[jimmydean]

I have been looking at the Eee PC for a while now and after looking at the one at Best Buy, I decided to do some research. Through my employer, I get a deal on Dell's, so I looked at the Mini 9. But it had some things lacking and it's $400.

Finally I just decided WTF and ordered an Acer Aspire 1 with a 1GB stick upgrade. Total bill was $370 shipped. I also picked up a USB bluetooth adapter to tether my phone. If it sucks, I'll ebay it and get the Eee PC 901. But for $370, it should be ok. The 3 cell battery is supposed to last 3 hours and it's light.

It's mostly for bus/motorcycle use. Should work well for that. The only iffy is the mouse buttons. I was more jazzed about the slightly larger keyboard, though.

 

[Westy]

I think I would have trouble using a laptop on my motorcycle.

 

[jimmydean]

I think I would have trouble using a laptop on my motorcycle.

You just lack skillz.

I was using Opera mini on my phone (when stopped) and thought it would be so much easier with an actual screen and keyboard. Lugging a full sized laptop would be too much weight and this will fit well in my tank bag.

 

[berkshire_rider]

They seem to be a nice balance between an internet tablet like the Nokia n810 and a full size laptop.

I'm pretty sure my next laptop will be something similar to this. They will easily fit into a duffel bag, backpack, or a carry on for traveling. My current laptop fits in my carry on, but takes up a little more space than I would like and probably weighs a pound or 2 more than these new smaller laptops.

I'm intrigued by the new Samsung NC-10 that has a 6-cell battery and is claiming an 8 hour battery life.

 

[jimmydean]

There is a 6 cell battery for this one, too. I will get one if i can't get 2-3 hours of the 3 cell stock battery.

A buddy of mine got a Dell XPS M1210 to take to Afghanistan a while back and it's awesome. But they were wicked expensive and I'm a cheap bastard. I thought it was pointless to have something that small until I used it at his house a few months back.

I think the new Atom CPU makes these new ultra portables a lot nicer than the original Eee PC's. The Dell Mini 9 is also bad ass, but there have been some issues with the first release of Ubuntu on the Atom platform.

 

[jimmydean]

OK, a few things:

The Linpus desktop SUX.
The touchpad buttons are a little funky (2 hands)
Installing the RAM was a HUGE pain in the ass.
RPM still sucks.

So I got the RAM installed and now I am cleaning up all the crap UI stuff. Worst case scenario I will install Ubuntu tomorrow if I can't work this UI to my liking.

But damn it's sweet overall. The screen can be a little tough to read from time to time, but it's not meant to replace my desktop. Working on the bus will be a ton easier now, though.