iubball

Looking on buying a new laptop for the road, as my current one is heavy and old. It also has an external wireless card, which I am just waiting for it to get crushed in my bag.

So, I have been looking at the cheaper 14-15" laptops with Windows Vista and 2GB ram installed. They have been around $700.

Well, I then saw that one of the most popular computers is an Asus Eee. It sells for $400, but only has a 7" screen, 4GB of HD space, Linux OS, and 512mb of RAM. And... it only weighs 2 lbs. With the HD, everything is on a flash type drive, so it is more durable for the road (i.e. - hard drive is much less likely to be damaged). There is a slot for an SD card, so you can add 8-16GB to your HD space with an HD card, and 2GB of RAM can be bought for about $40 online. Also, the computer charger is like cell phone sized instead of a brick, and the computer starts up and shuts down in about 15 seconds. Windows XP can be loaded as the OS if desired for about $75 more.

Wondering if any pilot has one, and if so, what their opinion is. I basically use my current laptop for websurfing, and ocassionally watching movies (via files, not DVD). The Eee looks nice, but wasn't sure if anyone has any experience with it. Thanks for your help.

slimjim10101

thats not too bad. i recently just bought the new m1530 dell xps. very thin and light. fits perfectly in my flight bag. though, was around $1500.

mike734

Don't worry about memory. You can get laptop memory cheap cheap cheap. Fry's has weekly specials. 2Gigs (2x1gig) for $40. As for recommendations, I would suggest no more than 13". I have a 12.1" Toshiba and love it. Also, try to order it with XP not Vista.

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iubball

Yeah, I am not too worried about RAM, but am a little worried about the HD space only being 4GB. But like I said, can add an SD card and get it up to around 20GB, and I figure I can carry my movies/music on a separate flash drive if needed.

The price for it is right... I figure even with the upgrades, I can keep it around $500. Just wondering if anyone currently has one, or knows of anyone who has one.

Thanks

Shaun

I was looking at these also. I have a 17" laptop that I have been hauling around and with the power brick, adds over 10lbs (yes, ten pounds) to my bag.

I am a little worried about the EEE PC also because of the lack of hd space, and I might miss having a cd\dvd drive. The cost is so much better than a "real" computer, though, that I might give it a try.

I would love to hear what someone else thinks about it first.

C212135

TridentP

flash drive based laptops are the future! The hard drives that have to spin up and the limiting factor in how small and light, and how expensive they are. I have a thumb drive that has the same memory as my computer 5 years ago! So, I love seeing this, but not sure if all the bugs are worked out yet... I can't wait to hear more reviews on this new technology!

NJGov

A former employer bought a few of the "mini-laptops."

I would definitely recommend against them. Their functionality is severely limited. For the few hundred dollars extra you can get a system that will last you well into the future and keep you happy.

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Dreamer

It really depends on how much you want to spend. Obviously if this is a laptop just for the road (a laptop in addition to a computer you already have) they you'll obviously be spenting less.

Although there are a lot of laptops out there, some of the best ones are actualy being devloped by Mac. I grew-up with both Mac and Pc and they're both great. Mac's are a little expensive, but if you want a small computer that's relyable and of the "best" quality...I would first check out Mac...and go check out the new computers put out by Hp if you still want to stick with PC.

furloughman

Mac is the way to go. Once you try it, you'll never go back. It's a few more bucks but well worth it. It's light weight as well and no virus protection required.