Tag Archives: gadgets

Asus EEE PC 1000H vs MSI Wind U100

I’ve been waiting for the Asus EEE PC 901. I’ve decided that it has the best combination of features that I want. Unfortunately, it seems that Asus is not planning to release it here so I figured the best compromise would be the Asus EEE PC 1000H which has almost the same specifications but in a slightly larger package. It has however a tough competitor in the MSI Wind U100. So I made the following comparison:

Asus EEE PC 1000H MSI Wind U100
Intel Atom 1.6GHz Processor Intel Atom 1.6GHz
1GB Memory 1GB
80GB HDD Storage 80GB HDD
10″ 1024×768 Display 10″ 1024×768
WiFi B/G/N, Bluetooth Wireless WiFi B/G, Bluetooth
6 cells (7 hours) Battery 3 cells (2-3 hours)
1.45kg Mass 1kg
266×191.2x38mm Dimensions 260x180x31.5mm
P26,000.00 Cash Price Pxx,xxx.xx
P29,892.00 Installment Price P25,988.00
12 months Installment Term 6 months
P2,491.00 Monthly Installment P4,331.33

At first, the two netbooks seem to be evenly matched until you see that the Asus has a much longer battery life, very important for devices like these, as well as Wi-Fi N. Of course, it pays for this by being larger and heavier but it’s still quite manageable. In terms of price, the Asus might look too expensive but it actually is the better deal with its 12 months installment payment term (unless you really have nothing else to do with your money). So it looks like the Asus wins unless the MSI goes down in price and/or gets a better battery (there’s supposed to be a 6-cell battery available).

Nokia 5310 XpressMusic

Black is back. I’ve been eyeing the Nokia 5310 for quite some time already. My primary reason being it’s one of the, if not the smallest, slimmest, lightest phones out there. The personal multimedia player features clinched the deal. However, what held me back was the availability of only red and blue accented models. I thought that a silver accented model would be better. But I was surprised that Nokia actually did one better and released an all black model. Nokia has been releasing black models recently including the 6500, the 6300 (originally in silver), and now the 5310. I guess they finally realized that silver nor pink (supposedly the new black) just isn’t as classic and versatile as black. Of course they’re not the first, Apple had long discovered that black iPods and black iBooks sold better. Welcome back black!

Asus EEE PC 900 Launched!

Finally, the Asus EEE PC 900 has been launched. Yay! It is initially priced at P24,995. Way better than the rumored P33,900 before the launch. Some would say the price is still high especially since some full-featured notebooks are already within that range. But remember that the Asus EEE PC is way smaller and lighter (and cuter!) than these budget notebooks. Besides, you can be sure prices will slide down after a month or two.

2008 March 30 to April 4 Hong Kong Trip

Just came back with Jeff and Racquel from a trip to Hong Kong for a seminar by Adobe on InDesign CS3 development, Flex development, and a preview of the upcoming InDesign CS4.

The seminar was conducted by a bunch of soft-spoken Europeans (Ferdinand, Emanuele, Andreas, and Roger) and a fast-speaking Hong Konger named Sunny (or maybe Sony for “So!” his favorite expression). The attendees were a bunch of Filipinos (that’s us), Thais, Indians, Koreans, a Hong Konger, and an Australian. Quite an international mix.

The material was a pretty interesting (though I couldn’t resist getting drowsy every right about after lunch). InDesign CS3 and Flex development were cool but the InDesign CS4 preview almost blew me away (almost, we try to be unflappable) but I’m on an NDA so I can tell you but then I’ll have to kill you :P A lot of material was covered so we we’re pretty occupied. We did get to go around the city on the first day and at night after the seminar sessions.

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Sony Cycle Energy = Sanyo Eneloop

A few months ago, Drawde mentioned to me how Sanyo Eneloop batteries are the best rechargeable batteries. They are a (back then) new type of batteries that are low self-discharge. This allows for the batteries to be charged at manufacture, packaged, and ready for use off the shelf. Of course this also means that in use, they last longer. This is especially noticeable when used in remotes, clocks, etc. Convinced, I tried looking for Sanyo Eneloops to replace the Sony rechargeable batteries that I have been using on my DSLR. But they were pretty much unavailable so I eventually gave up.

Then this morning, as I was putting my Sony batteries inside the charger (I didn’t need to recharge them often, which should have been a hint), I noticed the words “Cycle Energy” on the batteries. It sounded suspiciously similar to Eneloop or energy loop. So I did a quick search and found out that Sony Cycle Energy batteries are nothing but rebadged Sanyo Eneloop batteries! I had Eneloops all along! Nice!