Asus EEE-PC

chris85

ytareh wrote: »

Lilybarlean it would seem VERY unwise to not take a new laptop from PC World as I believe you are entitled to, and instead leave it with them to 'fix'.Do you really have faith that they will say "Come round and collect it next Tuesday " ,and it will be ready and fixed there for you ?You may be told to ring in a week or twos time and they will than tell you IF its ready ...they may not actually be able to fix it ...just try and copy whatever stuff you can onto a memory card/stick ...This advice is not JUST based on PC World's dreadful customer service but that of their sister companies Currys/Dixons etc and retailers/businesses in general...Heck theyve even set up a central phone line so you can hardly contact individual branches and they seem to have sub contracted service/support to some British crowd called The Tech Guys ...all very uninspiring ....Take the new laptop and be glad it didnt happen outside the first 28 days/ month ...I buy quite a lot of stuff from them incidentally so its not like Im pathologically against them per se just as soon as you walk in you will always see queues of people returning stuff and the staff dont seem too tech savvy either ...

+1

The staff in PC World seem to have no idea about what they are selling you. I went in a few months looking at expensive enough small PC's before I got hooked on the 'netbooks', I asked the difference between two laptops and he looked at them and said the more expensive one had better processor and bigger hard drive and more RAM. I said no they dont, they have the exact same processor (exact same), same size RAM and HDD. He just goes 'oh yeah, the main difference is the brand'. More expensive one was sony and the cheaper one was philips.

Went in last week and asked about the advent 4211 and the guy had no clue. I was looking at it and he came over so I presumed he must have a basic knowledge of them (my first mistake), he didnt know what cell battery or any idea on battery life and that is a big seller with these.

Might get the advent off pixmania as the two year guarantee is good with it. and its cheaper.

ytareh

Jeez man Pixmania have a terrible rep on Boards ...might want to do a search here before ordering...Prices are keen on some items though .Let us know if you order from them .But to be honest for the sake of less than 20 euro or so Id sooner walk into PC World and carry one home .EVEN if you dont get jerked around by online retailers when you return stuff you still have the hassle and expense of sending back the product.If the saving was significant Id chance it but theyre only 379 euro in PC World ...350 ish plus postage on Pixmania?At least you have 28 days for something to go wrong and replace it ...

Stephen

phoenix2181 wrote: »

Quick one for you guys

Has anyone actually got their hands on a asus 901 yet? I put an order into laptopdirect.ie on the 19th of July & they still haven't got any in stock, when I look around I don't see any sites that actually have it in stock??

Yeah, got mine yesterday but from clove.co.uk. Ordered on Friday last week.

CuppaCocoa

Stephen wrote: »

They'll probably just swap it for a new one.

:mad: Nope. Rang them and they said because of the dirrefent vat rate? I can't exchange it down here! Told them that PC World in the North said I could but didn't get anywhere. Anyone know if this is correct?

Elara: Kin

You guys do know we have the XP 901s in stock? For how long I don't know.

savemejebus

Kin Mak wrote: »

You guys do know we have the XP 901s in stock? For how long I don't know.

you don't have linux ones in stock and you have the specs of the linux ones wrong on your site;)

chris85

ytareh wrote: »

Jeez man Pixmania have a terrible rep on Boards ...might want to do a search here before ordering...Prices are keen on some items though .Let us know if you order from them .But to be honest for the sake of less than 20 euro or so Id sooner walk into PC World and carry one home .EVEN if you dont get jerked around by online retailers when you return stuff you still have the hassle and expense of sending back the product.If the saving was significant Id chance it but theyre only 379 euro in PC World ...350 ish plus postage on Pixmania?At least you have 28 days for something to go wrong and replace it ...

I ordered it off pixmania and going to see how it goes. I dont mind the extra 20 euro in PC world, its the extra one year warranty with it off pixmania that has me sold on it which would be worth a bit.

Elara: Kin

savemejebus wrote: »

you don't have linux ones in stock and you have the specs of the linux ones wrong on your site;)

What linux specs are wrong... *&$%£ CNET. :mad:

savemejebus

The Linux eee 901 comes with a 20 gig SSD rather than a 12 gig SSD.

Elara: Kin

savemejebus wrote: »

The Linux eee 901 comes with a 20 gig SSD rather than a 12 gig SSD.

Thanks... just for you I am going to open some pre weekend whoopass.

savemejebus

nooooh, that is unfridaylike behaviour, harsh

Elara: Kin

savemejebus wrote: »

nooooh, that is unfridaylike behaviour, harsh

Too late, you now can know that you have been responsible for the desciption change once it updates. Also just an update that the 901 Linux ones are not due in any time soon, seems like the ones to have.

Trotter

Are we looking at weeks or months for the EEE PC 1000? I'm in Dubai right now and some shops have huge stacks of 900's and a few 901's. No 1000's at all. Anyone I've asked hasn't heard of them.

Elara: Kin

Trotter wrote: »

Are we looking at weeks or months for the EEE PC 1000? I'm in Dubai right now and some shops have huge stacks of 900's and a few 901's. No 1000's at all. Anyone I've asked hasn't heard of them.

We have the XP 1000s and I was told that the Linux is due very soon.

evilearthwormj

Any idea how soon the 20gb Black Linux 901s are going to be in stock?

Elara: Kin

evilearthwormj wrote: »

Any idea how soon the 20gb Black Linux 901s are going to be in stock?

Not anytime soon from us, the others might have it sooner though.

CuppaCocoa

lilybarlean wrote: »

:mad: Nope. Rang them and they said because of the dirrefent vat rate? I can't exchange it down here! Told them that PC World in the North said I could but didn't get anywhere. Anyone know if this is correct?

Any advice before I make the trek to Lisburn tomorrow? Can I demand a replacement from a Dublin store?

ytareh

Ummmm why am I not surprised at a customer being fobbed off by PC World....(not that they have a monopoly on this kind of mullarkey!)Id ring the consumer protection office or whatever its called and get the straight facts .Id be optimistic what with the Single European Market /Maastricht Treaty etc etc .Of course the phone line fobbed you off (interesting ,imaginative fob off!),they dont have to deal with you face to face .Id far sooner go to Blanchardstown or your nearest branch and at least then you can cry/scream/jump up and down etc if needs be .If you are armed with the straight facts on the international refund system all the better .You can be damn sure most of them probably dont know seeing as half of them wouldnt know a cpu from a psu...Lets know how you get on ...But dont drive to Lisburn without checking first ...

CuppaCocoa

Looks like I'll be going back to Lisburn . Rang Consumer Affairs but no luck. They did say however, that you're entitled to a 2 year warranty and not 1 year as PC World says!

PC World did say they would collect it and send it for repair but at this stage I just want a new one. God knows how long that would take. I'll get a refund and buy one down here. Doesn't make sense that they would send a courier for it but not accept it back in a Dublin store

Trotter

Are we looking at weeks or months before I can get my hands on an Asus 1000?? I'm in Dubai for a few days and the 900's are stacked high in every electronics shop. No sign of the 1000 though. I saw a couple of 901's yesterday. They're fab little things.

savemejebus

Elara and dabs have had 1000's for the last week and a half. Dabs are now sold out but are getting more stock in a day or two while you can get a black or white 1000's from elara no problem

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1593770&productID=S5712693

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1593771&productID=S5714393

Soundman

Well.... Just splurged and bought the Asustek EeePC 1000H from Elara. Little more than I hoped to pay as it's just going to get used in work but sure life is short and you can't take your money with you. Needed a bit of retail therapy anyway.

Using it for some word docs, internet, PA system controlling and maybe see if it can handle photoshop. Or rather if I can on the tiny screen.

Trotter

Soundman wrote: »

Well.... Just splurged and bought the Asustek EeePC 1000H from Elara. Little more than I hoped to pay as it's just going to get used in work but sure life is short and you can't take your money with you. Needed a bit of retail therapy anyway.

Using it for some word docs, internet, PA system controlling and maybe see if it can handle photoshop. Or rather if I can on the tiny screen.

Can I ask why you went for the 1000H over the the 1000?

Soundman

Because they only had the 1000H as far as I saw. I don't actually know what the difference is...

Should get it by Thursday with any luck.


Edit: They do have the 1000, but it only has it with Linux and is more expensive with less HDD space.

Stephen

The difference is the 1000 has a 40GB solid-state disk, and the 1000H has a traditional 80GB SATA hard drive.

Soundman

Cheers for that Stephen. SSD was never of huge importance to me. All good there so.

machalla

Any recommendations on where the best value is for 2Gb of ram for the 1000h? I'm looking to upgrade the memory.

I'll probably be upgrading the hard disk as well but that can wait for now. I'd definitely recommend this machine (apart from XP Home which can be annoying if you use a domain). Its comfortable to type on and just so compact.

I got one if a fit of madness and have been very pleasantly surprised.

The_Conductor

machalla wrote: »

Any recommendations on where the best value is for 2Gb of ram for the 1000h? I'm looking to upgrade the memory.

I'll probably be upgrading the hard disk as well but that can wait for now. I'd definitely recommend this machine (apart from XP Home which can be annoying if you use a domain). Its comfortable to type on and just so compact.

I got one if a fit of madness and have been very pleasantly surprised.

www.shop4memory.com (based in Celbridge and as competitive as anywhere else- plus really fast with shipping......)

machalla

Cheers for that smccarrick. I wasn't sure they still were competitive or not. Just waiting on a reply from them as the configurator doesn't seem to include Eee Pcs yet. Which is lazy I know but its that kind of day Thanks again.
----
I got a bit less lazy and found this should do the trick (its referenced way back in this thread too).

Part Number: MIOPE1B16
Manufacturer: Adata
http://shop4memory.com/products/ddr2-so-dimm.asp

The_Conductor

machalla wrote: »

Cheers for that smccarrick. I wasn't sure they still were competitive or not. Just waiting on a reply from them as the configurator doesn't seem to include Eee Pcs yet. Which is lazy I know but its that kind of day Thanks again.
----
I got a bit less lazy and found this should do the trick (its referenced way back in this thread too).

Part Number: MIOPE1B16
Manufacturer: Adata
http://shop4memory.com/products/ddr2-so-dimm.asp

Even better value is today's Ibood offer- 27 quid for 2Gb SODIMMs- don't think you'll beat that! I've the exact same memory running in my 701- so it does work. Shane

machalla

I just checked it before I checked the thread here. My cornflakes came close to drowning the laptop! I only ordered the A-Data 2Gb yesterday for €43!

Ah well. I'm going to order some for my friends and relations Eees. I'm sure there will be no objections to the extra Gb of ram. Cheers Shane.

Trotter

Theres a very good article in Business and Finance this week about the Netbook concept. The general idea is that these are about to take off into the Irish market. I'm tempted to wait until september and see if theres a cheaper direct alternative to the EEE PC 1000 or else to see if it has come down in price. Its working out at the €500 mark now with postage included.

machalla

This may be of interest about Dell. I'm not sure when they are out here but the price might be right.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/08/12/dell_to_launch_eee_rival/

The_Conductor

machalla wrote: »

This may be of interest about Dell. I'm not sure when they are out here but the price might be right.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/08/12/dell_to_launch_eee_rival/

I think its the 8.9" Inspiron-E thats due out today- with the 10" version in September. It'll be interesting to see what the OS, storage and price is on them.......

Edit:
Price is $299...... hmmm......

machalla

The last I heard about the OS it was Ubuntu Hardy using the netbook remix (reconfigures the interface for netbook useage) but I'm they will probably have a windows version as well.

The_Conductor

machalla wrote: »

The last I heard about the OS it was Ubuntu Hardy using the netbook remix (reconfigures the interface for netbook useage) but I'm they will probably have a windows version as well.

Hopefully the use of Linux is reflected in the specifications/price of the unit (its 80 quid a pop for the OEM version of windows- has to be worth a bigger SSD or something on HH?)

Cas2007

did you come out here or was that US only?

Teferi

Got my black 901 linux last night.

I think I am in love.

machalla

smccarrick wrote: »

Hopefully the use of Linux is reflected in the specifications/price of the unit (its 80 quid a pop for the OEM version of windows- has to be worth a bigger SSD or something on HH?)

More info came out on it now. Still not too clear. Theres a claim of an 80Gb SSD drive but theres some caveat thats not clear from the documents. $300 but who knows what they may charge here. Linux but no distro mentioned apart from blacktop.

It would seem to make sense Linux would be cheaper but you never know with Dells relationship with MS.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/dell-e-and-e-slim-revealed-taking-on-eee-and-air-in-one-fell-sw/

Due out this month sometime it looks like.

Soundman

Fair play to Elara. Ordered the Asustek EeePC 1000H on Sunday, payment cleared that night and lunchtime Monday it was delivered.

Lovely little unit. Still getting used to the slightly smaller keyboard, though it has a really nice action. Screen is a very nice size too. More than useable.

Trotter

Crikey I'm starting to wonder now whether to just get the 901 and forget the 1000. The 901 is having such good reviews and its much cheaper.

Decisions decisions.

Is the 901 keyboard that bad?

Teferi

I have had no troubles with the keyboard yet. My hands are fairly large so they hit the wrong button the odd time but I'm sure I will get used to placement of the keys eventually.

ytareh

Oh no as if I wasnt confused enough now Dell's thrown their hat in the ring!They look nice -always wanted a 1330 in that nice red -now I can have its ickle brother-US$300 has got to translate into next to nothing unless rip off Ireland is up to its usual shenanigans.Nice spec balance too ...any ideas anybody when these might hit our shores....likely to be fully customisable in normal Dell style ...Wouldnt mind a red 8.9" with a gig of RAM and XP on a 16GB SSD hard drive...
....The prices some (most) of the characters on Adverts are looking for their second(and even third/fourth!)hand EEE 701s (try 350 euro...) is making a new Netbook look like an increasingly likely prospect for me ...4211 is a sweet little machine but cant help but feel that EEE is the real innovator/origin of the species -ANY 901s at half reasonable price?

Trotter

ytareh wrote: »

ANY 901s at half reasonable price?

The 901 Linux has gone up €8 on Elara by the looks of it.

Trotter

ytareh wrote: »

ANY 901s at half reasonable price?

The 901 Linux has gone up €8 on Elara by the looks of it. Its over the €400 mark now!

ytareh

As Ive said before even with the EEEs SSD hard drive and 'old school'(LOL these things arent even a year old are they ?)charm I would have to think long and hard about paying more than the 379 euro of the very good all rounder the Advent 4211

swingking

I'm using an asus 900 with the standard battery. Does anyone know where you can get the better 6 cell batteries for the asus eee pcs

spideog7

I finally got my hands on my 901 Saturday. Ordered it from buy.com (In the US at the moment) cost me $567 or roughly E365. Read alot of bad press about them but can't fault them personally, took the free shipping and it still shipped fedex with tracking and delivered on Saturday 4 days after leaving the warehouse.

It's a great little thing, I'm having fun customising the default Linux, I have to say once you get rid of the Tabs and put on the "Advanced mode" ie standard desktop, it's really nice, i did not like the easdy mode that comes as standard though. I was going to change to Xubuntu or something as I've used that before and it's real light. But the default one works real well, and quick.

Works nice with Skype, the built in camera is great and even the built in mic has good quality. It has really good sound if you're sitting in front of it, and it plays avi's pretty flawlessly. Wireless is great and works with youtube or bbc news clips perfectly. The battery seems to be fairly good, I haven't actually timed it but it's certainly a good couple of hours and that's only it's second charge. I'm trying to charge and discharge it for a couple of cycles, so it'll work to it's maximum.One other thing that strikes me about it is the screen is really clear and sharp, at least to my eyes.

It looks sweet and everyone who has seen it has been amazed by how small and "cute" it is.

As for gripes well you can't touch it cause the shiny finish gets completely paw marked, but it does come with a special cloth for cleaning it. The mouse push button's are a little strong but their aluminium finish looks sweet. As for the keyboard it is a bit small but easy to get used of (I'm typing this on it) I've had no problems with it bar the right shift key which I have failed to hit almost every time and end up pushing the up arrow instead. So I guess I should just get in the habit of using the left shift key as it is a big size key !!

Personally I think it was a great little purchase, and you do not need to know much about Linux to use it, but it does help to be open to learning a little so you can install programs and stuff. I would recommend the 901 to anyone.

spideog7

swingking wrote: »

I'm using an asus 900 with the standard battery. Does anyone know where you can get the better 6 cell batteries for the asus eee pcs

jkkmobile did a review of the "Mugen 7800mAh" battery for the 900 and said it was very good, but a little bigger and heavier. That one is available on Ebay and is supposed to give very good battery times.

Stephen

I've been running Ubuntu Netbook Remix on my 901 for the last few days and I have to say its bloody good. Its still in beta but there are no big show-stopping bugs

Getting all the hardware working in Ubuntu was a pain in the ass though - had to follow these instructions: http://wiki.eeeuser.com/hardy_on_eee901