Has anyone played with one of these/ got one?

My photo downloader whatsit has packed up and it has come to my attention that an EeePC and a couple of ~16GB USB sticks would give me all the storage I need plus a larger screen and basic editing capabilities over an Epson P5000 or similar, while still being cheaper.

I had a little play with the display model in PCWorld today, the keyboard and mouse are obviously tiny but surprisingly good and it was responsive enough loading apps.

So the real question is, is 2GB enough or do I wait around and try and get my hands on a 4GB model, bearing in mind that the former are in stock at a number of places while the latter are like gold dust.

Just hack it to have an internal large sd card.

If you can wait, there are some promising looking alternatives coming out from the likes of HP and Elonex.

I have one, screens a bit small for normal use but you can get used to it, for just copying it should be great. Its only got a single card reader so you would need an external usb reader though or use USB sticks to transfer the stuff onto. buying an external USB hard drive with it might be another option.

Thing is you can also use it for other things on the move too.

Quote from: SeriousThing is you can also use it for other things on the move too.

Indeed, thats one of its major draws for me. Im planning on getting a couple of large USB sticks for storage when I need to travel light, and maybe a USB powered external HDD for when more serious storage is called for.

Im also hoping to use it to drive a webcam at my telescope (I currently use a clapped out old Celery 900 laptop with a battery life of 30 seconds for this task, a working battery would be handy!)

which version do you have Serious? How much space does the base install take up on the SSD? Dont want to get the 2GB one and then find I dont have enough internal storage to install the software I want (essentially just GIMP and UFRAW)

Soopah, I found the Elonex One, is that the one you were refering to? the website is a little sparse on the info side of things, do you know what the spec is supposed to be? Also what is this HP model of which you speak? I havent heard about that one but am always happy to consider alternatives.

HP Compaq - 2133
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/19/hps-umpc-2133-revealed/

Elonex One
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/02/19/elonex_guns_for_eee/

MSI PR210
http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2007/09/01/MSI-PR210-Notebook/p1

All seem to be waiting for the silverthorne to be released.

mmm the Elonex is the only true Eee competitor there, the other two are 3 times the price. Still, thanks for the links, Ill be keeping an eye out for the full spec of that Elonex when it comes out.

Quote from: Mongoose

Quote from: SeriousThing is you can also use it for other things on the move too.

Indeed, thats one of its major draws for me. Im planning on getting a couple of large USB sticks for storage when I need to travel light, and maybe a USB powered external HDD for when more serious storage is called for.

Im also hoping to use it to drive a webcam at my telescope (I currently use a clapped out old Celery 900 laptop with a battery life of 30 seconds for this task, a working battery would be handy!)

In that case have a look around for something else, the processor is underclocked to about 600mhz although the actual item is a 900mhz one. There should be plenty of sub-£300 laptops going if you have a look. Or try getting a battery for your old one. I used to run one for ages with a 12 volt car battery and an inverter.

Quotewhich version do you have Serious? How much space does the base install take up on the SSD? Dont want to get the 2GB one and then find I dont have enough internal storage to install the software I want (essentially just GIMP and UFRAW)

I went for the 2gb basic model, although if I had of known that it didnt have the slot in the bottom I would have gone for the 4gb one. There is plenty of room on it anyway for what I want.

the telescope machine really doesnt need to be quick, just fast enough to run a webcam and since the Eee comes with a built in webcam (at least some of them do) Im sure itll do that. Only slight question mark is hard drive transfer speed but to be honest if the Eee wont run the planitary imager its still the right machine for the photo downloading which is my main concern. Running the imager from a laptop with a working battery is a bonus, not a requirement.

the Eee is being release with XP on it in Japan

Link