I usually disassemble all of my new toys once they arrive on my table.
I obviously had to do the same with this lovely little netbook – an Asus eeePC 901 – which I had managed to secure (2nd hand) for a relatively low price via eBay (!) last week and which arrived today.
It comes with WinXP Home edition, Intel Atom 1,6Ghz CPU, 1GB RAM, 12GB SSD HDD (4 GB + 8 GB), an SD card reader (= even more flexiboool memory), Bluetooth (!!!), WiFi b/g/n (!), an 8,9″ matt display, an 1,3mpx webcam and lots of room for future case mods. Oh, and it has a 6cell battery which equals to 5-7h battery runtime. Ain’t that cool?
So….yes, I eventually did it and decided to go for such a tiny 8,9″ netbook. The initial idea was to have a (smaller) 12,1″ notebook for everyday use which would substitute my 15,4″ notebook in the long run. There are in fact quite a few older HP business laptops @ 12,1″ on sale – albeit with a 1024×768 resolution, and if you want to go for a wide-screen 12,1″ @ 1280×800 notebook instead, you’ll really have to cough up more than I am currently able to spend on a new computer + it would be too much “competition” to my existing 15,4″ machine. The other idea was to go for a 10,2″ Samsung NC10 netbook that comes with a much better keyboard than most eeePCs.
Also, since I am still to find THE most perfect syncing solution which keeps all my files on all computers in sync, I realized that all I need for “on the road” is a small, light-weight machine that does basic stuff and actually doesn’t allow me to store too much data on it (as to avoid double files – I like to maintain some discipline on my data).
I disassembled it in order to clean it – the previous owner apparently has a cat – and to fix a few small issues like a faulty key on the keyboard (which is why it was a bit cheaper :-).
Next thing I’ll do is print out my Gadgetimoja logo or even one of those new AfriGadget stickers and “pimp” the cover accordingly. And I’ll also look for an upgrade to the RAM module – 2GB should be much better – and install another OS…
@Ministry-of-Finance: That’s 2kg less to carry! Besides, a man has his needs… :-)
[UPDATE:]
Had to decide between these two versions, so I twitpiced it and came to the conclusion to use the “Kompyuta imara kama tembo” version.
Grafix designers pls beware that my DTP tool here is rather old fashioned, hence it’s not 100% in line. But than – pretty much Kenyan, if I may say so.
Which resulted in the following netbook vanity:
And yes, I know that this is just a beautiful waste of time when you’re actually busy and supposed to do other (more important) work. Sigh.
Congrats on the purchase. I’m endeared to ASUS, they make some really solid equipment.
I want to move up from the W3V
–DDR2-533 & Pentium-M are just too slow! Audience, any suggestions? I want evolutionary, not revolutionary, upgrade.
…a 6cell battery which equals to 5-7h battery runtime.
Good luck! How old’s that lappie? More like half that and counting.
Purchased by a n00b in September 08 who couldnt get along with this baby. Really, battery life is fantastic!
Good luck with that move from Asus – I could never stand them except for this low budget range of netbooks, nettops and what else is going to come from the eee range. Imho, the W3V is another one of those “becomes hot during use”-candidates. But hey, at least we didn’t fall for stupid MacBooks like everyone else.
(the W3V is very similar to my nx8220, e.g. X600 :-)
The newer Asus lines supposedly have less microwaving going on. I’ve had mine for 2 years and have been able to keep the heat down by using RMClock (i.e. undervolting). Even now, been on all day, 13 hours, and just a tad toasty on the bottom. Not perfect, to be sure.