Replace my HP dv1049cl with an Asus Eee?

I currently have an HP Pavilion dv1049cl thats about 3 years old now. Now the life of a notebook thats seen its share is about 2-3 years, so I'm worried that things might start breaking down and I'm not to interested in paying for parts that are expensive and hard to come by. I see that the Eee is only about a month away and I can sell the HP for about $300 right now.

Heres the thing, I don't quiet understand what the Eee has. I need something that I can, watch movies on the go, listen to movies or surf the web with either internal wifi, express card or usb. I have the AT&T Wireless data plan, will the OS support the software and is there a high speed USB port for tethering or express card slot? How much free space is left if I use a stripped down XP vs Linux on the flash memory? I heard the US version might not be as upgradeable as the Asian version? Can I load codecs to enjoys my favorite divx/xvid/rm(vb) movies? How about speakers for MP3? What kind of battery life?

HP Pavilion DV1049cl:
Pentium M 1.4Ghz
1GB RAM (upgraded from 512MB)
60GB HDD
8 hours (2 batteries to change out when I travel)
and I know I can use my AT&T Internet

Asus Eee
CPU Intel 900Mhz
512MB DDR2
4GB or 8GB flash HD (donno how much the OS uses and XP compatible 4.16GB on my PC)
3 hours (1x4 Cell)
4 USB ports, Network port, Modem, Mic/Headphone jacks and flash card reader

(Winamp/K-lite Codecs w.MPC/Motorola Phone Tools 220MB)

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/Hands_on_with_the_ASUS_Eee/

The EEE PC does not have an express card slot. Also, you may have to call up AT&T and ask if their software is Linux compatible.

Dunno about how much is used by the Linux OS Asus used. But it can't be that much since the $199 model comes with 4GB of storage. Speaking of which, the U.S will not be getting the $199 model. For the U.S, the starting model will be $259 and it comes with an 8GB flash drive.

Also, all versions aren't upgradeable. The RAM and SSD drive is soldered directly onto the motherboard. The laptop can also play most media files out of the box from what I can see so far. As for loading your own codecs, as long as you're familiar with Linux, then it should be no problem.

It does come with speakers. However there are no hard details on the battery life. So far people have been saying it'll have a 3 hour battery life.

I was just going through the pictures of the website and I noticed a 3G Icon Might support it out the box, if not I'll tether.

That things so cute.

Its Windows XP compatible, just have not idea how I would load it.

Danny Bui said:

The EEE PC does not have an express card slot. Also, you may have to call up AT&T and ask if their software is Linux compatible.

Dunno about how much is used by the Linux OS Asus used. But it can't be that much since the $199 model comes with 4GB of storage. Speaking of which, the U.S will not be getting the $199 model. For the U.S, the starting model will be $259 and it comes with an 8GB flash drive.

Also, all versions aren't upgradeable. The RAM and SSD drive is soldered directly onto the motherboard. The laptop can also play most media files out of the box from what I can see so far. As for loading your own codecs, as long as you're familiar with Linux, then it should be no problem.

It does come with speakers. However there are no hard details on the battery life. So far people have been saying it'll have a 3 hour battery life.

Click to expand...

Not sure where you're getting your facts from but two websites that are currently taking deposits for the EEE have different specs than you describe.

http://www.allasus.com/CATALOG/adva...s=eee&osCsid=0064e1140394534a675fffbbb506e534
http://www.citrusmicro.com/index.cfm?Action=ViewCategory&Category=501


The $250 version will have 2GB/256MB DDR2
If you want 512MB DDR2 you're going to have to spend $399. Oh and in case you were wondering, the RAM is not user upgradeable so you can't buy the $259 and throw in a gig of ram. http://www.eeeuser.com/2007/09/06/final-word-on-pricing-and-availability/

Well I got the 8GB for the $250 model from this early preview:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3829

Also we got the 4GB for the base model from all the early previews on the web. Didn't know they changed the specs.

Hmm, the EEE PC is looking less and less appetizing now.

Might just double up my money and by a nice $700 notebook.

Yes indeed. The newly released info about the EEE makes it a very unappealing product. I also really wanted a 4GB/512MB $200 web surfer.

currently the EEE PC 701 is not really worth the money but given time after a breaking thru the production costs may go down and ASUS may be able to actually reach a point where they can sell it for $200 with a 4 gig SSD

Oh wait, I take back what I said about RAM not being upgradeable. http://www.eeeuser.com/2007/09/11/confirmed-by-asus-eee-pc-ram-will-be-replaceable/

There is one slot that you can stick in up to 1 gig.