The Asus eeePC has a 7″ inch screen, a full keyboard, wifi access, weighs less than 2kg and costs less than $US 400. It could be the perfect laptop to go travelling with
Asus released the EeePC about six months ago – here in Thailand, it was long anticipated because it’s the first computer that’s at an affordable price point for many students (they even got an extra discount which was nice). You might not expect much from a computer priced at less than $400 on Amazon.com, but the Asus EeePC has been a universal hit to critics and the public alike across Asia, Europe and America, thanks to its tiny size and full capabilities. It’s sold a staggering 1 million units since launch.
Asus eeePC
For travellers, the Asus EeePC solves a lot of the common problems of going travelling with a laptop – no hassle with the weight of lugging it around as it’s so light, and it’s cheap enough to almost not worry about losing it or accidentally trashing it (although, of course, you wouldn’t want to). Travelhappy contributor Greg Lowe has been using the Asus EeePC since it came out for day and found it to be a solid unit, although he cautions that for those with larger hands, the keyboard might still be too small. Windows XP can be installed on the machine and therefore you can run all your normal apps as well.
With the success of the Asus EeePC, it’s not surprising that other laptop manufacturers are entering this market. HP have released the MiniNote which retails around $500, while Dell are also said to be preparing a Asus rival later this year.
For their own apart, Asus have just released a 9 inch screen version of the Asus EeePC – the EeePC 900 – which will retail at 399 Euros apparently. I think I might get myself one of these for travelling as I like to store and edit photos on my trips and the 7 inch screen would probably be a bit too small for image editing. The price point however might be too expensive — $600 US would be the equivalent of 399 Euros – and the 7 inch screen version of the EeePC might have a price crash when the 9 inch comes out, making it even more of a bargain.
Over the next year, I think this area of computing is going to get very interesting with more and more competitors entering the fray and trying to stay under the $500 price point. That is good news for travellers who want to take a laptop with them without the traditional grief of carrying one of the bigger, more traditional models.
Latest Asus EeePC auctions on Ebay:
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 Genuine Battery Asus Eee PC 1008 1008H 1008HA AP31-1008  US $74.99
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 Genuine Battery Asus Eee PC 1008P 1008P-KR-PU17 laptop US $74.99
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 Keyboard Skin Cover Protector ASUS Eee PC 701 901 900HD US $3.49
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 Asus EEEPC 1008HA PINK Windows 7 Starter 1008HA-MU17-PI US $455.19
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 NEW!!! Asus EEEPC 900 901 Cooling Fans T4506F05MP US $7.50
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 Asus Eee PC 1001P-M 10.1 inch Atom N450/ 1GB/ 160GB/ US $309.33
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 AC Power Supply Adapter Charger For ASUS Eee PC 2G Surf US $13.98
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 10.1 Laptop Sleeve Bag ASUS Eee PC 1002HA 1005HA 1008HA US $11.80
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 10.1" .2 Laptop bag case ASUS Eee PC 1005HA 1008HA S101 US $13.62
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 10.1" 10.2" Sleeve Case Bag f Asus EEE pc 1000 N10 N10J US $3.62
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 10.1" Laptop Sleeve Bag ASUS Eee PC 1000 1000HA 1000HE US $7.68
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 Sleeve Bag Case for Asus Eee PC 1101HA Netbook 11.6" US $2.26
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 Power Supply Cord for Asus EEE PC 1000HA 1000XP S101 US $9.45
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 6 cell Battery for ASUS Eee PC Series AL23-901 US $53.36
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 6.6Ah Battery fit ASUS Eee PC Series A22-P701 A23-P701 US $51.08
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 Pink Sleeve Case Notebook Bag for Asus Eee PC 900 901 US $14.99
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 Bag Case Sleeve For Asus EEE PC Laptop 11.6" Y077 US $9.99
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 8.9" Laptop Hard bag case ASUS EeePC T91 900 900A 900HD US $15.43
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 8.9"10.1" Laptop bag case ASUS EeePC T91 900 900A 900HD US $13.62
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 Asus Eee Pc 1005 Series Windows 7 US $290.00
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 10" Laptop Netbook Bag Case RED ASUS Eee PC HP Mini One US $9.07
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 AC Power Cord For Asus Eee PC Laptop Adapter Charger US $3.96
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 Sleeve Bag Notebook Case for ASUS Eee PC 904HA 904 US $8.95
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 Asus Eee Pc 904HD Palmrest Touchpad White US $13.14
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 Pink Sleeve Case Bag for ASUS Eee PC 904HA 904 Netbook US $12.99
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 ASUS US Keyboard EEE PC 700 701 900 901 V072462BS2 NEW US $24.99
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 ASUS US Keyboard EEE PC 700 701 900 901 V072462BS2 NEW US $19.99
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 ASUS US Keyboard EEE PC 700 701 900 901 Laptop White US $19.99
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 Laptop Notebook Netbook Skin Dell Mini Acer Asus Custom US $9.99
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Laptop Notebook Netbook Skin Dell Mini Acer Asus Custom US $9.99
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