The NPD group has done a study into customer satisfaction among netbook buyers, and they came to some surprisingly unsurprising results. As it turns out, people who expected a notebook when they bought a netbook were more likely to be disappointed than buyers who set out to buy a netbook from the get-go. No doodoo, Sherlock.
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Member since:2006-01-27
Here's what the EeePC is lacking or deficient that would otherwise make it a 'real' computer::
Keyboard. Speakers. Graphic card. Sound card. Screen size. Processor. Upgradability/expandability. Optical drive. RAID-capable. Floppy drive (some folks still use them, particularly us OS hobbiests). Multi-card reader.
Not to mention limitations on software and operating system installations.
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Don't misunderstand, I actually like the Eeepc; it's the perfect motel toy for traveling. But I have no fantasies about it running the same software or performing the same tasks as a 'real' computer: gaming, GIS, CAD, music, connecting to peripherals, etc.
Edited 2009-06-23 16:53 UTC
Member since:2006-01-26
Note, I have an Acer Aspire One, so I suppose I don't have a direct comparison...
Mine isn't too bad... can always hook up an external keyboard if I must.
Yep, they suck... headphones are a great addition
Good enough for my purposes, I almost always use integrated video on machines these days anyway.
Intel HDA is enough for me...
Yep, damnit for portability it's exactly what I expect.
Hard to argue with the efficiency of the Atom, however...
USB...
USB...
WTF?
USB...
Mine has this... sort of. (two if you count the other SD card slot too - but it's not multi-card)
It doesn't accommodate CF which is what my camera uses... so, USB...
Jeez, I dunno, I'm quad-booting mine between Windows XP, eeebuntu, Haiku GCC2 and Haiku GCC4 currently... those are the only OSes I really mess with at this point.
Member since:2005-07-06
Keyboard. Speakers. Graphic card. Sound card. Screen size. Processor. Upgradability/expandability. Optical drive. RAID-capable. Floppy drive (some folks still use them, particularly us OS hobbiests). Multi-card reader.
Not to mention limitations on software and operating system installations.
-------------------
Don't misunderstand, I actually like the Eeepc; it's the perfect motel toy for traveling. But I have no fantasies about it running the same software or performing the same tasks as a 'real' computer: gaming, GIS, CAD, music, connecting to peripherals, etc.
So I guess one of my computers, still running full versions of Linux and Windows, is no longer a real computer?
Keyboard. All netbooks so far have keyboards.
Speakers. speakers too
Graphic card. They also have Graphics cards. We're on a roll.
Sound card. Yup, we've got a sound card
Screen size. Small, but with usable res
Processor. As fast as procs from just a few years ago
Upgradability/expandability. You mean like laptop? How about an ExpressCard slot?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146554
Optical drive. USB works wonders here.
RAID-capable. You mean like all the other RAID equipped laptops? Oh wait, that's like 2% of the laptop market, if that.
Floppy drive. It's 2009. Come on in, the water's warm.
Multi-card reader. A number of the netbooks have these.
Here's one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152092
Edited 2009-06-23 19:50 UTC
Member since:2006-05-30
I have a 10" EEEpc, and while it's ok, there's a lot wrong with it. A few problems are: huge screen bezel (IBM managed to make full-lid sized screens back in 1996), crappy mouse buttons and a generally crappy trackpad, dumb Fn key in the wrong place, bottom-pointing speakers (for gawds sake, why???), Linux battery life is approx 1hr less than on XP (not the EEE's fault though), abysmally slow HD access speed (I have the SSD/CF card version), and a built-in webcam I don't want. I'd also prefer 4:3 ratio to 16:10 or 16:9, but apparently I'm the only one who doesn't use their laptop for passively consuming video. Reviews also claimed it to be silent, but I can still hear the fan. Like most Atom based boards, the CPU can cool passively, but the crappy chipset needs a fan - a tiny, high-pitched one.
It's usable, but I plan to ebay it as soon as a decent ARM netbook comes out.
Member since:2008-08-19
Keyboard. Speakers. Graphic card. Sound card. Screen size. Processor. Upgradability/expandability. Optical drive. RAID-capable. Floppy drive (some folks still use them, particularly us OS hobbiests). Multi-card reader.
So, your view is that full-size laptops aren't real computers either?
Member since:2005-07-06
Keyboard. Speakers. Graphic card. Sound card. Screen size. Processor. Upgradability/expandability. Optical drive. RAID-capable. Floppy drive (some folks still use them, particularly us OS hobbiests). Multi-card reader.
I am writing from LG LT20 that has similar spec to Asus EEE PC (1.5 GHz Pentium M with 2GB DDR-RAM). It does not have built-in optical drive nor floppy disk (which is depreciated and should not be part of modern netbook or notebook). For that logic, LT20 is not a 'real' computer, right?
It depends what operating are used. It is not hard to install from a live-USB or SD Card.
Then you should blame yourself to choose the wrong hardware. As for music, even the XO-1 can play them once your favorite musics are converted (on a Linux distribution, it just a matter for using OGGConvert or ffmpeg2[insert_format]).
Member since:
2006-03-20
The specs are ok.2 GB of RAM and an 160 GB hard drive? how come it is not a real computer?