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Asus N10 Review — the First Netbook For Gaming
Kim Hawley writes "Mobile Computer has a review of another new netbook from Asus. The N10 comes from Asus’ notebook division rather than its Eee PC division, and has an impressive specification. Most notable are the ExpressCard/34 slot and switchable nVidia GeForce 9300M graphics, and the video shows the N10 playing Call of Duty 4 very smoothly. Pre-orders in the US are around $600 – about the same as the Eee PC 1000. The N10 is closer to a traditional laptop than a true netbook, though – is feature-creep killing this new market already?"
I personally feel laptops aren't good enough for serious gaming. Even though you connect a mouse, the keyboard still cannot match up to a regular size keyboard. There is the issue of heat and needing to be hooked up for max CPU freq and display brightness. Don't get me wrong - I love gaming laptops - they make great machines for development and running VMware images but in general I laugh at the idea of gaming laptops (upgrades? *smirk*).
Gaming netbook though in my opinion borders on ridiculous. The N10 has a 10.2" screen. Checking the AH in wow sure. Using counterstrike as an expensive chat client while you idle in the start zone? Sure. Playing Solitaire and Bejewelled? Sure. Serious gaming? F that.
The tech's been around since the beginning of the year at least. I first ran across this while shopping for a new laptop in February -- some of the Sony Vaio models had come out with it by then. Now a few other people have it as well (obviously). From what I understand, it makes a pretty decent impact on battery life.
You can mod your friends, you can mod your nose, but you can't mod your friend's nose.
Do we care more about having a lot of different options for the user, or about protecting this "new market"?
I really don't think that every new useful product has to become part of some special "market" just because reviewers and marketing people feel the need to categorize and simplify absolutely everything.
I've seen too many good, innovative products die on the vine because the PR machine didn't quite know what to do with it. And have no doubt, sites like Mobile Computing, Engadget, Gizmodo, are nothing but cogs in the giant Moloch of the marketing departments and soap peddlers who have created this consumerist dystopia.
If it's a good product, it doesn't have to be destroyed just because it doesn't fit neatly on a tab of some big box store's website.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Seems like a pain to have to reboot to play games... but I guess I already do that between Debian/Windows. :-/
That's not how I'd use it. Most of the time, I have my notebook plugged into an outlet, so I'd just use the power-hungry card. I'd reboot any time I plan on using the machine away from an outlet for an extended period of time.
My daughter has two laptops, an IBM T30 and an Asus EEE. The T30 stays in her room and is used for movies, itunes, homework. The EEE stays in her purse and is used for web, chat, email when she's out of the house, and occasionally to do homework when she wants to work on the kitchen table or upstairs in front of the TV. Before she got the EEE, she tried carrying around the T30, but size, weight and battery life made this a real chore.
Trying to develop C++ applications or run Halo 3 is not what these netbooks were designed for, and they -- still -- do what they *are* designed for very well. Trying to push them into areas they were not meant to go will -- duh -- give you questionable results. Like Max Payne running on a Surf, it's amazing that it works at all.
Yes, the keyboard kinda sucks and the screen is small. But the T30 won't fit in a purse, and my Latitude D620 *certainly* won't fit. When you need to look something up or send an email, any computer is better than no computer at all, and your big fancy white-hot dual core monster sitting at home isn't going to be any help when you're sitting here right now. The best computer is the one within reach, and the netbook is more likely to be with you when you're out of the building.
Moreover, the EEE will keep going long after the others have gone dark. For this reason, I sometimes borrow it for times when I won't be near a power source. (I wish she hadn't picked pink, though.)
And as cramped as the EEE is, it's still a damned site better than my Treo for web.
There may be a need for a bigger screen and better keyboard amongst those looking for a portable web appliance, but if it substantially increases the footprint, it breaks the paradigm. Moreover, I suspect that letting the price creep up makes it less attractive for people looking for an additional device, more portable than their mongo laptop but providing a better experience than their cell phone.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Powerful introduction, but a touch weak on the finish. Nice reinforcement of their promiscuity with the copulative verb. This post failed to reach its potential, some homosexual references and threats may have helped here.
Disappointing. Two stars.
3laws: No freebies, no backsies, GTFO.