VERY cheap HP Mini-Note

[ffutures]

Having decided that the Asus EEE and its rivals are all currently too big to carry on a daily use basis, and that if I'm going to carry something bigger on an occasional basis it might as well be the existing full-sized laptop, it's really annoying to see what appears to be a real bargain in that size:

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=315965&CatId=0

It's open box stock, allegedly pristine, but there's only a one-month parts warranty and no labour warranty. I'm very tempted to go for it anyway, but I really can't find any way to justify it. So in case anyone else is interested...

Comments

[saranjeuhal.livejournal.com]

I manged to try out an EEE at a local Toys R Us and have to say that I really wasn't impressed with it at all. I was looking at getting one to take around college instead of my laptop, but I the screen real estate is rubbish, and it seemed to be pretty unresponsive.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I've had a play with one and it seemed pretty good as a large PDA / netbook thing, which is what I would want. Were you trying the Linux or Windows version?

Trouble is that that the Asus and HP are too big to carry in a pocket, which is what I'm looking for - a large pocket-sized notebook that I can carry on a motorbike without having to wear a shoulder bag or put it in the panniers, the Asus and the HP are both just a little too big for that.

[sirernest.livejournal.com]

I got me a Maplin Minibook (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=225532&source=1). It's slow, got very little RAM and diskspace, the CPU is not x86 but it's just soo bloody small and convenient to have at hand. Could I have gotten something better? Very probably. £40 more and I could have gotten a 701 Asus Eee. But then I would have stayed closer to the mainstream, lost geek credit and possible used it for something more useful than surfing in the kitchen while cooking or writing silly stories at the bus station.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I've seen that, but it's still bigger than I want to carry around with me.

[sirernest.livejournal.com]

*shrug* It's almost the size of a DVD case, very slightly longer and a bit thicker. Plenty small enough for me. Any smaller and the keyboard's gonna be a real pain to type on. And as I said, it is slow. The CPU in it is just a bit too under-powered for job.
On the other hand, it is still light enough to carry around in a coat pocket (but then again, I'm used to filling those with books).
I do NOT recommend you to get one, just geeking out a bit about it because with all its drawbacks I still enjoy it.

I don't know what you intend with it really but any smaller and you're better off looking at PDAs.

And then there's this: http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=334746&Sku=150400

Seems to lack a bit in screen real estate though.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Something a little larger than the surfer thing, less specialised and with a better keyboard would suit me very well. I have an HP Jornada 710 and can type on it at moderate speed, but it lacks RAM, doesn't network easily, isn't Mac compatible, and you can't upgrade firmware etc. - something the same size as the Jornada or just a little bigger but running a similar linux package to the Asus EEE would be ideal.