ASUS Eee sells out on first day
I'm at home today, sick as a dog, drinking lots of juice and herbal tea and taking long naps and starting to definitely feel better.
And few things would make me feel better than the international launch of my dream machine, the ASUS Eee pocket Linux, also known as "One Laptop Per Geek". ASUS seems to have gotten the hint that all the techies were drooling over the One Laptop Per Child project and created a commercial equivalent to fill a new niche. This 2-lb. 7-inch-display clamshell device is categorized as a sub-notebook, and often wrongly judged by that standard, when in fact it is a super-ultra handheld.
iPhone? Phphhhtttt.
To hear Charlie Stross talk about Eee, one is reminded of Cate Blanchett when, as Galadriel, she is offered the One Ring and says, "I cannot deny my heart has greatly desired this". His writing on the matter conveys an actual tone of voice, and it's that one.
I wish it came with a handheld crank like the One Laptop Per Child, but the battery life on this thing is amazing. Sure, it has 4GB solid-state flash memory instead of a hard drive, but the built-in Wi-Fi, Ethernet, SD card slot, and USB will make onboard storage unimportant. I mean, it uses Google online services, so c'mon.
NewEgg is the only place to buy it, so while they have that chance, the price is drastically inflated to $400. That will drop soon, and also lower-end models are on the way which have been promised to be as low as $260, which is the price I am willing to pay. I'll wait. To continue the LotR metaphor, I am seeking it, seeking it, all my thought is bent on it.
In the meantime, it's already sold out on launch day. Rumor has it one was sold every six seconds.
Comments
users on Nov. 1, 2007 11:15 PM
Wow, this sounds cool!
Although, at 2lbs and 7 inches, it is DEFINITELY not a handheld of any sort. Unless you have wrists like tree-trunks and GIGANTIC pockets.
temujin9 on Nov. 4, 2007 1:35 AM
Just right for a viking-descended raver-kid, then.
Damn you, Matt! Thankfully, the 8GB won't be available until the end of the month; I may have time to loose some of the infatuation . . .
mjwise on Nov. 2, 2007 1:14 AM
I am interested, but having followed this for a while, I am let down by the retail pricing of it for what you get. Will continue to watch it though.
Anonymous on Nov. 2, 2007 2:39 PM
I'm waiting for an OLPC xo. Why? http://configures.sarahelkins.org/?p=52
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Sarah
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