MacBook Air Vs. Eee PC Vs. OQO
4 02 2008The MacBook Air has had much said about it. Jobs claimed it was the thinnest notebook ever, the most portable Mac ever, the Apple site declares that it is ‘thinovation’. But is it really so great? I heard about OQO computers today in a lecture, and there has been talk about the ASUS Eee PC, so I went to look at these computers and compare them.
Lets start with the OQO machine. It is an ultra portable piece of kit, with a width of 1.4cm, height of 0.8cm, a depth of 0.25cm and sports a 12.7cm screen (5 inches), it even weighs less than 500g! It is shipped to you with the Windows Vista operating system, for such a small device one would expect a cut down version, however, it runs the Ultimate version of Microsoft’s latest OS!
The 5″ screen runs at a native resolution of 800×400, but can run an external monitor (through it’s HDMI port VIA an included VGA adaptor) up to 1200×720. The screen also acts as a touch screen (stylus included) and slips up to reveal a mini backlit keyboard.
Speakers are built internally along with a small microphone, this should enable users to use the voice commands in Vista (Dear aunt…).
Technical specs include a 1.5GHz or a 1.6GHz VIA Ultra Low Voltage C7M VX700 chipset, with 1GB RAM and a 60GB hard driver (64GB solid state hard drive optional), 1xUSB 2.0 and a 4500mAh battery. Networking includes Wireless, ethernet and bluetooth, with 3G capabilities on higher end models.
Prices range from £909 to £1,971.
Portability: *****
Computing power: ***
Price: ***
Next we shall take a look at the MacBook Air. It’s super thin, with it’s thinnest point at just 0.4cm! Around half of what the OQO is! It sits at around 32.5cm in width and 22.7cm in depth with a screen of 33.7cm (13.3 inches), yet it weighs around 1,360g! It ships with the latest version of Apple’s OS X, 10.5, Leopard.
It’s spacious 13.3″ screen boasts a native resolution of 1280×800 and has a micro-DVI out for an extra external monitor, presumably the graphics card can support resolutions of at least 1280×1024 as my MacBook does.
The MacBook Air comes with a nice backlit keyboard, along with a trackpad that uses the new multi-touch technology, so you can use those pinch and sweep gestures like the iPod Touch and iPhone.
Speakers are built in, but you only get mono, not stereo oddly enough. Like the MacBook and MBP, it also has an in-built microphone for those OS X voice commands. Lets not forget about the iSight either, the microphone and iSight means that you can video conference wherever you have network coverage.
Technical specs include the Intel Core 2 Duo (C2D) running at 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz (£190 to upgrade the base configuration), 2GB RAM by default (not upgradable) and a 80GB hard drive, or a 64GB solid state hard drive (high end MBA only), 1xUSB 2.0 and presumably the same 5200mAh battery that comes in a standard MacBook (should last around 5 hours). Networking includes bluetooth and wireless, ethernet is available via a USB adaptor. One thing to note is that there is no Firewire ports.
Prices range from £1,199 for the base model and £2.028 for the base solid state hard drive option.
Portability: ****
Computing power: ****
Price: ***
Lastly, we shall look at the Eee PC. Made by ASUS, it has started a craze of small, compact notebooks. It’s nice and portable, yet chunky enough to feel like it has some substance, weighing in at around 920g. Dimensions are 22.5×2.15~3.5×16.4cm (width x height x depth) and it has a 17.78cm screen (7 inches), the height of this machine means that it is thickest machine of the three. It will arrive in your palms running a distribution of Linux, but it is Windows XP compatible.
The native resolution of it’s 7 inch screen is 800×480, and it has a VGA out, though I couldn’t see what other resolutions it may support.
The Eee PC has a keyboard and trackpad, as well as a microphone in socket.
It has built-in speakers but no microphone.
Technical specs include an Intel Celeron Mobile (no speed mentioned), 512MB RAM, a 2GB solid state hard drive, 3xUSB 2.0 and a 2400mAh battery. Networking includes wireless, ethernet and a modem!
Prices start at £189 (Ebuyer).
Portability: *****
Computing power: **
Price: *****
After looking at the three machines, I can’t honestly see why someone would want an Eee PC, only reason that I can see is budget. The Eee PC would be good for a kid to do their homework on, or a business person who needs to travel. But there is little computing power there, it would be little good (in my opinion) in running Windows, and as the storage is only around 2GB (can be upgraded slightly) you won’t be playing music or watching films on it…
The OQO machine is nice, I would personally switch Vista to some form of Linux, but it’s got a nice amount of computational power, and a touch screen, along with a mini keyboard…
The MacBook Air is also a nice machine, with specs that are similar to other notebooks around. And a plus is that it runs OS X, with all the power of it and UNIX, and with bootcamp you can install Linux and Windows.
For the best of portability and power, the MBA is an obvious choice if price isn’t an option, though the ASUS Eee PC is by far the choice for those people who are working to a budget.
Not only for a budget, but for portability and simplicity. Instead of a paper notebook I would travel with it. Who needs a lot of formatting of documents when on the road? Taking notes and browsing the Internet should be easy. Also, there are 4 and 8Gb versions. For students on a budget they must be great, I have a Mac notebook and a Toshiba notebook. Still I would love to put my hands on that little machine for when I travel. I would also like to experiment and know about the Linux system.
I mainly said for budget as I love a responsive computer. Linux is a great OS, but many users would want XP if they could put it on there and I’m just not sure that Windows would be tremendously responsive.
My MacBook is the best thing I’ve ever had, it’s just a first generation MacBook running, nice and responsive and has the power to do pretty much anything I want. And lots of people format documents on the road, people in business do it all the time, when I was on the train to uni over the summer I did lots of programming which was nice. My main dislike with the Eee PC is that fact to make it so portable, the screen size is reduced so much. Programming on a 13.3″ screen is bad enough!
But yes, the Eee PC is very portable, and very, very cheap.
I’m actually quite fond of the Eee PC. My reasons being that i’ll be on a gap year soon and there is no way I am lugging a 2-2.5 kg PowerBook G4 on a RTW trip. this thing would be ideal. Think about it. Video-blogging (not something I do often, admittedly) Picture downloads (get a high speed SDHC) form my camera, and a couple of games (I’ve seen youtube videos of the Eee running Half life-2 quite competently, not to mention UT04) And it’s dirt cheap. Won’t shed a tear if it gets lost or snaps (unlikely) The only irreparable cons that I can see are the teeny screen (1024 is a must for most websites) and the small keyboard, which I’m sure I could get used to. plus this thing would be great for uni, just sling it in a backpack and bob’s your uncle. Still don’t know whether I actually NEED one tho…
And it never hurts to dabble in linux, just for curiosity’s sake.
About the MBA: I could live with a single USB port, have NEVER actually used ethernet, a modem would be good tho. but it’s about as packable as the Eee Pc IMHO, most bags will usually have a flat area for a laptop. That said, can’t beat something the size of a hardback.
I’ am just considering it as an impulse buy… (yah. I know that doesn’t work, but meh…)
The 2G looks very tempting, but the idea of it is probably much better than the reality… If your city had WiMax or something, then it’d be great, because of how portable it is.
I actually have grown quite fond of my Eee PC.
I have a 4G ($400), added Windows XP Pro OEM ($140), and a 16 GB SDHC card mounted as a folder so applications can be easily installed there ($80). I got one for myself and one for my wife, then took the 2 GB of RAM from my old Gateway to give each Eee PC and the Gateway 1 GB of total RAM.
It is true that its computing power limits it to “doing one task at a time” versus trying to write a term paper, compose an email, watch YouTube, compile a Java application, download Windows updates, and browse my photo album – but I really only do one or two things at a time.
The tiny keyboard took a bit of time to adjust to, but I can’t see using my thumbs when using touch typing (hard but possible on the Eee). The tiny screen can be a pain during web browsing (even in full screen mode), but the vast majority of sites have their information in columns no wider than 480. True, I don’t have easy access to the side bars or get to see those wonderful animations of people dancing to low refinance rates, but I don’t really miss those – and it only adds a second or two on most web pages when browsing.
I love the fact that I can carry around a Targus 10″ portable DVD case instead of a huge bag – and that includes carrying an external DVD, Eee PC, a mini-mouse, Sprint Broadband card, all adapters, adapter, 4-port USB hub with adapter for extra power, blank media for burning discs, a note pad, a pencil bag, a puzzle book, and any needed handouts for my classes.
There is of course the quiet nature of the computer. Both my Toshiba and Gateway laptops produced enough noise that it was disruptive – I’m sure my professors hated that. Although the Eee PC keyboard is more “clacky” sounding and the mouse buttons a bit noisier, the near silence of my Eee PC is a comfort – it is no worse that the distant hum of the overhead projector, so I am sure those next to me can barely hear it when the fan kicks on.
It is fast and zippy under Windows. Again, only a few windows can be open at a time, but it boots faster and is often more responsive than my other laptops – and that is despite the processor being underclocked to a mere 600 MHz.
I like the fact that the Eee PC fits on to those horrible half desks that most schools like to use. I like the fact that I can pack in a full sized keyboard and mouse into my backpack and still have the same room and significantly less weight versus carrying around my old laptop.
I really like the fact that if someone steals my Eee PC that I have a reasonable chance of replacing it quickly, and the fact that few people think of stealing it because they think of it as a useless toy.
I love the fact that it can fit into my coat pocket, and that it uses only 22W maximum. The battery doesn’t last forever, but if and when go camping again I can use my roll up solar panel and DC to AC inverter and keep it charged up. This lower power consumption will help me take my computing off the grid soon and help me with my goal of moving toward sustainable computer use.
Is it for everyone? No way.
Would I recommend the Air to anyone? No way. I would tell people to get a lenovo X300 before the Air.
Would I recommend the 2G? Probably not.
Oh, and did I mention the immediate rise of the Eee PC user community? People are making custom drivers to emulate higher resolution displays, hacking the machines to include touch screens, and so much more. Something you can do with a $300-500 machine that you might not do with a $1800-3000 machine. There are also other hacks that novice users can do – how to put XP onto a SDHC card, how to get the full desktop mode that they Asus pulled out from, custom Ubuntu distros specifically for the Eee PC, and how to overclock the CPU to get it back up to 900 Mhz.
Finally, what do I love the most about the Eee PC? It is a mini-laptop that is not only being compared with the Air and OQO, but also OLPC! It is the middle ground hybrid of these systems. Great for kids and typical users.
Who would I tell to avoid the Eee PC. Older people and those with poor eyesight, people with extremely sausage-like fingers/hands, most current gamers (who often use consoles these days anyway), and those who do a lot of computer programming/graphics work. However, since you can dock this and easily get 1280×1024 on an external monitor, this laptop could also make computers more accessible for lower income (not low income) groups.
So why my long rant? I wanted people to be aware that there are some often unmentioned advantages to the Eee PC, but also that there are definitely those that should never get one.
Okay, so my rant is done. I hope you find some of the information useful when making your choice.
???? why compare these 3? Are you stupid? The only connection I see is that they are desirable and as such would be looked at by technology magpies suchas yourself. This review has no worth at all you might as well compare wood and polythene. Oh and your closing comments ah to hell with you your a moron go buy a macbook air you trendy impractical wast of bandwidth
OQO for sure is the best choice for mobile and desktop computing if you have the $$$. I have both the eee and OQO. eee is fine for one task at a time but is not small enough to be ultra mobile and not up to snuff with the computing power / storage of the OQO. With the included dock the OQO can replace your desktop if you are using it for productivity apps. The mac air is the odd ball in this review and is not nor should not be compared with other UMPC’s. OQO for life!