Tuesday, April 01, 2008 Limpag: Phones and sub-notebooks By Max Limpag cell talk
EEE PC MANIA. By now you’ve probably heard about the Asus Eee PC, a revolutionary computing product that has done so well it has spawned various competing products from other manufacturers.
What made the Asus Eee PC (pronounced as “e pc”) revolutionary was its pricing and size. At less than P20,000, you get a very portable computer that has three USB ports for devices as well as additional storage, a card reader, web cam, and WiFi b/g connectivity.
The Eee PC is the commercial incarnation of the philantrophic One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, which aimed to manufacture $100 laptops with Wi-Fi connectivity and even a crank to generate battery power. These laptops were aimed at students of Third World countries.
When the Eee PC started selling last year, the market lapped it up.
When we, in the newsroom, placed orders for 10 units, we couldn’t find stores that had this many units. We had to wait for several weeks for a shipment. It was the first time I’ve heard of stores having a wait-list for a gadget here in Cebu.
ULTRA-PORTABLE. The response to the Asus Eee PC indicated there is a huge market for basic computing devices that are very portable and, more importantly, cheaper than full-scale laptops.
The Eee PC uses solid state drive (SSD) or a flash drive instead of a hard disk. An SSD drive is typically faster because it does not have rotating plates and mechanical parts. It is also typically better at handling shocks than hard disks.
The Eee PC, depending on the model, comes with a 2GB, 4GB, or 8 GB storage. The Eee PC model name is based on its storage capacity so you have the 2G Surf, the 4G and the coming 8G model.
With the space required for the operating system (Linux or basic Windows), you are left with even less storage space for your files.
The Eee PC is a good portable computer for people on the go. I’ve found it to be really useful for my writing and blogging tasks. Don’t look at the Eee PC as a main computer, you’ll be disappointed with it.
Look at it, instead, as a portable digital notebook that you can use on the field.
PINOY COMPETITOR. Over the weekend, Philippine manufacturer Neo launched a mini laptop that is set to compete with the Eee PC, the Neo Explore.
Neo spokeswoman Mariel Que told the Agence France Press (AFP) news service that the Neo Explore is a “ruggedized and shock-proof laptop with a keyboard that will not be damaged by spillages of liquids.”
I don’t know whether the Explore is already available in Cebu but judging by the few photos of it that I’ve seen in various blogs, it looks like a worthy competitor to the Eee PC. It has the same screen size but Explore does look sturdier than the Eee PC. The photos of the product remind me of that laptop used by one of the characters in the twice canceled TV show Jerico.
Explore is also cheaper at P16,999 (expect retailers to jack this up to P17,999 or even higher, depending on the demand).
The main difference, according to specifications listed in the Neo website, is that Neo Explore comes with a hard disk with 30GB of storage. It also comes with a Windows Starter Edition.
MOBILE INTERNET. The choice of Windows will make the device easier to use with a phone for mobile Internet connectivity.
Using a phone with Linux, either via a USB cable or through Bluetooth, can be a bit overwhelming for new users. With Windows, this might be easier (I use might because I don’t know about the extent of driver support with the Started Edition).
Using your phone with these ultra-portable devices, you access the Internet anywhere, at least anywhere with a Smart or Globe signal. But if I were you, you should look into Smart Internet. It offers fairly dependable mobile Internet connectivity at just P10 for every 30-minute block of connection.
The choice of Windows will also make Neo Explore capable of using Smart Bro’s USB modem or PLDT WeRoam or Globe Visibility for Internet connectivity. Most of these devices were manufactured for Windows.
I was told by Smart tech guys that they are still working on Linux support for the USB modem. I don’t know about Globe Visibility because I haven’t tried using it, but I recall reading a forum post that said they were able to use it with Linux.
