Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

scripting.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 59 posts

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#21

Post by acqq »

archangel_one wrote: post #7

I think Asus had blown it already with no assistance from the iPad. They've been moving away from their core market for some time - the original 7" Eee was a hit, but now it seems to have been entirely replaced by larger, more expensive models. They've diluted their brand significantly too; originally they were quite distinct from laptops but now there's a lot of crossover. And far too many models - a local compariso…

Asus wanted. Some time ago Asus had preparations to introduce non-x86 (but ARM) based netbook. It would be cheap, use less power, you name it (iPad is also ARM based). But Microsoft and Intel twisted Asus' arm, and Asus even had to publicly apologize for mentioning "the product that is not going to be."

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#22

Post by jrockway »

Oh yes, Dave Whiner #.

I like Asus' netbook. I needed an extra Windows box at work, so I picked up a $300 eeepc. Very useful, and the battery lasts forever. It's like an iPad, except that I can do whatever I want with it, and it's cheaper.

If this is "failure", I like failure.

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#23

Post by sorbus »

"Maybe the battery lasts longer, but they maxed out that spec when they hit 7 hours use per charge."

My 1005HA was rated for 10+ hours; running linux I generally got 8-9, but another person on HN reported 16 hours with Windows 7. It's not like Asus has been hiding the 10+ hours figure, either; looking through their product information, it's pretty clearly advertised. Does it take too much effort to do the basic research to make sure that a statement is correct before claiming it as truth?

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#25

Post by jerf »

nanairo wrote: post #8
ja27 wrote: post #5

Nothing's changing at the low end of the netbook lines because they're all still shipping with Windows XP or Windows 7 Starter, so the hardware has to be nearly crippled. Thanks, Microsoft. But at the higher end there are some neat ones. I got an Asus 1201N, which has a dual-core Atom, real Windows 7, and HDMI out. Makes a decent travelling machine and can handle almost any media needs.

Isn't that just an ultra-portable PC, rather than a netbook? I thought the whole point of a netbook is that it was very cheap but underpowered (though more than enough for the internet, hence its name).

Honestly, what's the difference? I'd kill for a netbook's performance ten years ago, even if it was in a desktop form factor. I laugh at what is considered "underpowered" nowadays.

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#26

Post by robryan »

sliverstorm wrote: post #13
archangel_one wrote: post #7

I think Asus had blown it already with no assistance from the iPad. They've been moving away from their core market for some time - the original 7" Eee was a hit, but now it seems to have been entirely replaced by larger, more expensive models. They've diluted their brand significantly too; originally they were quite distinct from laptops but now there's a lot of crossover. And far too many models - a local compariso…

The bigger screen size is useful. The 7" was, admittedly, a little too small. However, you're totally right on everything else. If they could offer $200-250 models again, I might even buy one on impulse. They really need to compete hard and drive the price down; the Kindle, iPad, cell phones and new Android tablets are making the market more competitive.

The 9inch that I had might be the sweet spot for me. Although it was the keyboard that killed it for me, slightly small and the tilde key was removed an all the numbers pushed left as a consequence. Could never really get used to it.

If they could somehow get a bit more key space on the 9inch that would be good but otherwise I'd probably need a 10inch. That said very happy with the mobility vs size tradeoff that my 13inch bmp has.

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#27

Post by joezydeco »

acqq wrote: post #21
archangel_one wrote: post #7

I think Asus had blown it already with no assistance from the iPad. They've been moving away from their core market for some time - the original 7" Eee was a hit, but now it seems to have been entirely replaced by larger, more expensive models. They've diluted their brand significantly too; originally they were quite distinct from laptops but now there's a lot of crossover. And far too many models - a local compariso…

Asus wanted. Some time ago Asus had preparations to introduce non-x86 (but ARM) based netbook. It would be cheap, use less power, you name it (iPad is also ARM based). But Microsoft and Intel twisted Asus' arm, and Asus even had to publicly apologize for mentioning "the product that is not going to be."

It still boggles me that ARM is everywhere and Intel still gets to call the shots in the market. I hope that doesn't last much longer.

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#29

Post by chadgeidel »

nanairo wrote: post #8
ja27 wrote: post #5

Nothing's changing at the low end of the netbook lines because they're all still shipping with Windows XP or Windows 7 Starter, so the hardware has to be nearly crippled. Thanks, Microsoft. But at the higher end there are some neat ones. I got an Asus 1201N, which has a dual-core Atom, real Windows 7, and HDMI out. Makes a decent travelling machine and can handle almost any media needs.

Isn't that just an ultra-portable PC, rather than a netbook? I thought the whole point of a netbook is that it was very cheap but underpowered (though more than enough for the internet, hence its name).

Probably, but IMHO one key difference. A few years ago the "midrange" Ultraportable was like $1200. I just picked up a Toshiba T115D-S1125 w/11" screen, dual core athlon, radeon 3200, and Win7 x64 (2gb) for under $500

It's a great little machine and actually has pretty decent battery life as well.

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#30

Post by jsz0 »

What could Asus really do to make a netbook better? This is a problem of working within the constraints of x86/Windows. They can't make them faster because they're relying on Intel for parts. They can't do a whole lot on the software side because they're relying on Microsoft for software. I know they blamed the iPad for poor sales but I think it has more to do with better competition from Dell, HP and overall saturation of the market. One thing that is always overlooked with netbooks is that they are a usability nightmare for a lot of people with the small keyboards, postage stamp sized touchpads, and super tiny text on a small high resolution display. Those people don't want netbooks.
Post reply on HN