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What to Seek in an Older Subnotebook?

Posted by timothy on from the when-good-enough-is-what-you-want dept.

cyclomedia writes "I'm looking to buy a subnotebook. For those who think that this form factor was created by the Asus EEE (as, seemingly, does Wikipedia) it might interest you that the current forerunner in my search is a 190MHz,64MB,640x480 256 colour beastie known as the Psion Netbook, circa 2001-ish. Basically, I have a desktop, a server and an Xbox and so truly only want it for surfing, email and the odd bit of SSHing home on weekends away. The aforementioned Psion is, however, of the StrongArm processor variety, which nudges it down on the desireability meter, but the fact that there exist Wi-Fi cards for its 16-bit PCMCIA slot does score it extra points. So, anyone here got any suggestions of what to look out for on ebay? So long as I can play Doom II on it too, that is." Any other suggestions for wireless capable subnotebooks with better battery life than things like the EEE or HP's 2133 Mininote?

7 of 250 comments (clear)

  1. 12" PowerBook? by russlar · · Score: 5, Informative

    I had a 12" PowerBook G4 for a number of years, and would recommend it if all you need is web and SSH.

    --
    Anybody want my mod points?
  2. libretto damn it! spell it right! by nawcom · · Score: 4, Informative
    Get a toshiba libretto. The last model was the U105 I believe, but there are definitely models that match your requests. I always loved those fuckers.

    Here's a 110ct, something along what youre asking for: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150248931102

    Heres a u105, something more up-to-date: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170217846018

    I dunno, they were always perfectfor me. I especially loved them when I interfaced it with an ol' oki900. ahhh.. the AMPS days...

  3. as, seemingly, does Wikipedia? by Bo'Bob'O · · Score: 5, Informative

    From Wikipedia: "Subnotebooks have been something of a niche computing product and have rarely sold in large numbers until the 2007 introduction of the Asus Eee PC and the OLPC XO-1[1], which are inexpensive in comparison to both existing machines in that form factor, and computers in general."

    That sounds spot on to me. How does that sound anything like it's saying that the form factor was created by Asus? They have been around for ages, it's just in the past they either needed a special striped down OS, were incredibly expensive, had bizarre tiny screen resolutions, or they left out things like keyboards to strip them down in size. Sure NOW you can find some great second hand deals, but they couldn't have possibly been compared as anywhere on the same level in price when they were new.

    In fact, the wikipeida article looks like a great list of used models to look for.

  4. Netbook is still pretty cool, but think again! by Qbertino · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Netbook totally rocks. IIRC it has 40 hrs of uptime on a single battery load, which blows every protable PC (even the Transmeta Lifebooks pimped with Powerbattery and OD Battery) out of the water. But get your head straight about pocessing power and running some Linux derviate or something on it. That won't fly.

    Because, allthough it is a fully fletched out business system with a neat Java 1.1 enviroment on top of some custom Epoc OS (way ahead of it's time), you can absolutely forget any more that rudymentary surfing on that thing. I strongly suggest you get the brand new and super cheap One A110 and hack youself some external power option if you want to reach the Netbooks uptime.

    And, yes, uptime is what I'd be looking for in any subnote who's prime purpose is to be used for generic tasks while on the road. In that respect a Netbook really is the bar. But the One A110 and the Asus EEE are the new generation (nearly 10 years newer!) and they are actually those up to the Netbook. I'd say they've re-introduced the Handheld era. Might aswell pay that respect and get one.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
  5. Re:16 bit PC cards by Nimey · · Score: 4, Informative

    There's no difference between PCMCIA and PC Card; the standard was officially renamed to the latter because (it was thought) it was an easier & more approachable name.

    --
    Hail Eris, full of mischief...

    E pluribus sanguinem
  6. Re:Seriously? by Slashdot+Suxxors · · Score: 4, Informative

    C'mon, don't reward those websites with ad-hits, link to the homepage for it instead.

  7. Re:consider... by The+New+Andy · · Score: 4, Informative
    The nokia n810 would be a much better option than an iPod touch.

    1) You don't have to hack it to do what you want.

    2) It has a significantly better resolution (800x480)

    3) It has a hardware keyboard (which is fiddly, but at least you don't have to use up screen estate). If you want a better keyboard, you can get USB host mode drivers and plug a USB keyboard into it (or use a bluetooth keyboard).

    4) It has removable storage.