Because of this, phones still represent the future of ubiquitous computing.

...But seriously, folks--I can squeeze the eee PC into a large cargo pocket, and walk with a Joker-ish hitch to my stride, but that doesn't even technically represent ubiquitous computing. It takes longer than 10 seconds to boot, and it's awkward to use while standing up, so if I've got 'em both on me I'll always default to the iPhone unless I need to type more than a paragraph, or do something the iPhone can't.

If I had to stand up on the train, an Android phone or an E71 (or at last resort, an iPod) would be a much better choice.

In your case, I would say the train with it's seats & 1 hr time period is more similar to an office scenario. Just like laptops extended the office to planes, long train rides & coffee shops Eee-like laptops extend the office further. The iphone is computing away from the office: The lift, the taxi, the meeting, the queue.

So to restate common wisdom: Whether or not you'll be able to work a spreadsheet or create a powerpoint on one is not as important as what new things you can/will do on one.

This guy implies using the Eee for calls, texts, music etc. I don't buy it.

http://www.handykey.com

Games/media tend to be the exception.

I was impressed with Dave's strong endorsement of the ASUS. However, the iPhone has raised the bar to a mindblowing level. This device is causing major shifts - high speed wireless is once again becoming hot; USA is finally catching up to the far east in terms of high speed 3G networks - all of which is further accelerating internet innovation.

Had it not been for the iPhone, we would still be messing around with boring devices like Blackberry and shitty laptops. This does not excuse their stupid decision to ban Alex Sokirynsky's cool podcasting app. But without them, our collective games would be much weaker.

AT&Ts 3G network was pretty much the same before the iPhone came out. I was using 3G with a Windows Mobile phone long before the iPhone existed.

Looks like society is really turning in the direction of science fiction novels.

If your phone does all your computing, the Eee stays home. If your Eee does all your computing, the phone still comes. Unless, your Eee starts making calls, it's a extra.

People were carrying around big uncomfortable phones @ ridiculous call prices. Once they got one, it went everywhere. Laptops, even 1kg ones, are a sometimes food

And, shit, I don't even use it for email because it sucks for that too. I can't search. I have 5 email accounts for various things and I have to click 15 times to check them all, instead of a single view like the blackberry. Oh and I can't search. I mentioned that. Did I mention that? Yeah, I can't search. And when I click on a message I have to wait for the fucking webkit view to load before I can read it. I can't copy and paste addresses, I can't forward emails as sms's, I can't save attachments. SO awesome.

So yeah I use it for everything but email and the phone. And maybe SMS messaging too I do a lot less of because it's another slow cumbersome process that zaps the joy out of semi-realtime conversation. I love it when it craps out, and how it can't send in the background and those wonderfully stupid chat bubbles. I am not 12 years old.

So I don't really use it for anything other than browsing the web, tracking poker stats and playing Wurdle. I love Wurdle. I can play it until my thumbs cramp. I hope those guys make millions.

Music is an obvious avenue for mobile success - there's still lots of tedium to our everyday lives, and there are many places where music can fill in those gaps (car, gym, park, DMV, etc) I work as a Systems Engineer, and I don't carry a blackberry or Treo - I refuse to, I don't WANT the temptation to write and respond to emails while I'm eating my breakfast before work. That's a different topic, but the device needs to substantially make my life better in a way bringing my laptop with me can't - and I just don't see the benefit yet.

I am one of the people who thing that's the next big thing, but I just can't see what will be the dominant device.

Will it be something like a smart phone/iPhone, or a just tiny yet powerful laptop. I think its mostly a UI conundrum.

phones are getting smarter, and now their OS are now a lot more accessible, laptops on the other hand aren't getting much smarter, but rather smaller.

if you go to Korea, Japan, India, several South American & African countries, you will understand why mobile is a heckuva lot more important than laptop.

it's not a UI conundrum -- a mobile phone (with the exception of the iPhone)'s primary purpose is communication -- voice, sms, mms and now even photo & video.

not so with a laptop.

p.s. also I've an Asus EEE, but I did the reverse, I rarely use the eee now that I've almost-a-computer around, the iPhone.

When connected to a monitor/keyboard/mouse, I don't really notice a difference between that machine and my real laptop. Obviously compiling the Linux kernel is faster on a real dual-core processor, but using emacs and firefox is just fine on the Eeepc. Even without the keyboard and monitor, the Eee is quite nice to use. The screen is actually brighter than my Thinkpad, and it's certainly higher resolution.

Anyway, I find his use of the term "the Asus" interesting. Asus doesn't even brand the eeepcs as "Asus" anymore. The only part on the laptop that says "Asus" is the serial number label on the back; everywhere else it says "Eeepc".

The downsides were - the small SSD made it useless for storing photos. I find I use my laptop a lot for offloading photos from my camera when I'm traveling. The screen was too small. The keyboard was small but I eventually got used to it.

I got a new macbook and never used the EEE again. However, I do miss the portability, and the new versions of the EEE solve many of the problems I had with the machine. Slightly bigger screen, more storage, etc.

She now uses it with XP and has a much better experience (for her) - We have a 20Gb USB hard disk that she can stick to the lid with velcro patches. Her only problem is with having to mount the drive via truecrypt from suspend but she wanted encryption on the drive.

I suppose the guy is writing about Asus 901...which is a bit different device..only 1kg weight, but with smaller keyboard and smaller disk space. AFAIK, performance is similar to 1000H.

Did he get ass-raped by Jobs when he was a kid?

Oh wait, nobody reads his lame blog so he is trying to get attention bashing Apple, how clever!