7 ms·

I love netbooks but Asus is blowing it

46 points by brilliant 16y ago

fcmartins 16y ago
There is no netbook with the fun chips the phone makers added to their products. Imagine the cool stuff you could do with a small computer packed with GPS/FM radio/phone reception/accelerometer/gyroscope.
maeon3 16y ago
Maybe Asus does have something in the pipe, but you don't know about it because they actually keep their secrets and not leak them on purpose.
- lamnk 16y ago
  Maybe this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Keyboard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Keyboard ? I think they tried but this product didn't gain enough traction as they expected (due to higher price, lower specs, ...) Otherwise i must agree with the article. After successfully introducing netbook concept the EeePC 700 serie, all Asus has done was just milking the product line with god know how many variations. I mean they have dozens of models, all has the same configuration: Intel Atom, 1-2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, with little difference in screen sizes, keyboards layout.
  - nanairo 16y ago
    To be honest it's not like Asus was doing so great before the netbook. I am happy for them 'cause it shows that there is a reward out there for PC makers that try to innovate (ASUS went up in market share a lot), but I think that expecting a series of home-runs was a bit optimistic given the company hasn't changed (or has it?). Here is to Asus and the hope that they didn't give up after the Eee Keyboard: some you win, and some you lose, Asus! Keep trying!!! :)
vaksel 16y ago
from Asus I imagine they'll end up releasing a $200-300 iPad clone. They have everything already parts wise.
- potatolicious 16y ago
  ... and no software. I'm fairly certain that the iPad's success is 80% software and 20% hardware.
- jws 16y ago
  http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Asus-Eee-Pad-EP101TC-and-Notion-Ink-Adam/ http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Asus-Eee-Pad-EP101TC... Monochrome this October. Color next March.
PStamatiou 16y ago
On the contrary I have been rather impressed with Asus's netbook offerings. They recently released the Eee 1005PR.. a tiny netbook with a massive 1366x768 resolution in addition to their already ridiculous battery life. I only just started playing with netbooks recently and have an older Eee and have been rather happy with it: http://paulstamatiou.com/thoughts-on-netbooks-part-2-asus-eee-pc-edition http://paulstamatiou.com/thoughts-on-netbooks-part-2-asus-ee...
ja27 16y ago
Nothing's changing at the low end of the netbook lines because they're all still shipping with Windows XP or Windows 7 Starter, so the hardware has to be nearly crippled. Thanks, Microsoft. But at the higher end there are some neat ones. I got an Asus 1201N, which has a dual-core Atom, real Windows 7, and HDMI out. Makes a decent travelling machine and can handle almost any media needs.
- nanairo 16y ago
  Isn't that just an ultra-portable PC, rather than a netbook? I thought the whole point of a netbook is that it was very cheap but underpowered (though more than enough for the internet, hence its name).
  - zephyrfalcon 16y ago
    That does seem to be the point of netbooks, although I never really understood the reasoning behind it. It's underpowered but you are supposed to surf the net with it? If there's one program that is a performance and memory hog, it's a web browser.
    - swolchok 16y ago
      > If there's one program that is a performance and memory hog, it's Flash video. FTFY, based on my experience with my Eee 1005HA. Web's fine, but the world hurts when I try to view Flash video. Doubling the RAM to 2 GB helped with everything else. To be fair, I haven't tried to view any other video on this thing...
      - uxp 16y ago
        > If there's one program that is a performance and memory hog, it's a program that consumes a lot of memory and CPU. If we're getting into this dumb meme, then FTFY.
        swolchok 16y ago
archangel_one 16y ago
I think Asus had blown it already with no assistance from the iPad. They've been moving away from their core market for some time - the original 7" Eee was a hit, but now it seems to have been entirely replaced by larger, more expensive models. They've diluted their brand significantly too; originally they were quite distinct from laptops but now there's a lot of crossover. And far too many models - a local comparison site pulls up 35 different Asus netbook models - how am I meant to know the difference between a 1000HA, 1008HA, 1000HE... I doubt it's such a big deal to most people, but their move towards Windows really puts me off too. Having the original Eee run Linux was a big draw to me.
- sliverstorm 16y ago
  The bigger screen size is useful. The 7" was, admittedly, a little too small. However, you're totally right on everything else. If they could offer $200-250 models again, I might even buy one on impulse. They really need to compete hard and drive the price down; the Kindle, iPad, cell phones and new Android tablets are making the market more competitive.
  - archangel_one 16y ago
    Yeah, I agree that it was a bit small for a lot of stuff - but it was a big hit, and I find it really strange that they responded to that success by changing the product. I'm pretty sure that a lot of the success was due to it being cheap enough to be almost disposable - I've known several people take them places that they wouldn't take a laptop. Increasing the screen size and doubling the price loses that.
    - oiuytghyuj 16y ago
      Not just Asus: The original mini was small and cheap, the new mini is the size (and cost) of a low end BMW - ditto the VW Golf and Beatle
  - robryan 16y ago
    The 9inch that I had might be the sweet spot for me. Although it was the keyboard that killed it for me, slightly small and the tilde key was removed an all the numbers pushed left as a consequence. Could never really get used to it. If they could somehow get a bit more key space on the 9inch that would be good but otherwise I'd probably need a 10inch. That said very happy with the mobility vs size tradeoff that my 13inch bmp has.
rodh257 16y ago
If you want to improve a netbook try this: http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKPQ01 http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKPQ... You can now buy the Pixel Qi (read: replacement for e-ink that does colour and video) screen and put it in a number of netbooks yourself. Perhaps Asus are looking at making their own official models with it in there?
neeson 16y ago
Am I missing something, or is Winer unaware of the EP101TC? My uneducated bet is that at <$399 it will be the non-iPad iPad to beat.
- brilliant 16y ago
  You're missing something -- the EP101TC isn't something you or I can buy.
maguay 16y ago
What's interesting is Asus netbooks have almost disappeared from stores I regularly shop at, but there's more netbooks in stock than ever. HP + Dell minis, Acer Aspire One's, and Samsung's nice lineup of netbooks they have this year. The category is definitely still there, and current-gen netbooks are actually fairly nice computers, but Asus really isn't the one leading here anymore...
jrockway 16y ago
Oh yes, Dave Whiner #. I like Asus' netbook. I needed an extra Windows box at work, so I picked up a $300 eeepc. Very useful, and the battery lasts forever. It's like an iPad, except that I can do whatever I want with it, and it's cheaper. If this is "failure", I like failure.
- maguay 16y ago
  Good point. Plus, Asus opened up a whole new category of computers, and the general netbook move put more emphasis on portability and battery life on all laptops. Let's not forget that!
- ohashi 16y ago
  I like my Asus too. I had an EEE, now I am on something a bit bigger (UL30V). It's nice having the performance and battery life (2 graphics cards and settings that change with 2 keys).
  - JeffL 16y ago
    I love my UL30V like no laptop I've ever had. Two dual graphics cards and 12 hours battery are so great, I don't know how other laptops can compete.
sorbus 16y ago
"Maybe the battery lasts longer, but they maxed out that spec when they hit 7 hours use per charge." My 1005HA was rated for 10+ hours; running linux I generally got 8-9, but another person on HN reported 16 hours with Windows 7. It's not like Asus has been hiding the 10+ hours figure, either; looking through their product information, it's pretty clearly advertised. Does it take too much effort to do the basic research to make sure that a statement is correct before claiming it as truth?
- ent 16y ago
  I understood the maxing out to mean "more than enough" so that increasing it won't add more value. Of course, that is also quite an arguable point but for most people it's valid.
abalashov 16y ago
Just about any netbook is infinitely more useful and usable than an iPad; in that sense, Asus is not blowing anything.
- ffg 16y ago
  I’m on the road this week for work. The office where I’m working is about a mile from my hotel, and there’s a cluster of restaurants around, all of which have wifi. I’m here alone, so no meal companions. I’ve been eating at the various places, carrying my iPad around and catching up on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and the rest while I wait for my meals. I’d never do that with any laptop, not even the netbook I left at home this week. Why? The iPad starts instantly, weighs a pound and a half, and doesn’t need sysadmining.
usaar333 16y ago
"What possible reason would anyone who has one have for buying a new one?" A low-cost ultra-portable computer?
jsz0 16y ago
What could Asus really do to make a netbook better? This is a problem of working within the constraints of x86/Windows. They can't make them faster because they're relying on Intel for parts. They can't do a whole lot on the software side because they're relying on Microsoft for software. I know they blamed the iPad for poor sales but I think it has more to do with better competition from Dell, HP and overall saturation of the market. One thing that is always overlooked with netbooks is that they are a usability nightmare for a lot of people with the small keyboards, postage stamp sized touchpads, and super tiny text on a small high resolution display. Those people don't want netbooks.
- rwmj 16y ago
  You've answered your own question: Use ARM and install a reasonable Linux Netbook distro (not the lame rubbish they install at the moment).
- wazoox 16y ago
  > This is a problem of working within the constraints > of x86/Windows. Windows, you said it. Asus and Acer sold tons of linux netbooks until microsoft used their big iron monopoly fist. Thinking of it, don't you feel that warm fuzzy feeling towards RMS?
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
EvilDuck1 16y ago
I don't think Asus's sales drop has anything to do with the iPad - they're in quite different markets. Look at the price difference of the machines, for starters, and also the demographics of iPad purchasers - these are mainly well-off people and I think if they wanted a netbook style machine they'd buy one as well as an iPad. There may be a small overlap of people who were looking for a netbook and would/could pay the extra money to buy an iPad instead, but at about a £300+ price hike I would think that these would be in the minority - most people who aren't buying Asus are buying other company's netbooks instead. Asus have had a period of being the dominant seller over netbooks, but I think a lot of other people are producing more competitive machines and so Asus are losing share/sales to them, rather than Apple

46 points by brilliant 16y ago

There is no netbook with the fun chips the phone makers added to their products. Imagine the cool stuff you could do with a small computer packed with GPS/FM radio/phone reception/accelerometer/gyroscope.

maeon3 16y ago

Maybe Asus does have something in the pipe, but you don't know about it because they actually keep their secrets and not leak them on purpose.

lamnk 16y ago
Maybe this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Keyboard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Keyboard ? I think they tried but this product didn't gain enough traction as they expected (due to higher price, lower specs, ...) Otherwise i must agree with the article. After successfully introducing netbook concept the EeePC 700 serie, all Asus has done was just milking the product line with god know how many variations. I mean they have dozens of models, all has the same configuration: Intel Atom, 1-2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, with little difference in screen sizes, keyboards layout.
- nanairo 16y ago
  To be honest it's not like Asus was doing so great before the netbook. I am happy for them 'cause it shows that there is a reward out there for PC makers that try to innovate (ASUS went up in market share a lot), but I think that expecting a series of home-runs was a bit optimistic given the company hasn't changed (or has it?). Here is to Asus and the hope that they didn't give up after the Eee Keyboard: some you win, and some you lose, Asus! Keep trying!!! :)

vaksel 16y ago

from Asus I imagine they'll end up releasing a $200-300 iPad clone. They have everything already parts wise.

potatolicious 16y ago
... and no software. I'm fairly certain that the iPad's success is 80% software and 20% hardware.
jws 16y ago
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Asus-Eee-Pad-EP101TC-and-Notion-Ink-Adam/ http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Asus-Eee-Pad-EP101TC... Monochrome this October. Color next March.

PStamatiou 16y ago

On the contrary I have been rather impressed with Asus's netbook offerings. They recently released the Eee 1005PR.. a tiny netbook with a massive 1366x768 resolution in addition to their already ridiculous battery life. I only just started playing with netbooks recently and have an older Eee and have been rather happy with it: http://paulstamatiou.com/thoughts-on-netbooks-part-2-asus-eee-pc-edition http://paulstamatiou.com/thoughts-on-netbooks-part-2-asus-ee...

ja27 16y ago

Nothing's changing at the low end of the netbook lines because they're all still shipping with Windows XP or Windows 7 Starter, so the hardware has to be nearly crippled. Thanks, Microsoft. But at the higher end there are some neat ones. I got an Asus 1201N, which has a dual-core Atom, real Windows 7, and HDMI out. Makes a decent travelling machine and can handle almost any media needs.

nanairo 16y ago
Isn't that just an ultra-portable PC, rather than a netbook? I thought the whole point of a netbook is that it was very cheap but underpowered (though more than enough for the internet, hence its name).
- zephyrfalcon 16y ago
  That does seem to be the point of netbooks, although I never really understood the reasoning behind it. It's underpowered but you are supposed to surf the net with it? If there's one program that is a performance and memory hog, it's a web browser.
  - swolchok 16y ago
    > If there's one program that is a performance and memory hog, it's Flash video. FTFY, based on my experience with my Eee 1005HA. Web's fine, but the world hurts when I try to view Flash video. Doubling the RAM to 2 GB helped with everything else. To be fair, I haven't tried to view any other video on this thing...
    - uxp 16y ago
      > If there's one program that is a performance and memory hog, it's a program that consumes a lot of memory and CPU. If we're getting into this dumb meme, then FTFY.
      - swolchok 16y ago

archangel_one 16y ago

I think Asus had blown it already with no assistance from the iPad. They've been moving away from their core market for some time - the original 7" Eee was a hit, but now it seems to have been entirely replaced by larger, more expensive models. They've diluted their brand significantly too; originally they were quite distinct from laptops but now there's a lot of crossover. And far too many models - a local comparison site pulls up 35 different Asus netbook models - how am I meant to know the difference between a 1000HA, 1008HA, 1000HE... I doubt it's such a big deal to most people, but their move towards Windows really puts me off too. Having the original Eee run Linux was a big draw to me.

sliverstorm 16y ago
The bigger screen size is useful. The 7" was, admittedly, a little too small. However, you're totally right on everything else. If they could offer $200-250 models again, I might even buy one on impulse. They really need to compete hard and drive the price down; the Kindle, iPad, cell phones and new Android tablets are making the market more competitive.
- archangel_one 16y ago
  Yeah, I agree that it was a bit small for a lot of stuff - but it was a big hit, and I find it really strange that they responded to that success by changing the product. I'm pretty sure that a lot of the success was due to it being cheap enough to be almost disposable - I've known several people take them places that they wouldn't take a laptop. Increasing the screen size and doubling the price loses that.
  - oiuytghyuj 16y ago
    Not just Asus: The original mini was small and cheap, the new mini is the size (and cost) of a low end BMW - ditto the VW Golf and Beatle
- robryan 16y ago
  The 9inch that I had might be the sweet spot for me. Although it was the keyboard that killed it for me, slightly small and the tilde key was removed an all the numbers pushed left as a consequence. Could never really get used to it. If they could somehow get a bit more key space on the 9inch that would be good but otherwise I'd probably need a 10inch. That said very happy with the mobility vs size tradeoff that my 13inch bmp has.

rodh257 16y ago

If you want to improve a netbook try this: http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKPQ01 http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKPQ... You can now buy the Pixel Qi (read: replacement for e-ink that does colour and video) screen and put it in a number of netbooks yourself. Perhaps Asus are looking at making their own official models with it in there?

neeson 16y ago

Am I missing something, or is Winer unaware of the EP101TC? My uneducated bet is that at <$399 it will be the non-iPad iPad to beat.

brilliant 16y ago
You're missing something -- the EP101TC isn't something you or I can buy.

maguay 16y ago

What's interesting is Asus netbooks have almost disappeared from stores I regularly shop at, but there's more netbooks in stock than ever. HP + Dell minis, Acer Aspire One's, and Samsung's nice lineup of netbooks they have this year. The category is definitely still there, and current-gen netbooks are actually fairly nice computers, but Asus really isn't the one leading here anymore...

jrockway 16y ago

Oh yes, Dave Whiner #. I like Asus' netbook. I needed an extra Windows box at work, so I picked up a $300 eeepc. Very useful, and the battery lasts forever. It's like an iPad, except that I can do whatever I want with it, and it's cheaper. If this is "failure", I like failure.

maguay 16y ago
Good point. Plus, Asus opened up a whole new category of computers, and the general netbook move put more emphasis on portability and battery life on all laptops. Let's not forget that!
ohashi 16y ago
I like my Asus too. I had an EEE, now I am on something a bit bigger (UL30V). It's nice having the performance and battery life (2 graphics cards and settings that change with 2 keys).
- JeffL 16y ago
  I love my UL30V like no laptop I've ever had. Two dual graphics cards and 12 hours battery are so great, I don't know how other laptops can compete.

sorbus 16y ago

"Maybe the battery lasts longer, but they maxed out that spec when they hit 7 hours use per charge." My 1005HA was rated for 10+ hours; running linux I generally got 8-9, but another person on HN reported 16 hours with Windows 7. It's not like Asus has been hiding the 10+ hours figure, either; looking through their product information, it's pretty clearly advertised. Does it take too much effort to do the basic research to make sure that a statement is correct before claiming it as truth?

ent 16y ago
I understood the maxing out to mean "more than enough" so that increasing it won't add more value. Of course, that is also quite an arguable point but for most people it's valid.

abalashov 16y ago

Just about any netbook is infinitely more useful and usable than an iPad; in that sense, Asus is not blowing anything.

ffg 16y ago
I’m on the road this week for work. The office where I’m working is about a mile from my hotel, and there’s a cluster of restaurants around, all of which have wifi. I’m here alone, so no meal companions. I’ve been eating at the various places, carrying my iPad around and catching up on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and the rest while I wait for my meals. I’d never do that with any laptop, not even the netbook I left at home this week. Why? The iPad starts instantly, weighs a pound and a half, and doesn’t need sysadmining.

usaar333 16y ago

"What possible reason would anyone who has one have for buying a new one?" A low-cost ultra-portable computer?

jsz0 16y ago

What could Asus really do to make a netbook better? This is a problem of working within the constraints of x86/Windows. They can't make them faster because they're relying on Intel for parts. They can't do a whole lot on the software side because they're relying on Microsoft for software. I know they blamed the iPad for poor sales but I think it has more to do with better competition from Dell, HP and overall saturation of the market. One thing that is always overlooked with netbooks is that they are a usability nightmare for a lot of people with the small keyboards, postage stamp sized touchpads, and super tiny text on a small high resolution display. Those people don't want netbooks.

rwmj 16y ago
You've answered your own question: Use ARM and install a reasonable Linux Netbook distro (not the lame rubbish they install at the moment).
wazoox 16y ago
> This is a problem of working within the constraints > of x86/Windows. Windows, you said it. Asus and Acer sold tons of linux netbooks until microsoft used their big iron monopoly fist. Thinking of it, don't you feel that warm fuzzy feeling towards RMS?
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

EvilDuck1 16y ago

I don't think Asus's sales drop has anything to do with the iPad - they're in quite different markets. Look at the price difference of the machines, for starters, and also the demographics of iPad purchasers - these are mainly well-off people and I think if they wanted a netbook style machine they'd buy one as well as an iPad. There may be a small overlap of people who were looking for a netbook and would/could pay the extra money to buy an iPad instead, but at about a £300+ price hike I would think that these would be in the minority - most people who aren't buying Asus are buying other company's netbooks instead. Asus have had a period of being the dominant seller over netbooks, but I think a lot of other people are producing more competitive machines and so Asus are losing share/sales to them, rather than Apple