EeePC for traveling?

[BiG BoB]

Hi all,
Anyone on here using the Asus EeePC yet from travelling? I work in the resource exploration industry here in Aus and I'm in need of a new laptop for personal use. I'm mostly interested in it because of its solid state memory (have had a few mates loose hard drives) but I'm sort of concerned about its toughness in other respects.

Not too worried about its size, more important that I can carry it easily for use on flights, at airports/hotels, and of course out in the middle of nowhere

I've read a lot of reviews (both from the US and Aus) but I'm after personal experiences from owners of them, rather than the opinion of some bloke who probably played with it for 10min, and then had to think about what to write to get the most free stuff/advertising dollars.

Thanks in advance!

Sean

 

[paulj]

I too looked at the reviews. I also did a search for 'eeepc gps', seeking owners who were pairing it with a gps receiver. I found at least one person who demonstrated this use in a car. That use is not quite as mobile as what you have in mind, but may give you ideas on further searches.

A competitor in this size (7" screen) is the Everex Cloubbook, similar size screen, but with a hard drive. I have the Everex desktop ($200) with the same gOS Ubuntu Linux operating system (and VIA c7-d processor and board).

paulj

newegg has 30 user reviews of the EeePC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220266
These are for the smallest 2G version. Most of the con's have to do with the limited memory and cpu speed. The positive reviews come from people with realistic expectations, and a need for a small machine. Look at the review by Techmonkey. I think it would be especially good if you knew enough Linux to tweek the interface to your own needs.

another resource
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/

 

[grahamfitter]

I'm posting this using the 4GB model from the luxury of my sofa at home. I've been using it regularly since Christmas (2007) and its been reliable. The WIFI connectivity is superb so its great for internet stuff. The keyboard and screen are small but usable. Battery life is only a couple of hours with WIFI but if you can get that you can get power too. The only disadvantage I can think of on the road is the capacity for offloading photos.

I was thinking about adding GPS mapping software but I just got a motorcycle so I'll probably end up with something I can use for both two wheels and four.

Cheers,
Graham

 

[BiG BoB]

Thanx guys,
I'll be fairly new to the Linux environment, I've played with a "knopix" distribution that boots from a CD on a windows machine. My brother however is a Linux fan, so I'll get some tweeking help from him.

I'm planning on getting the 900 series with the 20gig of memory 1gig ram and larger screen, coupled with some sort of auxilary memory. At the moment I'm using an 80gig ipod as external memory that I got as a work bonus, but didnt need for MP3's. It seems to cope well with knocks and bumps whilst travelling.

Sean