're allowed to love them both right? ;)

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

Yes, we can two-time the N800 :)

But what you're saying could apply to any small notebook computer. I used to use my iBook G4 when watching TV and that's probably about as small as a notebook can get and remain functional.

I'm becoming less and less enamoured of my Eee. Whenever I have to use it I get a feeling of dread... The keyboard is just a few milimetres too small and mistypes are common (in particular, hitting Enter instead of the apostrophe, and hitting Up instead of the right-shift). The screen is just a little bit too small for those stubborn sites that refuse to fit in 800 pixel width--maybe around 25% of the sites I visit.

In contrast, I enjoy using my 770. It's not perfect but it's really well designed and that somehow makes up for its deficiencies. I'm sure my N800 will be even better when it eventually arrives from Play.com. As mentioned, if they get a decent word processor working on OS2008, I'll get rid of my Eee.

I just don't think the Eee works as a design. It's a second-best option compared to a genuine notebook computer, whereas the N tablets are the best option in the circumstances.

Re: Asus Eee review written specially for the ITT forum :)
 

I don't seem to have as many problems with the keyboard as most people seem to have. But then I write for a living and can type 180+ words a minute too. So a keyboard is a keyboard to me. The N810 with be more of a learning curve (with thumbs) than the Eee PC would be.