Cheap as chips – the latest on little laptops
- Published: 01 April 2008 11:35
- Author: Sutherland Lyall
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 02 April 2008 14:11
- Reader Responses
You may have given it to the kids already but you can at least claim early adopter status in having bought the Asus EeePC before anybody else.
Because there is a shoal of similar, cheap, dinky laptops bulging the world's computer distributors' warehouse doors. Or will soon be. The standard price is around $400, the operating system is normally one or another version of Linux, although Windows XP will be available for the timid, the screen is around seven inches diagonally although Asus has just announced a nine inch version, and the keyboard, when it's in proportion, is virtually unusable.
You may think the current £220 for the EeePC is pretty cheap but I've put down a tenner deposit for an Elonex One at just £100, with delivery promised in July. Actually I've got a perfectly serviceable laptop which I almost never use. Four of them actually. Still, best to be prepared. If the bubble hasn't burst by July and the One actually turns up, I'll let you know.
Below is the current list. Despite Gigabyte's recent contention that it can't see margins in any price less than £350, be prepared for more by summer.
 |  |  |
| The 1.2kg T32 from Amoi | 7-inch convertible mini computer from Clevo | Everex's ultra-mobile PC is called the Cloudbook |
 |  |  |
| ICybertronPC's CM900 has a similar specification to the Eee PC | ECS has launched its own mini contender, which it has called the G10IL | Grandaddy of them all - the Asus Eee PC |
 |  |  |
| £99 laptop from Elonex | Norhtech has introduced the Gecko | GECube has brought out the Genie PC, with a version specifically aimed at schoolchildren |
 |  | See a video of the Neo eXplore X-1 |
| HP is rumoured to be cutting the price of its Compac 2133 to make it competitive in this market | E-Lead is making great claims for the ultra-versatile Noahpad | No images yet of the latest from Neo |
