Anyone here remember the first time the Eee PC came out? Yeah, it was a glorious time. It was the birth of the netbook, and we all had a grand time trying to figure out what to do with the 7-inch netbook. Anyone remember the Xandros Linux that came with it? Yeah, it wasn’t so great. Granted, that was my first extensive experience with Linux and I really learned a lot from it, but man, was that netbook-flavored Linux distro so not ready for primetime.
Anyway, Asus has since then avoided releasing anything with Linux preinstalled and has since gone the route of Windows XP – and recently Windows 7 – on its Eee PC line, be it netbooks or nettops. But at Newegg, they are selling an Eee PC EB202 nettop mysteriously preinstalled with Red Flag Linux. Red Flag Linux by the way is designed to look a lot like Windows XP, and is looking like the de facto Linux OS used in China. Apparently, even internet cafes are being forced to switch to Red Flag Linux even though they own legitimately-licensed Windows XP installs. More »
I know, I know, Intel dual core Atom chips have been around since the first time the processor came out. But the thing is, the dual core Atom processors that came out two years ago weren’t actually made for processors, and I even remember that Intel specifically forbade computer manufacturers from installing the said dual-core chips on our favorite netbooks.
That didn’t stop Asus from making the Asus Eee PC 1201N, though. Even though it is a netbook, they managed to put a desktop Atom 330 dual core processor in it. The said netbook ran a bit faster, but it lost a serious amount of battery life. Plus, let’s not even talk about the heat generated by the Atom 330 chips.
It looks like Intel is working on a dual core Atom chip made specifically for netbooks. Via Liliputing:
Intel may be working on a dual core Atom chip for netbooks. It will reportedly be called something like the Atom N500, which makes sense, since the latest dual core chip for desktops is called the Atom D510 — and most of the company’s netbook-specific chips have started with the letter N, such as the Atom N270, N280, N450, and N470.
But let us not expect these netbooks running the future Atom N500 to run as fast as our Core2Duo laptops. More »
Finally, Jolicloud “Robby” is coming out before this month ends. I know, I know, you’re probably wondering what’s new with the update. First off, there will be supporyt for Intel Atom Pine Trail and VIA C7-M processors. But from the Jolicloud blog’s announcement of the Robby, here are other new features:
Until now, we have been using Mozilla Prism for the rendering of web apps. After evaluating the different technologies and opportunities, we have decided to switch our entire web application platform to a Chrome foundation. All our 600+ web apps in the App Center will be automatically converted to Chrome.
As a user, you won’t need to do anything manually, everything will be done automatically via the update manager.
The Jolicloud team believes that switching to Chrome will lead to a faster browsing experience on older netbooks because of the better memory usage. More »
Those lucky guys from Engadget were able to get their hands on a bunch of new Asus Eee PCs, and they’ve posted their thoughts on these new netbooks.
The Asus Eee PC 1018P and 1016P are netbooks made out of an aluminum casing, and obviously, they would feel better than the old plastic Eee PCs Asus has released over the last few years. More »
The folks at All Touch Tablet were able to get their hands on an Asus Eee PC T101MT – way before its release – and now they’re posting a video review of the thing.
A heads up for those who are thinking of buying this touch screen netbook: apparently it has disappointed quite a few people. According to Slashgear:
It’s also no performer, either, with opening windows sluggish, 480p YouTube video pushing CPU use to 100-percent, and a 10 to 15-percent CPU load even when the netbook is sitting idle. The touchscreen, meanwhile, shows a worrying lack of accuracy around the edges, which ironically is where ASUS’ own touch-menu shortcut resides. They’ve shot some hands-on video, which you can see below, but for €499 ($676) there seem a few too many compromises.
The T101MT has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 Pine Trail CPU and GMA 3150 graphics. It also packs 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Windows 7 Home Premium. More »
I’ve already talked about Asus’s Eee PC T101MT before, but I’ve only given you FCC pictures, and nothing much. Well, guess what. Pictures of the Asus Eee PC T101MT have surfaced, and this intrepid netbook looks pretty neat. Also, aside from it’s fascinating multitouch capabilities, it seems that the Asus Eee PC T101MT will also support SDXC card readers.
If you’re not aware, SDXC is the next generation of SD cards. They’re in so many ways better than SDHCs – and I’m actually satisfied with SDHCs already. You see, SDXC cards can support up to 2 terrabytes and have a 300MBps transfer rate!
Of course it’ll be a while before we see 2TB cards hit the market, but imagine the potential.
I’m guessing Asus is starting to emulate the hype machine techniques of a certain computer company in Cupertino, because they’ve just released a mysterious announcement of a certain killer product that’ll be launched this June. And aside from hints of the aforementioned “killer product,” they haven’t said anything else about it. Way to build up a mystery, Asus. It’s working. More »
Macbook air wannabees are probably a dime a dozen. Everytime I visit a computer shop, there seems to be another Macbook air knock-off that promises to be the thinnest and lightest computer I’ll ever use. Okay, then, good for you guys. But they’re all running Windows, so you know, it’s kind of a dealbreaker. I mean, if you’re going for a Macbook air clone, then you just have to go for the full experience, right?
This Chinese computer manufacturer created yet another Macbook air knockoff that not only inherits the original’s good looks, but it also has almost-identical packaging! M.C. Gadget says that the box is indistinguishable from the ones produced in Cupertino. Also, the packaging is really convincing. If it wasn’t made from plastic – instead of aluminum, like the original – it may even fool a lot of people. More »
We’ve all heard about the Asus Eee Box EB1501 before, but now there’s an unboxing video floating all around the net. You see, I’ve been looking for a great desktop computer that can replace my battered 7 year old machine, and it looks like the Eee Box EB1501 is a good contender. It’s got pretty good specs, and to top it off, it’s relatively cheap.
In case you don’t remember, the Asus Eee Box EB1501 is a tiny desktop computer that sports a dual core Atom 330 processor, NVIDIA ION graphics and a slot-loading disc drive. The specs of this nettop are: 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 6 USB ports, HDMI, eSATA, and S/PDIF ports. The disc drive is a DVD burner. There are versions of the Asus Eee Box EB1501 that actually has a Bluray drive in place of the DVD drive. I’d like to get my hands on one of those.
More from Engadget:
With that fancy disc drive, NVIDIA Ion under the hood, and considerable aesthetic improvements, the Eee Box EB1501 has seemingly little to do with the Asus Eee Box of yore. So, is it as stunning in person as it is on paper? The folks at Blogeee.net have unwrapped the thing and stood it on its fancy metal stand, and they seem to be digging it — of course, their impressions are written in French, so we can never be entirely sure. Now if only Asus could work in an internal Blu-ray drive we’d be set!
Now you can watch the unboxing video below:
The Asus Eee Box EB1501 comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, and it costs around $479.
I know, Asus is known as the kind of brand fragmentation, but the Eee PC 1201NL looks like a good deal. The Eee PC 1201N is a pretty good netbook, which is super-fast and has a dual core 1.6Ghz Intel Atom 330 processor and the NVIDIA ION chipset.
The 1201NL, however, seems to be destined for the budget netbook department. From Eee User:
It seems that this new arrival from the Asus Eee PC 1201 range, which might be better known as the Seashell range, carries a single core Intel Atom N270 1.6Ghz processor and the NVIDIA ION chipset and will feature Windows 7 Starter instead of Windows 7 Home Premium, which could be found in the 1201N.
But that is where the differences stop between these two siblings. In all other aspects, the 1201N and the 1201NL carry the same foundation of features, such as the popular chiclet keyboard, HDMI-out and 12.1 inch display at 1366×768 resolution.
If you’re looking for a netbook that’s cheaper than the rest, but is well made – heck, it’s an Asus, what else do you expect – go for the Asus Eee PC 1201NL. Sure, you’re going to sacrifice some computing power, but I don’t think it’s going to be that bad. If you ask me, the 12.1-inch screen more than makes up for it. Your netbook’s going to be way bigger than the others squinting their eyes just to read the text on this post with their 10-inch screen!
That said, I’m wondering how Asus is going to position the 1201NL. What do you guys think?
