Live data from Hacker News

I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

scripting.com

1–10 of 59 posts

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#4
On the contrary I have been rather impressed with Asus's netbook offerings. They recently released the Eee 1005PR.. a tiny netbook with a massive 1366x768 resolution in addition to their already ridiculous battery life. I only just started playing with netbooks recently and have an older Eee and have been rather happy with it:

http://paulstamatiou.com/thoughts-on-netbooks-part-2-asus-ee...

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#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.

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#6
post #2

Maybe Asus does have something in the pipe, but you don't know about it because they actually keep their secrets and not leak them on purpose.

Maybe this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Keyboard ? I think they tried but this product didn't gain enough traction as they expected (due to higher price, lower specs, ...)

Otherwise i must agree with the article. After successfully introducing netbook concept the EeePC 700 serie, all Asus has done was just milking the product line with god know how many variations. I mean they have dozens of models, all has the same configuration: Intel Atom, 1-2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, with little difference in screen sizes, keyboards layout.

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#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 comparison site pulls up 35 different Asus netbook models - how am I meant to know the difference between a 1000HA, 1008HA, 1000HE...

I doubt it's such a big deal to most people, but their move towards Windows really puts me off too. Having the original Eee run Linux was a big draw to me.

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#8
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).

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#9
post #6
post #2

Maybe Asus does have something in the pipe, but you don't know about it because they actually keep their secrets and not leak them on purpose.

Maybe this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Keyboard ? I think they tried but this product didn't gain enough traction as they expected (due to higher price, lower specs, ...) Otherwise i must agree with the article. After successfully introducing netbook concept the EeePC 700 serie, all Asus has done was just milking the product line with god know how many variations. I mean they have dozens of models, all…

To be honest it's not like Asus was doing so great before the netbook. I am happy for them 'cause it shows that there is a reward out there for PC makers that try to innovate (ASUS went up in market share a lot), but I think that expecting a series of home-runs was a bit optimistic given the company hasn't changed (or has it?).

Here is to Asus and the hope that they didn't give up after the Eee Keyboard: some you win, and some you lose, Asus! Keep trying!!! :)

Re: I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

#10
post #8
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).

That does seem to be the point of netbooks, although I never really understood the reasoning behind it. It's underpowered but you are supposed to surf the net with it? If there's one program that is a performance and memory hog, it's a web browser.
Post reply on HN