The £200 laptop
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:11 pmWe recently bought the Asus EEE for our daughter.
http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/Sea ... CatId=2944
I confess to having been rather sceptical about what it could deliver, albeit the reviews were positive. I had imagined returning it, suspecting that its build quality or performance may have been sub-standard ... but ...
It is amazing! Really great value, and is a wee glimpse of the future, I reckon. The build feels very robust, and indeed it is aimed at children, so the design is geared around keeping it unbreakable. It is extremely lightweight, and is around A5 sized. Even the sound quality - while not 'hi-fi' quality - is much better than on many more expensive machines.
One reason that the cost is so low is that it does not use any Microsoft software – all Linux and Open Office. I am pleasantly surprised at how intuitive they are to use, and how they substitute for all that you could want. It networked effortlessly to our home network, including the HP printer. And it has an application that allows you to chat as if it had MSN Messenger.
All in, very hard to fault for the money. Worth considering before you go spending much higher amounts of money on a laptop. While aimed at children and people on the move, it could suit any PC user, in my view. Main drawback is that, because it is so small, the keyboard is a wee bit cramped; not a problem when you get used to it ... unless you have hands like a farmer, I suppose
By the way, PC World told us that they are flying off their shelves, and Misco, where we got ours, say that the manufacturer has been overwhelmed with the level of demand. They had not predicted that a non-Microsoft laptop would sell so well.
http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/Sea ... CatId=2944
I confess to having been rather sceptical about what it could deliver, albeit the reviews were positive. I had imagined returning it, suspecting that its build quality or performance may have been sub-standard ... but ...
It is amazing! Really great value, and is a wee glimpse of the future, I reckon. The build feels very robust, and indeed it is aimed at children, so the design is geared around keeping it unbreakable. It is extremely lightweight, and is around A5 sized. Even the sound quality - while not 'hi-fi' quality - is much better than on many more expensive machines.
One reason that the cost is so low is that it does not use any Microsoft software – all Linux and Open Office. I am pleasantly surprised at how intuitive they are to use, and how they substitute for all that you could want. It networked effortlessly to our home network, including the HP printer. And it has an application that allows you to chat as if it had MSN Messenger.
All in, very hard to fault for the money. Worth considering before you go spending much higher amounts of money on a laptop. While aimed at children and people on the move, it could suit any PC user, in my view. Main drawback is that, because it is so small, the keyboard is a wee bit cramped; not a problem when you get used to it ... unless you have hands like a farmer, I suppose
By the way, PC World told us that they are flying off their shelves, and Misco, where we got ours, say that the manufacturer has been overwhelmed with the level of demand. They had not predicted that a non-Microsoft laptop would sell so well.
