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ASUS Eee PC 4G Surf  (Source: Newegg)
ASUS's Eee PC 4G Surf comes with a lower price tag, reduced features

Many retailers have been hovering in and out of stock of ASUS' highly popular Eee PC 4G Linux-powered notebook. The two-pound Eee PC 4G has garnered rave reviews from around the web and has sprouted a fan site which details every conceivable aspect of the device.

The first shipments of Eee PCs to hit the retail market were of the Eee PC 4G which features a 900MHz Celeron Processor (which happens to run at 630MHz on a 70MHz bus), 512MB of DDR2 memory (upgradeable), a 7" display, integrated webcam and a 4-cell 5200 mAh battery (3.5 hours). The notebook was first available in Pearl White; however, Galaxy Black was later introduced.

Now it appears that the second wave of Eee PCs is starting to appear online. Newegg and ZipZoomFly are both stocking the new Eee PC 4G Surf model (Galaxy Black only). The 4G Surf has 512MB of DDR2 memory soldered onto the motherboard -- it is not upgradeable like regular 4G. In addition, the 4G Surf lacks the webcam and features a 4-cell 4400 mAh battery (2.8 hours).

The reduced feature set also means that the 4G Surf comes with a lower price tag: $349.99 versus $399.99 for the 4G.

The lower price is welcome news to those that need the extra frills afforded by the webcam and the ability to upgrade the memory, but many may not be willing to cope with reduced battery life as well.

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Overpriced
By vailr on 11/21/2007 5:37:30 PM , Rating: 3
For the same $300 to $350, there are much better Compaq laptops scheduled for Fry's and Staple's for BF.
Wasn't the original 200 MHz Netpliance IOpener selling for ~$99 when it first appeared? This Asus laptop is certainly not worth more than ~$200. Especially the model with soldered-in, non-upgradeable memory.
No thanks.




RE: Overpriced
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 11/21/2007 5:45:44 PM , Rating: 5
I guess that some people just don't understand the concept of a fully functioning ultra portable PC.

The 15.4" notebooks that will be available during BF are 6 to 6.5 pounds. This is 2 pounds and is easily transportable just about anywhere. Try lugging around a 6 pound notebook all the time.

People pay $400 for a top end graphics card, then complain about a company offering a fully functioning, small, lightweight computer for the same price.


RE: Overpriced
By Vanilla Thunder on 11/21/07, Rating: -1
RE: Overpriced
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 11/21/2007 6:09:45 PM , Rating: 4
If it isn't a key selling point, then why is there even a market for 12.1" or smaller notebooks?

The notebook is consistently selling out and has been a best seller at many sites. People love the small size and affordable price tag.

If you guys would actually read the multitude of reviews of this device out there, you would see what all the fuss is about.

Here, I'll do you a favor and post them for you:

http://www.dailytech.com/ASUS+Eee+PC+Not+Perfectio...
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/eee-pc-rev...
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4...
(4/5) http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2209847,00.as...
(7.5/10) http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-eee-pc-4g/450...
(4/5) http://laptopmag.com/Review/Exclusive-First-Review...
(9/10) http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/200...

quote:
For less than $400, the Asus Eee PC 4G offers an impressive package for portable Web surfing and basic productivity, as long as you keep expectations tempered. The incredibly approachable price outweighs any shortcomings; it's a near perfect choice for a highly portable second or backup laptop.

quote:
The ASUS Eee PC 4G is a tremendous bargain for people with general-purpose computing needs who don't plan on running any sophisticated software. It's intuitive enough that even a little child can learn to use it, and it loads everything you need for performing basic office and multimedia tasks.

quote:
As such, one can only recommend the Eee PC. It does have its issues, but it's difficult to deny both the value and sheer usefulness of the device as an auxiliary notebook or general portable companion. Moreover, Asus must be applauded for being gutsy enough to introduce such a device at the bargainacious price it has. Now, one can only hope it is encouraged by this response and goes away to improve on what it has done.

quote:
The Asus Eee PC offers outstanding value for Linux enthusiasts and good value for a mainstream audience. The laptop brazenly defies the conventional standards of portable computing and delivers extreme mobility at an appealing price.

The hardware is impressive for the price, and the sheer portability of the system is mind-blowing. Despite the quality of the hardware, the cramped keyboard will be a deal-breaker for many consumers. Potential Eee owners with big hands should try it in person to make sure that they are comfortable with the keyboard before they buy. The low screen resolution is also disappointing, but virtual desktops and font customization make it easier to tolerate. The only other major hardware issue is poor screen visibility when under direct sunlight, a problem that commonly afflicts laptops and mobile devices with LCDs.


If you can't see the appeal of this device after reading those reviews, then... well... have mercy on your soul :)


RE: Overpriced
By robber98 on 11/21/2007 6:30:03 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
You can't seriously be telling me that 4 pounds of weight is enough of a reason to use one of these over other notebooks?


Sorry, 4 pounds differences is huge if you lug around all day on foot. Worse if you do that everyday.


RE: Overpriced
By BladeVenom on 11/21/2007 10:19:06 PM , Rating: 3
Worse still having to carry an extra 4 pounds while lugging around, books, briefcase, projector, luggage, etc...


RE: Overpriced
By deeznuts on 11/21/2007 7:42:00 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
You can't seriously be telling me that 4 pounds of weight is enough of a reason to use one of these over other notebooks?
Yes it is. 2 lbs is enough for people to pay hundreds more for a similarly equipped notebook (going from 15.4 to 13.3 or 12.1 etc.). This is 4 lbs lighter, and only several hundred bucks.

You can't seriously tell me that you don't see the value in such a machine. Your average person surfs, type a few docs, watch movies - what is better? Me, I'm holding out for a 10" screen, but this would be decent.


RE: Overpriced
By afkrotch on 11/22/2007 10:23:55 AM , Rating: 2
I carry around a Everex 12.1" laptop, cause any larger and it becomes a pain. Especially when trying to run through an airport, cause your plane was late and you have 5 mins to get to your connecting flight.

I would have gone smaller, but it starts becoming significanly more expensive. Was looking at a JVC Mini-note. 8.9" screen and about 1 pound lighter. It goes for three to four times the cost of the Everex though.

The EeePC wasn't an option due to the smaller storage size. Many times do I forget to grab my external. Course it wasn't on the market when I bought my Everex. I am considering it for short trips though. Like weekend excursions and not international flights. If they make it use a regular 2.5" hdd, I'm all over it.


RE: Overpriced
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 11/22/2007 11:41:39 AM , Rating: 2
I've been reading up more and more on the Eee PC. I'm thinking of selling my Samsung Q1 Ultra and buying the regular 4G model.

The storage space was a concern for me, but I recently stumbled across http://portableapps.com/

It has all open source/freeware apps that can fit onto a 512MB flash drive. All I need to do is just install it to an 8GB SDHC card, plug it in the Eee PC, leave it, then call it a day.


RE: Overpriced
By othercents on 11/22/2007 12:36:24 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
but your average person would just be wasting their money.


This notebook wasn't made for the "average person", but it is powerful enough for the "average person". Most people only use Word and the web. Now if you add in the cost of buying Word or Office package on top of that $300 or $350 laptop then your price gets significantly higher. Yes you can get openoffice for free, but your "average user" doesn't know how to get openoffice and will just buy whatever is easy from the store.

Don't mix "average user" with the technically savy. Keep in mine most people on dailytech I would consider technically savy while your average user is still figuring out how to navigate the msn website.

For me, I travel around promoting my business where I have to get to a website for people to signup. I carry a laptop, so that people can signup right then. I don't need to lug around my 15.2" screen laptop just for people to signup. This asus eee will work just fine and will work fine for the rest of my sales staff.

Other


RE: Overpriced
By abzillah on 11/22/2007 2:37:52 PM , Rating: 2
I'm a collage student. I have a great desktop at home, but would love to have one of these for school. I will wait for the 10" model to come out. This is a great price, good specs for everything that I will use it for. I have my desktop for everything else.
Can't wait till the 10" model comes out.


RE: Overpriced
By mmntech on 11/21/2007 5:56:56 PM , Rating: 2
I agree with it being overpriced. There are used sub 15'' laptops out there with longer battery life, higher display resolutions, more storage, faster processors, and more features. You can buy an old iBook for around $400-$500 these days. New is not always better. Especially when people realize it's too slow to run modern commercial software.


RE: Overpriced
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 11/21/2007 6:01:18 PM , Rating: 2
The Eee PC running at 630MHz in Linux or Windows XP is blazing fast. The new BIOS bring it up to the full 900MHz to make it an even better performer.

The darn thing boots in about 15 seconds. How is that slow?


RE: Overpriced
By BrownJohn on 11/21/2007 7:25:06 PM , Rating: 2
exactly. remember, the minimum requirements for xp are only 64mb ram and 233mhz processor, so this laptop would do nicely.


RE: Overpriced
By elpresidente2075 on 11/21/2007 8:05:54 PM , Rating: 3
Kind of off topic, but XP will run on much less than that. I've had it running on 16MB ram, 4gig HD, and a 90MHz Pentium. It's as slow as it gets, but it works.

The EEE is not overpriced at all, IMO. Of course, I'd like it to be cheaper ($300 for this model, $350 for the upper) and if it was I'd buy one right now, but it's not so bad, considering it's only been out for what? 2-3 weeks?


RE: Overpriced
By TomZ on 11/21/2007 9:09:18 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The darn thing boots in about 15 seconds. How is that slow?

Are you seriously suggesting to benchmark the speed of a system by its boot time? All that tells us is that a slow computer can load a small operating system in a reasonable amount of time.

No, what's more important is how long it takes you to accomplish normal tasks. If you're just doing simple tasks, then the slow processor is probably okay. But even browsing the web is CPU intensive - you can tell this when you upgrade your computer and your web browsing speeds up. Everything will be slower - maybe fast enough for some people, but I think a lot of people who buy such a slow computer will soon regret it.


RE: Overpriced
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 11/21/2007 10:05:10 PM , Rating: 1
I'm still trying to figure out what the heck you are talking about, sorry :)

Have you even read ANY of the reviews of this device or are you just blindly going by what you THINK will take place when you use the Eee PC?

Every review out there has said that this device has excellent performance and is a great value.

What tasks does ASUS say the Eee PC should be used for? Document editing, Internet browsing, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, email, MP3 playing, video playback.

What out of any of that listed above needs more than a 900MHz processor? Please tell me, I'd really like to know. The 900MHz processor plus the solid-state disk makes for a respectable system as far as speed is concerned if you actually read the reviews out there (and there are plenty to sift through).

As I previous stated, my Samsung Q1 Ultra only has an 800MHz Intel processor and it does all of the above with ease... and that's with Windows Vista which is a resource hog.

You don't need current generation hardware to do basic everyday stuff in Windows XP... let alone Linux which this thing runs by default. That's what this device is targeted at, so I don't see why all of you guys are having such a cow.


RE: Overpriced
By Hare on 11/23/2007 3:15:29 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
What out of any of that listed above needs more than a 900MHz processor?

A while ago I tested this. My previous laptop had this "quiet" key in it that locked the 1.73Ghz Pentium M to 600mhz and you couldn't really tell the difference unless you browsed really heavy sites with flash adds and/or java. The average user wouldn't even notice the difference (CPU hardly ever peaked during web browsing even with 600mhz speed).

Of course the CPU architecture is totally different but 900mhz for a computer this size and price is more than ok, if you ask me.


RE: Overpriced
By feelingshorter on 11/22/2007 12:49:26 AM , Rating: 3
Like the other user about, your obviously not buying this laptop to lug it around. I'll use myself as an example. Last year i bought a 14.1 inch Toshiba laptop on sale on Black Friday for about 450 or so. It was a good price at the time, and i thought at the time 14 inch and 5.5 pounds should be pretty ok to carry around college (my first laptop). Wrong. Dead wrong. 5.5 pounds is just too heavy, takes up too much space, and i even damaged the screen accidentally dropping it too hard once. College books are a lot bigger than high school books. I just cannot fit all my folders/papers/books in there with a bigger laptop.

The Eee weights TWO freaking pounds. Thats on par with the size of some of the 12.1 inch laptops selling for 1000-2000 dollars.

Obviously your with the crowd that buys a laptop to use at home. You want it compact enough to lug around at home but i need it compact and light enough to lug it around college. Your like my dad who bought a laptop to use at home.

I also seriously don't remember the last time i used "modern commercial software" that needed much CPU power. The only thing i would need a laptop for us internet, word, power point, dictionary software...thats about it.

The only laptops that i know of, and according to cnet reviews that has an extreme long battery life are Sony's. (as much as people hate them, they make good "overpriced" laptops! You cannot