Asus Eee PC 1101HA on Amazon

[Chris]

The Asus Eee PC 1101HA is now shipping from Amazon for $429.99 as well as other online retailers. The 1101HA is the first 11.6 inch netbook made by Asus and early reports show it is a winner. Here are the full specs on the Asus Eee PC 1101HA: * Windows XP Home [...]

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[ThisIsNot]

The use of an Atom Z520 (or even a Z530) processor and GMA 500 IGP are two big marks against Asus' 11.6" Eee PC. I don't know why 11.6" netbook makers insist on using this watered down hardware. Well, the Atom Z530 processor isn't that bad (most tests I have seen put it a little below the Aton N270 in terms of performance) but the GMA 500 is terrible. Hardware video decoding isn't supported in Windows XP and Vista isn't all that stable with it (ie HD video decoding isn't smooth even in Vista).

This is the second Eee PC that I just can't get behind. Sure, it has great battery life but the use of the GMA 500 and the $400+ price tag make it something that I wouldn't recommend for people. That and the Windows 7 specs mean that manufacturers will be limited to a screen size of 10" for their netbooks. Manufacturers will have to include Windows 7 Home Premium on their 11.6" not-a-netbook netbooks or not classify them as being netbooks (which means that they will have to use more powerful GPU's).

Chris posted an article What is a Netbook when this forum was started.

I posted asking to define netbooks early on when I joined this forum. Chris thought I might be too lazy to read his article (Thanks Chris. You nailed me.) so he provided a gist with a suggestion that a netbook might be 11.6" now. I wasn't too lazy to read his article but I am too lazy to spend much time trying to define netbook by shifting hardware guidelines. Smaller size or how large of a size; weaker CPU/GPU or 760p/1080i capable; under $400, under $500, under $999; Microsoft's definition, Netbookreview's definition, Wiki definitions as a netbook niche don't interest me. Obviously netbookery does not have a viable definition.

I define a netbook by task/function and right now even that is not viable. Non-DVD OS installation is awkward. Full time internet access is not ubiquitous. Web sites are varied and some are down right difficult for challenged computers. There is a big gap between consumers and producers in creative netbookery and/or community activism in netbooking.

I think a small design team at ASUS put the 1101HA together, collected some low cost parts, found a small production line and gave us something new.

What does this computer do for me? Are there even other people like me (lazy, confused, cheap)? Probably nothing. Probably not.

[ThisIsNot]

Originally Posted by netbooking

Chris posted an article bviously netbookery does not have a viable definition.

I think that is the issue here. Companies have yet to come together and come up with standards that define what a netbook is. Part of this has to do with tech companies wanting to ignore netbooks. Many analysts think that netbooks are on their way out and will be replaced by budget notebooks. Well, we have had budget notebooks for a couple of years now and netbooks are still around.

Microsoft, Intel, AMD, and all the various manufacturers need to sit down and say that netbooks have a certain screen size, have a certain amount of on-board storage, use X amount of RAM, have this processor, and so on. However, there still has to be some diversification or else the market will get bland (like it is now). Everyone packs either an N280/N270-GMA 950 or Z520/Z530-GMA 500 combination. The market can get stale with all of the same entries where each netbook differs only in hardware design.

Either way, I am kind of tired of these 11.6" netbooks being packed with terrible hardware. Of all companies, Asus should know better. I don't know why they decided to use the GMA 500 and Atom Z530 processor. I have a feeling that these 11.6" netbooks will soon become ultra portable/budget notebooks once Windows 7 gets soaked into the market. I just wish that the GMA 500 would go away.

Originally Posted by ThisIsNot

I am kind of tired of these 11.6" netbooks being packed with terrible hardware. Of all companies, Asus should know better. I don't know why they decided to use the GMA 500 and Atom Z530 processor. I have a feeling that these 11.6" netbooks will soon become ultra portable/budget notebooks once Windows 7 gets soaked into the market. I just wish that the GMA 500 would go away.

Like I said, I think ASUS had a small independent design team that wanted to take on an independent project to gain the experience of putting a computer together and getting it on the market. That strengthens the ASUS core project people.

I think Intel is pressuring the netbook makers to hold on to the 270/280 until 1Q next year for their business reasons. I think Microsoft is doing the same with their requirements for W7 for business reasons.

What's not being done is define netbooks as a viable computing niche instead of a hardware niche. Chris has a thread at eeeuser asking about features that people want. I wouldn't be surprised if he were on all the maker forums doing the same thing.

With the 1101HA, new is not better.

[ThisIsNot]

Originally Posted by netbooking

What's not being done is define netbooks as a viable computing platform instead of a hardware niche.

Consumers are the ones who keep defining netbooks as viable forms of computing while some hardware manufacturers and analysts like to think that they will stay within a small inexpensive ultra portable niche market. These groups need to realize that consumers want netbooks for multiple reasons: they have great battery life, they are small and easy to carry around, they are inexpensive, and they have more than enough processing power for the average Joe (except when it comes to Flash internet browsing, but that is all Adobe's fault for not allowing hardware acceleration). That is why people will continue to plop down $250-$350 for a netbook over a $500 budget notebook.

I just think that the Asus design team was stuck somewhere in the middle. They didn't know if they wanted to make a netbook or a notebook. Then they decided to put the aged Atom Z530 processor and GMA 500 in it just so that they could squeeze every ounce of juice out of the battery. This is an example of making a netbook just to make a netbook.

[Chris]

If there's one thing I may add it's that netbooks are still so new as a product category that the very specs and functions of what netbooks are is always changing.

2 years ago you'd say a netbook was a machine with a 7 inch screen on a 2 GB SSD running Linux. Then a year ago it was machines with a 10 inch screen on Windows XP... and now it's expanded to 11.6 inch screens.

I do believe that the 11.6 inch screen mark will be the max size manufacturers will call a netbook (then again, Asus could start making a 13 inch computer and call it a netbook lol)

Originally Posted by Chris Guthrie

I do believe that the 11.6 inch screen mark will be the max size manufacturers will call a netbook (then again, Asus could start making a 13 inch computer and call it a netbook lol)

Do you want to revise your netbook definition based more on or by adding net centric tasks instead of hardware limits? Is netbookery more about a revolt against size and price than a net centric niche?

My netbook is a briefcase companion and a personal electronic assistant. It matches well with the iPod Touch and both have little to do with my notebook and desktop.

My notebook is work related and a completely different genre from netbookery. It's my grunt and the software costs more than the hardware.

My desktop is home/office based and the power/performance unit. It runs 24/7 and takes care of big screen Excel/movie editing tasks.

So, do I belong on this forum?

[ericinboston]

Back a bit to the original topic of the Asus...I think Asus is a little nuts to release this product for this price:

1)Asus is not a name brand product like Lenovo or Dell...yet they are trying to be...and now Asus releases a $429 laptop that is competing at the very high end of the pricepoint?...against Lenovo? Good luck (I mean that sincerely, not sarcastically).

2)I think, regardless of point #1's competition, this unit is overpriced. The cpu seems underpowered and the ram is low. You may state that other machines released in the past only have 1gig of ram but we're talking August 2009 here...I would have expected a pricier machine like this to ship with 2gig or more bells and whistles. There may be licensing issues with XP about how much ram to be shipped but I'm just saying.

3)I think the screen resolution is not so great...again, it's Aug 2009 and this is a brand new release with a bigger screen than most other netbooks. I would have expected 1600x1280.

We'll see how this sells.

[wblynch]

How is this ASUS any different from the Acer AO-751?

It seems they are both the same specs.

I bought the Acer at Costco for $339 before tax. It's a pig and freezes up all the time. I will try to add more ram to see if it helps. Good thing Costco has a 90 day return policy because this is probably going back.