Asus Eee PC dilemma

[cvrefugee]

Here's the deal: I have one more quarter left in my college career and it would be nice to use a laptop for taking notes and looking up stuff online. I know I can survive without it, as I've never used a laptop at school before, but typing is easier than writing for me. Even though I really want the new 8.9" version that's coming out later this year, I don't want to wait for it. So what should I do? Spend the $400 and get the current 4G model? I won't have much use for a laptop after school, so...

And to the current owners of the Eee, what are your thoughts? Is the keyboard okay? I heard the touchpad kind of sucks and we all know the screen resolution is pretty bad. But these shouldn't affect taking notes, right? Does the battery really last around 3.5 hours?

[Lilleput]

I don't own one but i have been told by people that use them that the keyboard can be really annoying, apparently the buttons can get stubborn and hard to press down so you miss key strokes ect. when typing.

[Shawn]

Have you taken notes on the computer in lectures before? I did it for all my years in undergrad, but I know of people who switched to taking notes electronically and found they like a pad and paper better.

I say just go the last quarter without a laptop. You could get the Eee with the smaller screen now, but if the bigger screen is what you want, you shouldn't waste $400 on the older model now.

[cvrefugee]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Have you taken notes on the computer in lectures before? I did it for all my years in undergrad, but I know of people who switched to taking notes electronically and found they like a pad and paper better.

I say just go the last quarter without a laptop. You could get the Eee with the smaller screen now, but if the bigger screen is what you want, you shouldn't waste $400 on the older model now.

Nope, I've never taken notes with a computer. There are times I wished I had a computer though because the teacher would go through presentation slides too fast. Other than that, I'm pretty good at writing down just the important stuff. If I was to buy one now then sell it in June, how much would it depreciate you think?

[Shawn]

^ I think the reason some people don't take a liking to electronic notes is that they can't type fast enough. I type pretty fast but even for me sometimes the profs moved way too fast and I'd get totally confused. Also, it's hard formatting and doing diagrams and stuff on a laptop unless you have a tablet, whereas with traditional notes you can scribble whatever/wherever you want. Just something to keep in mind...

In terms of depreciation, I'm guessing you'll be lucky to sell it for 50% of what you will pay. Because a) computers depreciate even faster than other electronics and, b) by the time you want to sell yours, the new generation of Eee PCs will be out.

[Mil]

Well, I used an EeePC for a school trip for a whole day a few weeks ago. I wish in the bitter cold, and was finding it very difficult to type, although I guess it wouldn't be much of a problem if you had a surface to put the laptop on. Yes, sometimes keys did not press down completely, making me miss spell a lot of my notes
Battery lasted at least 3 hours, and was going strong still.
Overall, found it fun to use, but it can be quite annoying if you use it outside in the freezing cold for a whole day

(PS. The webcam is a nice touch)

[evoWALO]

Been living on an EEE PC 4G for the past 2 months and I say go for it. It's a great secondary/simple computer to have. I cant imagine it not being useful in your college classes. Heck if i was back in college I'd use that in my class rather than my 8 pound "portable"

[awdrifter]

I've used my 15.4in laptop to take notes in classes before, but I prefer pen and paper over it for most classes. Cuz the professors draws diagrams and stuff on the board all the time, without a touch screen it's really hard to enter those stuff, and the only umpc that has a keyboard and touchscreen that I've found is the Fujitsu U810, but from what I've read the keyboard on that is too small. I was looking forward to the 2nd gen EEE pc because it's rumored to have a touch screen, but I guess Asus scrapped that plan. If your budget allows, I would suggest getting a tablet PC, it'll make taking notes a lot easier.

[NooDle]

I think it would be okay as long as you don't need much storage. it only has 4GBs which is next to nothing.

If it only needs to serve for notes and shit on the innernet, it should be good.

Costs only 299€ (here atleast) so you won't blow all your cash