Laptop virtually perfect for the road - Page 10 - Horizons Unlimited

**mattcbf600** · #**136** 4 Mar 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedmagnum

Very Nice...

You gonna buy one, install windows and mapsource on it and give us a full and in depth review ???

Ill be picking one up pretty soon and your review would be helpful

Definately going to get one - it was the final thing I was waiting for.

Review - oh yeah!

Installing windows... perhaps not...

m

**mattcbf600** · #**137** 4 Mar 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexlebrit

Sorry I had to be the first on here to make the 9" joke. The thing is though for 300 squids I could go get a proper laptop with a huge HD, a DVD burner, and Windows Vista at Carrefour. So while the EeePC 900 has the plus point of being more compact and not having an HD to bugger up, I'm not certain that for me would be enough to push myself towards it instead of the competition WHEN they're the same price. The great thing about the EeePC 7" that I've got is that it's so rinky-dinky small AND it was so cheap.

Oi tart - I think you'll find I did the 9 inch joke first... 9 inches of fun!

Anyway.. yes at £300 you can certainly buy a standard laptop with a massive HD and a DVD burner. But it'll be a cheap HD and DVD burner and I certainly wouldn't want to trust it on the road - it's only £70/80 more and it's just as small as the 7'' - in fact it's exactly the same size as the 7''.

So for me.... it has to be the fact it's tiny tiny tiny, has a flash HD and is cheap.

m

**Alexlebrit** · #**138** 4 Mar 2008

Possibly yes, but I can nip in to Carrefour tomorrow and get you a nice Acer with DVD, 120Gb HD, Vista, Bluetooth, Wifi and 14 inches (ooer) for €349, which at todays rate works out at £267.50 (and postage to the UK would be about £30) now that's actually cheaper than the EeePC 900, and you have to admit you get a lot more for your money.

I was seriously tempted by it when I bought my EeePC as it was only €50 more (EeePC works out more expensive than the UK), but that €50 saving PLUS the small size sold it to me.

The question is would your insurance cover the Acer being shaken apart?

EDIT: Question for others with an EeePC, does yours have a Windows button on the Keypad? Mine does.

**mattcbf600** · #**139** 4 Mar 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexlebrit

Possibly yes, but I can nip in to Carrefour tomorrow and get you a nice Acer with DVD, 120Gb HD, Vista, Bluetooth, Wifi and 14 inches (ooer) for €349, which at todays rate works out at £267.50 (and postage to the UK would be about £30) now that's actually cheaper than the EeePC 900, and you have to admit you get a lot more for your money.

I was seriously tempted by it when I bought my EeePC as it was only €50 more (EeePC works out more expensive than the UK), but that €50 saving PLUS the small size sold it to me.

The question is would your insurance cover the Acer being shaken apart?

EDIT: Question for others with an EeePC, does yours have a Windows button on the Keypad? Mine does.

My insurance certainly wouldn't - well they didn't last time when I told them how it was broken - next time I'll just say I dropped it.

But the Acer is too big! It may be cheaper, it may have more (the Asus has wi-fi too!) but it's just so much smaller and easier to lug around.... also... Vista.... isn't selling it to me... really...

If I was buying a laptop for at home, for light use around the house, then there's no doubt - it would be the Acer everytime - but this is for the bike - it's not my primary machine - I don't want a fully featured laptop with DVD burner and 120gb HD... what I want is a laptop that's small, but big enough to comfortably use, a HD that wont get shaken apart, something I can upload my images to the net on, and something with a whole OS smaller than Microsoft Word is on Vista!

You're still a tart too.

**MotoEdde** · #**140** 5 Mar 2008

I'll iterate my point from a prior post...

The ASUS is interesting, the Acer is cheap...but the data(pics, journals, etc.) is priceless. When you're on the road, no matter what you paid for the laptop...you DON'T want it to have issues.
Invest in something that has been thouroughly tested!

IBM Archives: IBM ThinkPads in space

Its worth a consideration and for the price(even used)...compelling.

**mattcbf600** · #**141** 5 Mar 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by MotoEdde

IBM Archives: IBM ThinkPads in space

Its worth a consideration and for the price(even used)...compelling.

You're quite right they're definitely worth a look, I've only ever seen a thinkpad destroyed by direct impact rather than vibration etc.... and to be frank... Space travel is somewhat different to the rigours of motorcycle travel, once you're over the initial take off, what's the vibration? That is after all what destroys the HD.

m

**MotoEdde** · #**142** 6 Mar 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattcbf600

Space travel is somewhat different to the rigours of motorcycle travel, once you're over the initial take off, what's the vibration? That is after all what destroys the HD.

m

You have re-entry virbations...and there are other hazards...

My point in a prior post is that the HD is the most suceptible piece of the laptop. BUT over the years, 2.5" HDs have gotten MUCH more durable. The Travelstar(originally made by IBM before IBM sold their HD division to Hitachi) has been the most durable of that form factor and is standard equipment in the ThinkPads.

Its is the preferred laptop by corporate users in sales, IT, etc.; who don't care how much things cost as long as they don't break down...when you don't own it, you don't care as long as it doesn't let you down.

Same is true for MC travellers except they have to pay for it...in this situation, the weight, durability and simplicity are probably the three biggest factors in laptop choice. In this regard, the ThinkPad is about the easiest to take apart if something were to go wrong...but in the weight department it might be 2-4lbs more than other options...

**peter-denmark** · #**143** 6 Mar 2008

I have been using the Asus EEE for 3 months on the road now. I have lots of off roading and it still works perfectly.

I would never choose anything else. The PRICE combined with and SIZE and WEIGHT make at one of a kind, and simply the best IMHO.

**mattcbf600** · #**144** 6 Mar 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter-denmark

I have been using the Asus EEE for 3 months on the road now. I have lots of off roading and it still works perfectly.

I would never choose anything else. The PRICE combined with and SIZE and WEIGHT make at one of a kind, and simply the best IMHO.

That's the thing isn't it - I've just looked at when I started this thread - it was July last year!

Things have really moved on, but we're all still weighing up those things.

Price
Size
Weight
Build (quality)
Software

is there anything else?

Perhaps I should knock up a comparison table for all the laptops we've looked at on this thread? May be helpful - as everyone looks for something different.

Edde - not having a go at the thinkpad at all - personally it's not for me because I am deliberately taking the decision to not take a fully featured laptop on the road with me, but to take a second dedicated machine that will be 'good enough' for what I do on the road.

If I were to take a full on laptop on the road though, my choice would be the current Apple Macbook - totally indestructible - and tested in the worlds roughest places. Junior schools!

But I do appreciate Mac OS isn't for everyone (even though you can now run MapSource on it) and in that case the IBM would be the first machine I'd consider with a HD in it.

m

**Keith1954** · #**145** 6 Mar 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by MotoEdde

My point in a prior post is that the HD is the most suceptible piece of the laptop. BUT over the years, 2.5" HDs have gotten MUCH more durable.

True that laptops' HDs are more durable nowadays. During last summer, '07: (1) I dropped my up-and-running Acer Travelmate 3012 from saddle height .. with no consequences; and (2) I hit a road-wide cattle grid while riding too fast .. probably. The result: well, my top box just bounced right off its mounting rack and tumbled-on down the asphalt road behind me at around 70 mph [113 km/h]. Top box was written off .. see pics below. Fortunately all of its contents - including my laptop - survived completely undamaged. The Acer is truly a robust piece of kit.

**Alexlebrit** · #**146** 6 Mar 2008

Well my only reason for mentioning the Acer was the price comparison, and what you get for it. As far as I'm concerned a £200 7" EeePC is perfect, and of course being that bit cheaper makes it all the more interesting.

Nine inches? Who needs them, it's not the size after all....

**mattcbf600** · #**147** 12 Mar 2008

CNet have done a nice little comparison of all the cheapo lappys around at the moment.

WannabEees: Eee PC vs Elonex One vs OLPC vs EasyNote XS vs MSI Wind and more - Crave at CNET.co.uk

m

**bathmeme** · #**148** 27 Mar 2008

Just wanted to say that this has been a fantastic thread to read! So useful. A friend recommended the EEE to me as a cheap alternative to getting a laptop for home use but i didnt do anything about it but now I am planning a RTW im seriously considering getting one! I have been wondering about taking a laptop or some storage device for photos and was a bit lost with what would be the best course of action.

The EEE really does seem to be the best thing for a big trip that will involve off road stuff. This site is a most excellent resource.

***Touring Ted*** · #**149** 28 Mar 2008

Just letting you know that the 512mb version of the Eee is widley available in Brazil for 340 quid. Pre loaded with XP !!

**Nogfet** · #**150** 29 Mar 2008

Guys..im sure its somewhere here on the forum....can this gizmo charge up off a cigerette lighter socket?

Cheers

Steve

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