The Asus: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146026

The Dell: http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/c...p;kc=topic~emea

 

So I'm looking to buy a laptop with 3 criteria

 

1. Not Vista

2. Cheap

3. Min 4 hours battery life

 

So I've set myself a challenge it seems, and it boils down to the two choices above. There are other options for the EEE PC, but this one is the cheapest of the latest models.

 

The EEE PC has 3 - 7 hours battery life, reportedly does 5 hours easily.

The Dell has 3 - 5 hours, every time I ask a Dell sales person what to expect they repeat the same robotic line about it being 3 - 5 hours depending on my usage.

 

The EEE PC is a diddy 10", not as small as other EEE PC's but small - this means its portable, but harder to use

The Dell is a standard 15.4", plenty of space, easier to work with but less portable

 

The EEE PC is XP so I can just turn it on and go

The Dell is Linux so there's a learning curve

 

The EEE PC is £340 to go and will be here tomorrow morning.

The Dell is £300 + £25 for a bigger battery that's still only 3-5 hours and because I'm a numpty I'd probably spend an extra £30 on it to get one of the nicer (mmm purple) designs oh and it'll take up to 10 working days to get here.

 

The EEE PC is made by Asus

The Dell is made by Dell

 

Ok, so I think the answer is kinda obvious for me because of my requirements, but I'm kinda sceptical about buying half a laptop when there's a whole one for the same price lol.

 

What would you do? Any advice?

how important is mobility to you?

could help answer the question - small is an advantage people look for

 

secondly - you haven't mentioned any specs - are they both exactly the same except for battery life and size?? (hard drive, ram, processor etc.)

Dell Specs:

Intel® Celeron Processor 550 (2.0Ghz, 533 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache) - N-Series

Ubuntu Edition version 8.04

1 Year Base Warranty

Web Camera NOT included

Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish

15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display with TrueLife™

1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]

80GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive

Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100

8x DVD+/-RW Optical drive - N-Series

6-cell battery

 

ASUS Specs:

CPU: Intel Mobile (Atom) 1.6GHz

Display:10" (1024x600)

Memory (1 Slot Only): 1024MB

Storage: 80GB HDD

Card reader: SD/MMC (SDHC)

Connection: 802.11 a/g/n, 10/100 Ethernet, Bluetooth

Expansion: 3 USB, VGA Port, Headphone/Mic-in

Camera: Headphone/Mic-in

Battery: 6 cell

Keyboard: Comfort

Colour: Black

Operating System:Windows XP (Preloaded)

Windows Live Suite, MS Works

Weight: 1.45Kg

Dimension: 266 x 191.2 x 28.5~38mm

Warranty: 2 year UK C&R

 

Very similar I think. And I don't know about portability. I want to use it in the car, the pub, the garden and my bed

The ASUS. Because it comes in lime green / pink. And because it's cool.

I'd get the dell (and plan to) as its cheaper and better and comes in more colors

It does?

 

Which colours?

Check the DELL page, theres more colors than the Asus, or a car model range

Pfft... £29 just to change the colour. No thank you.

Pfft... £29 just to change the colour. No thank you.

 

meh, you got what you pay for

 

It is a bit of a rip off, but I like the look of this laptop alot. Does anyone know when the dell mini inspirion will be released?

Here are my experiences with Dell products. My brother and sister both purchased Dell Insprion laptops for themselves. After a few months the battery life on both laptops started to decrease until they stopped working completely. Therefore the only way to use the laptops was to have them plugged in to the mains constantly.

 

Not long after, the laptop adapters themselves failed, leaving no choice but to purchase new batteries/adapters for the laptops. After purchasing new batteries and adapters, a few months later the same thing happened all over again.

 

As for me, I own a Dell PC. Recently the graphics card has blown and is causing me to not be able to get a display. So right now I have no use of my computer, which sucks.

 

All in all, not a good experience using Dell products.

Timely thread Eris as I've been looking to buy a cheap laptop recently and liked the look of the Asus. Personally I would go with the Linux OS though.

However the Dell has caught my attention and I now have the same dilemma as yourself.

Regardless of my choice though, I will be going with Linux for the OS.

I know you said there would be a bit of a learning curve with Ubuntu/Linux but for a tech savvy individual like yourself, I'm sure it wouldn't be too much of a problem.

As for Dell laptops, I'm currently using an old Inspiron 2200 running Fedora 9. Absolutely fantastic! The speed of the machine now compared to when it had XP installed is amazing. I have had battery problems as clearcutzdesigns mentioned but the machine is nearly 5 years old and £40 soon gets you a new battery.

As has also been mentioned, the Asus might be just a bit too small for my numb sausage like fingers to handle

Anyway, I've voted for the Dell.

Let us know which one you go for

I'm also considering the HP2133 and MSI wind.

 

I think its awesome that theres more choice on this category now. How long till apple make an apple macbook nano ?

Well I've gone for the ASUS it's got 10" and plenty of stamina (i.e. battery life), which is how I like my men so I guess I can't go far wrong </smut>

 

I only have little hands, so I don't see the ASUS being a problem, plus it isn't one of the really tiny ones - the keyboard is 95% the size of a standard keyboard.

 

I want the laptop for taking to the park/pub/garden/front room/in the car so that I can get my dissertation finished. I keep getting distracted on my normal computer. That means I need it fast and I need it working fast. The Linux versions of the ASUS at the moment are more expensive with 40GB less disk space and I can't wait for the prices to sort themselves out. The Dell also takes 10 days to arrive whereas my ASUS is going to be here in the next 3 hours (with luck).

 

In the long term once my dissertation is finished, I'm only going to use a laptop if it's portable. I also got totally put off of the Dell by the Dell sales team. I was talking to one of them and said "You're a sales person, sell me this laptop" and they didn't have enough information to convince me. I have also saved myself from spending £29 on purpleness lol.

 

It is likely I will install something like Ubuntu or Fedora or even FreeBSD (I like BSD ) on it after my dissertation is finished. But for now I get a free extra XP license + 40GB of space for £30 less than the Linux version would have cost.

 

I'll let you know what I think of it!

Yay Asus EEE!

 

Do let us know how you get on. Take pictures please.

Umm ok will do but will have to clean my house first! *blush*

 

First impressions are it's well built, sturdy and just fab. Despite costing £15 more than the Dell, it does come with a neoprene case and screen cleaner which you'd have to purchase separately with the dell.

It's there already?

 

I AM JEALOUS.

I've already had it 2 hours. I love Ebuyer.

Eris, after spending most of the day with 10 inches in your hand, how has it been?

I'm exhausted, I've never been worked so hard. It has completely blown me away.

 

What I mean of course (in case there's any ambiguity) is that I bought this machine to increase my productivity. I've spent the day in the pub and gotten more work done than I normally would in a week, and I'm flabbergasted at how easy it is to use, the keyboard is perfect.

 

I'll write a proper review, with pictures, once I've had it a little longer so it can make more than just a first impression on me

Look forward to reading the review