Looking into an Asus Eee

[WillT]

I need a laptop for school.

My only plans to use it to take notes,on either notepad or Open Office, and maybe listen to music on a program called Simple Mp


I would like to have about 10 hours of battery life but i need at least 7hours

Could an Eee do what i need it to?

 

[frozenlead]

To my knowledge, the Eee pc doesn't give anywhere near that kind of battery life...

For that kind of battery, you'll need a smaller (likely 12") pc with a tremendous secondary external battery, and then you can (maybe) hit 7-8 hours.

Why do you need such a ridiculous battery life?
The Eee pc isn't really good for notes either; the keyboards are fairly small.

 

[WillT]

im in highschool and i highly doubt a teacher would let me charge it during class

I was really looking at the [strike]Asus Eee PC 4G 701 notebook[/strike] ASUS Eee PC 900 16G

 

[frozenlead]

The point of the Eee pc was the for machine to be tiny and lightweight - this eliminates any possibility of having a long battery life. Batteries are the heaviest part of the machine. With only a 4 cell battery, the Eee pc can get nowhere near 7 hours of battery life.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever tried taking notes with a laptop in class? Most find it extremely difficult, problematic, difficult to review, and you just can't enter the information fast enough - especially when it comes to pictures and diagrams. Even in University classes, all I use my laptop for is to show the powerpoint that's on the wall in front of me - sometimes I get a bad seat in lecture, and can't read it due to distance/angle. That also allows me to read it at my own pace.

In high school, I used my notebook a lot outside of class (I spent a lot of time at school between band, theatre, and other things) but I was always close enough to an outlet to use one anyway.

Really, though, laptops that have ridiculous battery lives like that are either cumbersome (heavy) or very expensive. There may be other devices (aside from a good old notebook, which I find to be the best) that are of use here. What do you need it for during class?

 

[WillT]

I have bad handwriting and on top of that I'm in honors so I have to study my notes. All my teachers try to rush in notes so we can finish that day so when I rush trying to write it looks even worse.

Also I know I can type much faster then I will ever be able to write

 

[frozenlead]

Alright, if you say so. I took 6 honors classes, IMO a notebook owns all.

But, still, the Eee PC does not meet your battery requirements. Few notebooks can.

The only machines I have had experience with that can are HP business laptops, 15.4", with extended batteries attached to the bottom - and that makes them heavy - and they can scrape 7 hours, I believe, but barely.

 

[cjl]

There are versions of the EEE that can give 5+ hours of battery life, specifically the 901 and the 1000H. They have the Intel Atom and a 6 cell battery. It's hard to type on the smaller keyboard though.

Realistically, though, I would lower my expectations for battery if I were you - there's very few options on the market that truly have that kind of battery life, and the one I do know of (like the Dell Latitude E6400, with over 15 hours of battery life) tend to get the ridiculous life through massive, expensive batteries (the Dell has a 9 cell and a 12 cell in the extended battery life configuration), and also tend to be more business oriented.

 

[dwellman]

Or, carry two batteries. . .

 

[kendman19]

He's right. Back in high school, i couldn't even contemplate on taking down notes with a laptop because i find it really difficult with all the diagrams, etc. although it was ok in our room to charge a laptop while taking notes IF you are seated either at the back or the the sides where the power outlets are. When i got in my pre-med, i didn't use a laptop either, but i got a classmate who used a tablet pc for that, where she can write directly to it, draw diagrams, etc., in med school, i use a laptop NOT to take notes, but do PowerPoint presentations, case presentations, etc. You might be using the notebook to take on notes at first, but eventually you'll get tired of it. As for your battery life, i haven't personally seen a notebook that can reach that kind of battery life. Get a tablet pc instead, and carry an xtra battery.