ChrisJB Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 Pretty much ditched my project on finishing building a computer for my LR. I just purchased a Asus Eee PC from amazon.com and it was delivered yesterday. I wanted something mainly for GPS and more powerfull/usefull than my PDA that I am currently using.For those who have been thinking about getting one here are my impressions. I dropped linux and loaded WinXP SP2 without any issue and Asus made it easy by providing a XP driver disk. No built in bluetooth so for those with bluetooth GPS receivers, you need to connect a usb bluetooth dongle. Also no express card slot or PCMCIA slot, so for those who use data connect cards, you will need to get a external usb modem. Also on the Eee PC, the screen is not as bright as I would have liked, so it did make it a little hard to see the 8" screen out in daylight, but gps voice commands made it not a big issue. Keyboard is a bit small for those with bigger hands but thats to be expected with a small for factor laptop. Also I have not been able to find a auto/ air adapter yet so I have to use a power inverter. So basically with the laptop, ac adapter, power inverter, bluetooth dongle, usb 3G data modem kinda made my dash and passenger seat a bit cluttered so I am trying to find a way to build a mount and find a way for some type of cable management. What I really liked about the Eee PC is that it has a 20GB solid State drive which would make it off-road friendly. If 20gb of memory is not enough, you can pick up a 16gb sandisk ultra II SDHC card for about $150. So IMHO I think going this route has a lot of potential. Dell is releasing a mini inspiron due to come out late this year with a brighter screen, express card slot, and built in bluetooth. The laptop is primarily slated for developing countries, so hopefully due to Nevada being near the top of the list with people who dont wear shoes or have any teeth, I might be able to get one. I have not had any hands on experience with the HP 2133 yet, but hope to do so. Some people may like the HP vs the Asus due to it's metal contruction, but it's more money depending on configuration, but you do get faster hardware, express card slot and built in bluetooth. I picked the Asus to hold me over untill Dell releases their model. Price comparison Garmin GPSMAP 478$819.00 MapSource Topo US 2008 (DVD-Rom) $89.95 512 MB Data Card $149.99 GA 25BNC low profile remote GPS antenna $25.99 = 1083.98 Asus Eee PC$579 AT&T 3G Usb Modem$249 Bluetooth dongle$10 = $838.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gotrovr Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 You're definately better off with a pc rather than a Garmin, shoes or no shoes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJB Posted May 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I am sending the Eee PC back. Just got word that dell is releasing a tough book next month http://gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2008/05/dellatg.png "The ATG will run 14.1" and resist dust and humidity while featuring a spill-proof keyboard and shock-mounted hard drive (available this June)." Not only can i use it for gps and email and stuff, but also as a hi lift jack base and a sand ladder lol ooooo I cant wait!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptin Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I wouldn't be surprised if the Toughbook cost 4 times the cost of the Eee PC. Sure it's tougher, but no longer comparable to a standard GPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJB Posted May 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 Well my macbook is getting old (4 years old) so I have been looking for a replacement anyways. Been struggling to get my adobe master collection suite running stable. So I am not looking at new hardware for just gps. I need to run photoshop, lightroom, work applications, plus gps. Plus I get a decent employee discount. I am planning on this being around 2k. The XPS M1330 is about 1700 so I dont see this being too much more. I was just looking at a standard laptop, but Will planted the seed in my head since he uses his laptop for gps. So now I am trying to find a balance between small, but functional for what I need. the Eee PC was great, but just needed a little more umph lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptin Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 Got it Have you looked into tablet PCs at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJB Posted May 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 I was looking at one and it's still a consideration, but I will probably wait till Windows 7 comes out next year. I am not a huge fan of vista which is what you will find pre-loaded now and windows xp tablet edition was okay, but since it was the first OS attempt at this line of hardware that it didnt have all the functionality that it should have. Dell has the XT and they start at $2200 but after configuring it, it was close to $2800 which is a bit more then what I want to spend. Really the only non-dell tablet I would buy would be the Lenovo X61. As you can tell I am partial to Dell. As some people might know I work for them and at the rate they are laying off people. I dont want to be like the guy I read a while ago who was a coke delivery driver and was fired for drinkng a pepsi I have a new dual quad core mac pro with a 30" cinema display, but thats my deep dark secret :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiplash Smile Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 I LOVE the idea of a PC or Laptop doubling as a GPS - with the ability to store music - really nothing more needed for me - but as it would be cool to surf while the better half watchs "Reality", I opted for a nice little Dell Latitude. Very small, has USB, windows XP, PCMCIA, 8gig - came with car charger and 120v ac charger. 125.00... (man I love craigslist!) Granted no photoshop, 3dstudio, Autocad, or Oracle software will run on it, but what the hell - buy 8 desktops that will with the money you save. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJB Posted May 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 I LOVE the idea of a PC or Laptop doubling as a GPS - with the ability to store music - really nothing more needed for me - but as it would be cool to surf while the better half watchs "Reality", I opted for a nice little Dell Latitude. Very small, has USB, windows XP, PCMCIA, 8gig - came with car charger and 120v ac charger. 125.00... (man I love craigslist!) Granted no photoshop, 3dstudio, Autocad, or Oracle software will run on it, but what the hell - buy 8 desktops that will with the money you save. People keep telling me about this Craiglist... I am going to have to check it out one of these days. I just did some more reading on the new iPhone and it's supposidly going to have gps with google maps enabled. Man I need to hit the lottery as my wish list keep getting bigger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gotrovr Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 that ATG is serious eye candy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJB Posted June 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2008 My days of waiting, anticipation, anxiety, happiness, and water walking exuberance has been fulfill as the new iPhone has been announced today and it has A-GPS built in....... So of course I'll be in line midnight july 11th with all the other nerds and early adopter to try and get my hands on one. Dont know if the GPS will fit my needs bit willing to give it a try )))))))) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptin Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 While I do like the price drop, I'm a bit disappointed in the iphone 3g. While it has 3g, GPS and cost $199 (8GB), those are largely the only differences. I was hoping for a 32GB option to replace my ipod, more RAM was rumored but never made it in, and the lack of A2DB bluetooth is a big let down. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great smartphone, but I'll be keeping my Motorola brick a while longer. GPS will probably be fine for the road, but without topo, I have my doubts for the trails...might have to wait for someone to develop topo for it later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrVideo Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 At $199 for 8 GB...might upgrade myself & my older son at the same time BTW: I was at WWDC 08 today backstage in the edit suite. As I was editing Steve's keynote, my Apple marketing people were swirling around with information flying all around me as I'm concentrating on the in and out points of a particular video clip. "Marketwatch is overall positive", "CNBC leads with the price" and so on. We get to a critical point, do we include the games & enterprise? Kristin, the 25ish blonde with a big smile shouts out, "Any mentions on...." It was an intense 2 hours of editing, being ultra sensitive to eliminate those "um's and "so's" that make Steve look more polished. I can't share any of the inside jokes that fly around at this point. Ask me at the next MORG. I'm looking at Kristin for confirmation on a particular clip, while her boss comes up to give the final edit a review before it's up on the bird. "Our transmission window is open are you ready yet?" we hear over the radio. Just 2 more clips to go... The big marketing boss decides to drop in and says to add 2 more segments. Ok the tension went up about 50% just then. We quickly grabbed the 2 shortest clips I could on the game segment that had full frame video. The last part was including their new network apps that you can read more about if you really care. The edit is complete. The directive has always been to keep it under 8 minutes. Every time, we exceed that by 3-4 minutes. This time, 11:30 of finished product ready to be sent from my Final Cut Pro HD system directly to the satellite truck parked outside Moscone West. The signal then gets picked up by all the major networks and many of the news organizations across the country. If you see Steve Jobs on Network news tonight, chances are very good, it was my edited piece. Once again, I beat a deadline. That's why they keep asking me back New video from Saturday is in process and will be uploaded soon. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJB Posted June 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 While I do like the price drop, I'm a bit disappointed in the iphone 3g. While it has 3g, GPS and cost $199 (8GB), those are largely the only differences. I was hoping for a 32GB option to replace my ipod, more RAM was rumored but never made it in, and the lack of A2DB bluetooth is a big let down. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great smartphone, but I'll be keeping my Motorola brick a while longer. GPS will probably be fine for the road, but without topo, I have my doubts for the trails...might have to wait for someone to develop topo for it later on. It uses google maps for mapping. With google maps you can use street view, satelite, or hybrid as you probably already know. For me at least now I use google maps on my pc and print up a arial view of whatever trail i want to hit up. So for me it will be one less step. I am anxious to know if north america is already preloaded on the HD or it needs a cell signal to bring up google maps to start with. Thats the big question for me. I guess I should try that on my iPhone now. Right now I have the 4gb iphone and it holds everything I need music wise so for me at least a 16gb would be a huge upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCRover Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 Good story Jim, they should give you a free unit for your effort. I am not an Apple person so won't be owning one any time soon... At $199 for 8 GB...might upgrade myself & my older son at the same time BTW: I was at WWDC 08 today backstage in the edit suite. As I was editing Steve's keynote, my Apple marketing people were swirling around with information flying all around me as I'm concentrating on the in and out points of a particular video clip. "Marketwatch is overall positive", "CNBC leads with the price" and so on. We get to a critical point, do we include the games & enterprise? Kristin, the 25ish blonde with a big smile shouts out, "Any mentions on...." It was an intense 2 hours of editing, being ultra sensitive to eliminate those "um's and "so's" that make Steve look more polished. I can't share any of the inside jokes that fly around at this point. Ask me at the next MORG. I'm looking at Kristin for confirmation on a particular clip, while her boss comes up to give the final edit a review before it's up on the bird. "Our transmission window is open are you ready yet?" we hear over the radio. Just 2 more clips to go... The big marketing boss decides to drop in and says to add 2 more segments. Ok the tension went up about 50% just then. We quickly grabbed the 2 shortest clips I could on the game segment that had full frame video. The last part was including their new network apps that you can read more about if you really care. The edit is complete. The directive has always been to keep it under 8 minutes. Every time, we exceed that by 3-4 minutes. This time, 11:30 of finished product ready to be sent from my Final Cut Pro HD system directly to the satellite truck parked outside Moscone West. The signal then gets picked up by all the major networks and many of the news organizations across the country. If you see Steve Jobs on Network news tonight, chances are very good, it was my edited piece. Once again, I beat a deadline. That's why they keep asking me back New video from Saturday is in process and will be uploaded soon. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrVideo Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 Thanks Gary, The fact they keep asking me back is good enough. Kristin will get a phone for me at the employee discount. Some of the new apps are so cool..Sega had an awesome game you tilted the phone to control the game. Another medical app would measure a scan and calculate the size of whatever...and when you're done, you shake it, like an etch-a-sketch to reset. My kids are begging me to get a few older models of Craig's list for them already! Cheers ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gotrovr Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 too bad you couldn't shake it and have all the bugs disappear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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