UK: Asus Eee PC pops up on my high street

(Pic courtesy of my favourite SIM-free Mobile/PC online retailer, Expansys)

I was perusing my local retailer of electrical goods the other day, and happened across the Asus Eee PC – now I know it’s not anything particularly new, but it IS an intruiging little chap, especially as it was sat with a bunch of other (seemingly enormous by comparison) Laptops.

For those of you that don’t know, the Eee PC is a (sub-sub-?) notebook running a GUI’d up version of Linux. It has a bunch of useful apps pre-installed on it (count in Open Office for example), and includes such features as WiFi – not mindblowing, but handy to have nonetheless.

This wouldn’t be a particularly spectacular set of information, until you see the thing “in the flesh” – it really is very small, but as far as “internet appliances” (like the Nokia N810 for example) go, it would appear to be a really great productivity device.

As I mentioned earlier, what spiked my attention was the fact it popped up in a mainstream electrical retailer, sat on it’s own amongst a gaggle of larger, and more expensive, Windows-powered Laptops. Then what REALLY got my attention was the price – under £250! In a bizarre twist of fate, the day after I first saw the device, it disappeared from the high street retailers shelves…. call Mulder and Scully I say!

A bit of googling later and I’d turned up a bunch of interesting facts, some positive, some negative:

there is a thriving homebrew community that have hacked the O/S to do more “interesting” things (always a good sign!)
Research Machines (anyone remember them?!) have got hold of it and are punting it for schools
It doesn’t have Bluetooth
The battery life isn’t “great” – just “OK”
There are a series of versions, which have varying colours (black/white, but more coming) and Memory on-board (2Gb or 4Gb, but 8Gb coming)
A Windows version is incoming soon

As I said before, what an intriguing little device! With all of the competition in the QWERTY smartphone market (Notables include the Nokia E90 and numerous HTC devices), this is a different solution, but nonetheless a neat one – and why indeed not put your computing power in a sub-sub-notebook, so you can carry a simpler/smaller/better-looking (ooooh controversial!) phone aroud in yer pocket.

Well if any of the IntoMobile readership have invested in this little gem of a portable PC, ping us a comment and let us know how you find it – personally, I am seriously tempted!!

[By the way, if you do want one, you can grab one here, at Expansys]

About The Author

Ben Robinson

Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.

Mr-X

Hi Ben,

The EeePC has been displayed in several PCworlds for a long time now. I saw it yesterday there for £229. Surprisingly, PCworld also display the N800 and N810.
Ben Robinson

Hi Mr-X,

Yes, it has been around a little while – this little Asus chappie stood as it looked almost out of place amongst the big WinPC Laptops!

I used an N810 for a while, and whilst I *loved* the setup experience, I am not sure it went far enough for me in usage – also, having a screen that is in parallel to the keyboard (as opposed to flexed toward you with a laptop) was not for me as egonomically sound.

In the high street retailer I was in, they also had an N800 in a similar area to the Asus – but I think all things considered, £229 for a pretty well-featured Laptop is good – wouldn’t you say? Or not?

Cheers

Ben
Paul S

yes, as Mr X states, the Eee has been in my local PC World in Blackpool for about a month now, keep popping in for a play now and again Nice little machine.

Regards,
Paul
Anthony

It´s harder to find one now than it was before Xmas!

Ben, if you can get one I´d recommend getting one! Be careful with PC World though as they´ve put the prices up and some people have accidently been buying the wrong model.

FWIW I bring mine almost everywhere and it came with me to the recent Mobile Geeks of London meetup. My Eee PC caught more attention than any handset could muster.
Ben Robinson

Hi Anthony,

Sounds good!

I wouldn’t buy from PC World I don’t think, only because there’s always a better deal online of course

I will see if I can lay my hands on one!

Ben
Chung

I purchased the Asus EEE pc a few months ago. I no longer use my Nokia N800 anymore. Too hard to type on. This is great as a second computer or for those only interested in surfing the web and not playing games. This is a great machine to lug around in your carry bag. I’m quite satisfied with this machine.
Shabayek

I tried the EEE PC, and the version we had, 4 GB + Camerea, used to get overheated very quick, that even the keyboard keys start to get warm after 30 minutes of usage… I have senstive nerves in my palms, and using a warm keyboard can ruin my typing capabilities for days…

I think it’s a good think in cold weathers countires, not else…

Anyone noticed the same thing ? or did I test an early version of it ?
The Wombat

I am entranced by these little machines, have only had a short play with one at a store, but have blown a chunk of my bonus thiis morning and bought a 4G (non Surf – so with webcam and, I think, better battery life) from Currys for GBP219 – oddly 10 pounds cheaper than the 2G they sell… freaky. Unsurprisingly they seem to sell out at that level (cheaper than eBay I have been searching on) fairly rapidly!.
NB I am not associated with Currys/Dixons in any way , just thought their pricing was messed up and was seriously excited by the prospect of owning my own little eee….