Eee PC hands on?

[Ben Scott]

On Dec 17, 2007 1:43 PM, Kent Johnson <kent37 at tds.net> wrote:
> I am concerned about the small size of the screen and keyboard.

  I've seen the "Classmate" hands-on, and I've seen scale photos of
the XO-1 and Eee, and they all look about the same in terms of
keyboard size and screen dimensions.  All are small.  The screens are
all in the neighborhood of 7" diagonal; measure that out on paper to
see just how small that is.  The keyboard keys are smaller and closer
together than most anything I've seen on the likes of a ThinkPad,
Dell, etc.   If you're thinking "this will be like my
Thinkpad/Dell/whatever, just a bit smaller", you'll probably be
disappointed.

  These things are designed to be small and light first.  You're never
going to get full-sized features with that.  They're also designed to
be cheap, durable, and low-power.  Hence all the buzz.  As we all
know, buzz doesn't mean they're the right tool for every job.  :)
Myself, I'm interested in them as an intermediate step between
handheld computer (on my belt), and full-sized laptop (in a separate
bag, protected).  These might be cheap and durable enough that I'd be
comfortable having one in my regular handbag, without constantly
worrying about it being lost, stolen, or broken.

  One thing I don't know much about is comparative screen quality.
I've seen spec numbers tossed about with wild abandon, but none of
that really tells you how the things work in real use.  Especially the
bright sunlight the XO-1 is supposed to do super-good in.

> and can wait if something better is in the pipeline.

  Something better is *always* in the pipeline.  :-)  But even knowing
that, I'm likely waiting for it.  I'll save you a spot in line.  ;-)

-- Ben