Apple Air versus Asus Eee: A Comparison

By Devindra | Published: January 16, 2008

I think we all agree: The Macbook Air is a gorgeous machine. During his keynote presentation, Steve Jobs whipped the entire Macworld audience into a fervor with his trademarked Apple enthusiasm for this new member of the Macbook family. With the Air we have an insanely light computer that still manages to fit in a 13.3″ screen and a screaming fast Core 2 Duo CPU.

airvseee

But while it’s undoubtedly a singular machine, is it really worth the $1799 price tag when you can get much of the same functionality with Asus’s $400 Eee? I understand that the Air is more in competition with Sony’s TZ line that Jobs mentioned in his keynote, but it seems foolish not to compare this sleek new laptop to Asus’s wunderkind subnotebook.

[Note: Please take notice that this article was written in January 2008 and is a comparison of the original 7" Eee, not the later models. Although I would argue the later models prove my case even further.]

Here’s a quick rundown of how they compare:

Macbook Air

 Asus Eee
Size
(H x W x D)
 0.16” – 0.76” x 12.8” x 8.94” 1.38″ x 8.82″ x 6.5″
Weight 3lbs 2lbs
Display 13.3″ LED-backlit LCD 7″ LED-backlit LCD
CPU 1.6-1.8Ghz Core 2 Duo 900Mhz Celeron Mobile
RAM 2GB 512MB
Hard Drive 80GB 1.8″ (or 64GB solid state flash) 2-4GB solid state flash
OS Mac OSX Leopard Custom Linux Distro
Price $1799 $300-$400

Let’s go over some of these topics to further inspect the differences between these two tiny titans.

Size

The Air is being advertised as “the world’s thinnest notebook”, and for good reason. The machine is certainly going to draw its fair share of stares when it starts popping up in coffee houses in a few weeks. Its paper-thin design has set new standards for industrial design, which is not at all unusual for Apple. Unfortunately, that thinness has also led to all of the compromises that Apple has had to make for the machine.

The Asus Eee is nowhere near as thin, but its smaller screen allows it to be significantly smaller than the Air overall. When it comes to choosing ultraportable computers, the key of course is portability. The Air, while thin, is still going to require you to carry around a laptop sized sleeve, case, or bag throughout the day. Its thinness can also be a problem if you’re carrying it in the same bag as heavy textbooks.

The Eee, on the other hand, can be treated more like a paperback. Its small size means you have far more options when carrying it around, and as we’ll discuss later, it also has many hardware features which should make you worry less about jostling around your bag all day.

Weight

Here’s one area where the Eee has a considerable advantage over the Air. It’s also something that may make a significant difference to someone considering an extremely portable laptop. While it may not sound like much, the difference between 2lbs and 3lbs in your backpack is the sort of thing that’s noticeable over the course of a day.

Display

This may end up being a deal-breaker for some. The Eee admittedly has a small screen which may be too difficult to use for some users. It also has a tiny resolution compared to the Air, which means it would be less ideal for multitasking and working with photos and other media. Still, for web browsing, word processing, and other productivity-related tasks, the Eee’s small screen is adequate.

If you absolutely need a high resolution display, either for watching movies or for the breathing room when working with media files, then the Air is the clear choice for you.

CPU

The processor differences is another area where the Air has a clear advantage over the Eee. Sporting a custom Intel Core 2 Duo processor that is the “width of a dime” and “as thick as a nickel”, the Air packs a lot of power into a minuscule package. While it’s nearly a full gigahertz slower than the chips in the Macbooks and Macbook Pros, it’s still fast enough to handle media encoding and high-definition video playback.

The Eee, on the other hand, has a processor that’s often belittled among technophiles. The Celeron was never a very strong chip, but what it lacked in processing capabilities, it made up for in low power usage and cost. For the simple purposes of the Eee the Celeron chip is more than enough. In addition, using this chip is one of the best cost-saving decisions Asus made when developing the Eee.

RAM

The Air comes with 2GB of RAM standard, compared to 512MB of RAM with the Eee. The Eee is upgradeable to 1GB of RAM, however. While these numbers may sound like the Air is trouncing the Eee memory-wise, the truth is not that clear cut. The Eee needs less RAM to perform optimally than the Air due to its Linux operating system, whereas OSX Leopard eats up quite a bit of memory on the Air.

In addition, I’ve stressed that the Eee is meant to do less than a fully-decked out laptop or desktop. Since the practical use of the Eee is more limited than the Air, it’s a given that less RAM is required.

Hard Drive

The difference in hard drives is another wide disparity between the Air and the Eee. The Air uses an 80GB hard drive that is also found in Apple’s 80GB iPod Classic. There is an optional 64GB solid-state flash disk available, but at a $999 premium, it’s not worth the cost just yet. The Eee uses a 2-4GB solid-state flash disk, depending on which model you buy.

The size difference is certainly significant, but as I’ve stressed already, the Eee’s purposes are very different than the Air. For working with small documents, the Eee’s solid state disk is more than enough space. In addition, you can always expand the amount of available space by using a separate USB flash disk. With the rise of online office suites, I also suspect we’ll start keeping far less data on our computers than before.

The other benefit of the Eee’s disk is that it has no moving parts, which means less of a chance for data corruption when traveling around with the computer. In addition, the Eee’s flash disk is a much faster storage solution than the Air’s 1.8″ hard drive. As this Tom’s Hardware article shows, there is a significant performance penalty in using these sorts of hard drives.

While the Air seems like a clear choice for multimedia work because of the larger hard drive space, its 1.8″ hard drive may end up being too slow for people looking to do advanced multimedia editing and encoding.

Operating System

The Air is running Apple’s latest operating system, OSX Leopard. The Eee is running a customized version of Xandros Linux. There’s a lot written online about Leopard already, but simply put, if you’re a Mac lover your mind is probably already made up. If you want an operating system that’s well-known and compatible with a variety of popular hardware and software, then Leopard is the clear choice as well.

Asus’s chosen operating system, on the other hand, is more fine-tuned to take advantage of the particular strengths of the machine’s hardware. It consists of open-source applications like Mozilla Firefox and Open Office, and other useful software like Skype. You can install some other programs using the Eee’s rudimentary package manager, but it appears as if the choice of new applications is currently slim.

Both the Air and Eee are capable of running other operating systems as well. Techie types can still use Boot Camp to run Windows on the Air as well as take advantage of Mac Linux distributions. As for the Eee, you can easily wipe out the included operating system and install any version of Windows or Linux that you’d like.

Price

Here is where the Eee clearly triumphs over the Air. For a smaller, albeit less powerful, computer, you end up spending at least $1300 less for the Eee than you would for the Air. The Eee is clearly a much better value, especially if you only need basic computing capabilities in an ultra-portable format.

The Air’s $1799 retail price also puts it in competition with Apple’s own Macbook and Macbook Pro. For $1099, you can get a Macbook with a faster processor, faster hard drive, and a weight gain of only 2lbs. For $1999 you can get an even faster overall machine, the Macbook Pro, with a dedicated 3D graphics card, bigger and faster hard drive, and a weight gain of only 2.4lbs.

In short, it seems that the Air is a bit of a luxury item that I honestly wouldn’t recommend to any of my friends on value alone. On the other hand, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Eee to someone looking for a cheap ultraportable laptop.

In the Air’s defense, it is priced competitively with the lowest priced Sony TZ ultraportable laptops while offering a bigger screen.

other considerations

I’ll throw the Air a bone and take some time to discuss its features that don’t fall into the above categories. Perhaps most importantly, the Air features a full-sized keyboard, which is a rarity among ultraportable laptops. While I know I can get used to typing on the Eee’s small keyboard, I could see it being a showstopper for some folks.

And let me just be frank about the Air: It’s a dead sexy machine in ways the Eee could never hope to be. If you’re the sort of person with money to spare and a penchant for high fashion, I’m sure you’ve already preordered your Air. The Eee is a cute machine, but it simply does not exhibit the sort of commitment to industrial design and drool-worthiness that Apple has built its reputation on. Then again, the Eee is also a truly amazing machine in its own right given what it offers for the price.

The multitouch trackpad is also another noteworthy feature of the Air, but I assure you it will be popping up in future revisions of the Macbook and Macbook Pro. If that is at all a major factor in your decision to purchase the Air, then I suggest waiting a few months until it’s transitioned to the other members of the Macbook family.

Final Words: Eee for value, Air for style

After comparing the Macbook Air and the Asus Eee, it’s clear that Apple’s new notebook is not that great of a value compared to Asus’s surprise hit. The Air wins in overall sex appeal, raw horsepower, and a bigger screen. At the same time, the Eee is simply a more practical machine for those who only need a secondary machine to word process and browse the internet on the go.

CrunchGear is running a great article on the “uselessness” of the Air which boils down many of my issues with it succinctly:

The MacBook Air is not a subnotebook. The Eee and Everex, and Redfly are subnotebooks. They are tiny, basic, and are designed from the ground up to be micro-sized and limited. The Air is trying to be a regular notebook but failing – what Apple has done is take a regular notebook and flatten it (very well I might add), while simultaneously crippling it.

In addition, it doesn’t fair that well compared to other ultraportable laptops like the Sony TZ series because it lacks an optical drive, and many connectivity options.

I’m a practical person, and the Air is simply not a practical choice. Your money is better spent with the Macbook, or Macbook Pro if you’re looking for a dedicated computer. And if you’re just looking for something to accompany your desktop, then the Asus Eee is by far the superior choice.

Update: Battery Follow-Up

It’s been pointed out countless times that I forgot to compare the battery differences of these two machines.  Silly me:

In the comments below, Wing pointed out the biggest difference between the two battery-wise:

One big thing that some sites mentioned was that the Air doesn’t have a user-replacable battery. [Emphasis mine] It can be switched by an Apple tech but that’s only for when it dies. The eee on the other hand has a user-switchable battery. I can imagine it being very useful when you;re on the road (where you will be taking these things) and need an extra battery or two. Asus is also coming out with six-cell batteries which will probably last quite a bit.

It sounds like Air users will run into the same inconvenient issue as iPod users whenever their batteries die.

As far battery life, this Laptop Magazine review of the Eee reports that it gets around 3.5 hours of uptime. Ars Technica reports 5 hours for the Air, which seems to be on par for other ultraportable laptops. Since the Eee’s battery is user replaceable though, you could easily take along an extra charged battery for double the battery life. This is a common strategy among road-warrior types and is unfortunate for Apple since they’re also the perfect target market for the Air.

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  • i luv your blog :), you are on my rss reader now
  • morq
    Holy frig.
    I really wish I could make those wanker apple fanboys just vanish.
    This whole "apples to apples" piece of crock; it IS a valid comparison! The macbook air is considered a piece of shite compared to a macbook or macbook pro, right? It's designed to be a system you use for some small tasks while traveling. So the EeePC does the same types of travelling tasks, but is cheaper, stronger, and more open.
    It also has 3 USB ports for those roll-up keyboards, external mice, and usb sticks for when you're off the plane and in your hotel room.

    For business users, having something like a VGA port is pretty nice when you want to use a projector... And ethernet for the secured wired networks in boardrooms when you can't get the wireless passwords.

    Also, the next generation of the eeepcs will have a 9 inch screen, 12G of hard drive space, and a faster processor. Not to mention a larger track pad with multi-touch gestures.

    You can also change the operating system to whatever you like, and when you install the modified eeepc ubuntu, you get a more functional desktop with better eye candy.

    I'm sorry. If I want to watch movies on the go, I'd . . . still not get a macbook air. I'd get a portable dvd player. But for the basic functions you need when traveling, the Air is a bad compromise.
  • Rob
    I own 3 Eee's, the 2g Surf 700, 4g 701, and 8g 702 respectively.
    I used the 4g 701 all last quarter for taking notes in my community college classes. It works beautifully, holds up well to the book bag thrashing, battery hangs in there like a champ, and it fits comfortably on those nasty little desks, swivel stands, and is great in the wifi hotspots. The tiny footprint, tiny price, and ability to mod, swap os's (Ubuntu 7.10 with Compiz runs smoothly) makes this an easy choice for those of us using them for academic work. /shrug or you can spend $1800 and not have room on your desk for anything else, but you will look great, even if you can't make rent :)
  • Prez
    The value in EEE is the 3 usb ports, the ethernet, the RJ45 in case of being in the middle of nowhere, the VGA, the kengsington, the SD card reader, and the mic plug.

    The screen is 7", so what? If I want to watch a movie, I take my not-so-portable Asus A7T (a very good laptop), and I do so.

    If I want to check my mails in less than 1 minute, I take my EEE.

    At least, Steve Jobs gave me a great fun instant when I discovered all the mighty things we can do in a Air without WIFI... And I've kept it for jokes time with pals.
  • Ah
    LOL, looks like little black penguin wants to eat an apple, sorry mac fanboys ^____^
  • krow
    Ok, so I only got half way down this page, and I already got sick of all the cheap jabbing going on here.
    The Eee and Air are compared because they are 2 ultraportable laptops that came out relatively at the same time, because they are both huge names currently in the computer world due to their unique designs, and because it is actually a choice to think about for a consumer.
    My choice is the Eee pc, because I just need something I can bring around with me to class and things. I could go out and get a Blackberry, but it would be mighty hard to do my Java programming on one now wouldn't it?
    It's true, the Air is a more powerful, sexier machine, however I don't see why I should have to pay so much extra for a better looking machine. If you're looking for something that is meant for the same thing as the Air, go look at other ultraportables.
    I completely agree with the point that laptops should not be meant to replace desktops. Laptops have always been, and will continue to be for quite a while, inferior to desktops. And since when did your computer become a fashion statement? Isn't the point of a computer to "compute"? If you want to carry around something that looks pretty, go get yourself a designer handbag. It will probably cost less than the mac.
    Don't get me wrong here, I love the look of the Air and of Mac OS, but I just can't justify paying almost $2k for a sleeker look, especially when the Eee is far more customizable (Linux, upgradeable RAM, replaceable battery).
    All you Mac fanboys out there, just get a MacBook. Far cheaper, far more functional. Windows fanboys *looks under some rocks* go get one of the other fine ultraportables. The people who want a laptop for what it is meant to be for, get an Eee pc. Leave the Air for Paris Hilton. I'm sure she can shove her dog over 1.38" to make room in her handbag.
  • Thanks for the chart and detailed comparisation: just what I needed, although the Eee is launching in Q4 of 2008 in Finland :(
  • Pebby
    @Tommy:
    Install Vista on your eeePC? Why the hell would you want to do that to yourself?

    So, you can install Leopard on your air. Is Leopard worth 1400 dollars to you? I dunno. Me? No thanks!
  • Tommy
    I'll install Leopard on my air.... Get back to me when you get Vista running on you Eeee... ;) Hell I'll even install Vista on my air to prove my point :p
  • djohn
    who the hell wants to bloat their laptop with vista anyways? thats like getting a sports car, and loading a couble lead bars into it just before riding it! and vista on a mac is even more ironic :-D
  • Spedsta
    IMHO the Air isnt really that great a design, i like that its thinner but as far as design its really not that great to me, One thing i dont like it the way when its on a desk the bottom tapers up, i would think that when resting on the bottom of the keyboard with my wrists it would be uncomfortable.

    How loooonnnnnggggg do you spend looking at the outside of a laptop anyhow.

    In a few years its the same hardware that you will beg someone to take off your hands, if you were the unlucky few to have been tricked into forking out money for a mediocre (designed) device.
  • Paul
    Lame, but inevitable, comparison.

    The difference between the notebook business and the car business is that there aren't blogs that compare the Mini Cooper or Smart Fortwo with a Ford F350 pick'em up truck.
  • >> they have completely different target markets..

    Maybe, but if I had an Eee I'd probably not buy an Air, and if I had an Air I'd not buy the Eee. Quite a lot of people will be interested in both and will only choose one.

    So: they are quite different? Yes. They are competitors? Yes. Sort of.

    Of course they will appeal differently to different people. Depending on the kind of work and habits you have, you may find it impossible to work on a 800x480 screen. And you probably would not want to do number crunching or long text typing on the Eee keyboard. On the other hand if you mostly write emails or short articles, why carry a big screen and keyboard with you all the time (and risk to break them)?

    One is the smallest machine available, given a restraint: keep a standard keyboard and screen. The other is the smallest without this "limit", but with a price restraint instead.

    Nevertheless they are two champs in their own fields, and both will move the whole industry.

    Some people will buy the Air with no doubts, some will buy the Eee without thinking, but most of us will be in the middle, and will have to try to evaluate *how much* we value a keyboard and a screen..

    So if you are considering the two (and you probably are or you would not be reading here..) just ask yourself if you need a full screen (1440 x 900) and a full keyboard, and how much time you'll spend reading and writing. And if that will be worth the weight (and cost).


    And to all those thinking the Air will be a flop, all I may say is that it might be, but...

    It surely is not the computer for me (for instance I'd need more ports like a Firewire), but please consider *why* Apple released such a computer? Do you really think all they wanted to do was cope with style and fashion? Then why not just make it smaller?

    Don't you think they might have made some field research before?

    What kind of machine you'd build if you had asked around to "normal" users what they'd not absolutely compromise in a notebook to make it smaller, and most of the users had replied "screen and keyboard"?

    I bet it'd be very similar to the Air..
    All you had to choose would be the target price: less expensive=more bulky like conventional laptops, more expensive= thinner, lighter (and Air like)

    I am not sure this the best tactic, nor that they will sell many. Users give many things for granted, they may reply "I just want to type, all I need is screen and keyboard" but when they wach the specs they rant "Ohh, only 80GB?!?!"

    Don't know, but at least it does make sense.. so let's see how the market goes..
  • Spedsta
    Why compare the Asus EEE pc to the Macbook Air you all ask ???

    Well, if a computer user wants a computer to go to places that thier normal pc would be to big to take with them, then they would want a pc thats light, small and efficient enuff to do this. Most probably this ultrportable pc would not be used for heavy duty pc work, but to do light tasks, perhaps surf the web, read or display light documents, etc.

    Now by this definition does the Eee pc have what it takes to do the job, yes. Is it cheaper? Yes. So what does the Air offer thats going to be much better than the Eee. Only one thing, hdd space. Now how much space do you need to to lug around with you to these places where you would only want an ultraportable pc with you ? Geez i dunno but how much movies can you fit onto a 16gb SD card, and what else is there thats bigger than movies? unless you perhaps need your whole 40gb music library with you, it will be unlikely that you need much more space than 2 16gb SD cards.

    Another thing, the Air is not that beautiful, its just a laptop thats thinner than usual.
    Beautiful is a woman, not a thin metal case laptop.

    One thing that is great though, is Apples marketing, people suck up all the hype. Im sure Steve jobs has all these mentors telling how to say what he says, sorta like a politician and his campaign helpers. LOL

    one more thing, i would love to see the startup differences between these two machines, as well as startup of apps??

    dont be fooled by marketing, think logically!
  • Compare it to the Zepto 6324W

    14.1" WXGA+ skärm 1440x900
    NVIDIA® 8600M GT 512MB
    2.10GHz Intel® Core™2 DUO T8100
    2048DDR2 667MHz/PC5300 Ram
    120GB 7200rpm. SATA
    Size: 27mm X 341mm x 247mm
    Weight: 2.35 kg

    About half the price of an Air and better on all accounts except for a little bit thicker.
    Anyone who buy a Mac for the hardware is stupid, there will always be cheaper hardware from competitors. Mac OS is what you pay for when buying a Mac.
  • aasdf
    I forgot... vs velociraptor.
  • aasdf
    This is the stupidest comparison ever, why not compare it to a PS3 while you're at it...
    Giving out the specs would have been enough, this is even more stupid than the n800/eee comparison.
    Ok yeah let's make an apple air vs eee vs n810 vs panasonic let's note vs toshiba r400 right ?
    I'd rather use google fight for that comparison.
  • wtf, you are comparing a 1700 Euro notebook to a 300 Euro notebook? You realize they have completely different target markets and thus specifications etc? It's like comparing a tank with a VW Beetle; sure they're both vehicles, but comparing them is moronic.
  • Lawrence D'Oliveiro
    The MacBook Air is stylish the way the G4 Cube was stylish. The Eee will outsell it 10:1, possibly more. The Air will probably be discontinued within 12 months due to poor sales, whereupon, like the Cube, it could very well become a collector's item.
  • Jon
    I just don't understand WHY people are comparing the Eee, which is essentially a budget portable laptop designed to be used for business-types to write letters/check email etc whilst commuting, to the Air, which is obviously a much more powerful machine for multimedia tasks.

    The air is a very small laptop, agreed - but why not compare it to a NORMAL laptop. My laptop cost 1/3 of the price of the Air, has similar performance. It just isn't as thin.

    If anyone is willing to spend THREE TIMES MORE, to make their laptop the thickness of a paperback book, they can be my guest. Personally I'll buy a normal laptop and use the rest for something other then style points.

    "In the Air’s defense, it is priced competitively with the lowest priced Sony TZ ultraportable laptops while offering a bigger screen."
    - I don't know about you guys in america, but unless you're totally getting ripped off compared to us in the UK, you can EASILY get an ultraportable for half the price, it's just not as thin. Who REALLY needs that extra half inch of space in their bag?
  • Robert
    My Cell Phone uses less ram, can take memory cards and can be used to surf the web and read email. Using your argument it must be better than the Eee? You'll love the 3 inch screen. The Eee is a toy, nothing it can do can't be done with a blackberry.
  • John
    How about spend $200 less and get the NOkia n800. It's only a bit slower than the Eee and far more portable. It runs Linux, has a keyboard, camera, etc. There is always something faster or smaller or cheaper.
  • If those two were the only computers in the market, that would be a fight, however with Gateway, DELL and other brands in the market with pretty interesting products, there it is no choice for me (and millions more) between these two products. I love my Gateway MX6947m btw :)

    But the eeePC kicked the Air´s butt in value, but of course!...but the Air is a great design coming next year to an OEM near you ;)
  • Damtiri
    I heard there was a major issue with the sony laptop where you pressed in the center of the screen (just enough to close it) and the screen would have to be replaced (happened twice at a compusa I worked at) If you have to carry the air in a hard case that would seem to defeat the point of it being so small.
  • rich
    When I am carrying my eeepc around in my bag I am not even slightly concerned bout damaging it. If I had an Air in my bag, I would be extremely concerned for its wellbeing.
  • john
    The EEE is just a computer the Air is a fashion statement and am amazing piece of consumer electronics.
    To try to compare the two is like comparing apples (ha ha) with wheelbarrows. They kust aren't the same.
  • Anthony Hegedus
    The Air is like a 2-seater sports car? Yes, which only goes in fourth gear and is speed limited to 40.

    The 2 machines serve two completely different functions. I have an eee and find it's perfect for chucking into my bag and using it occasinally during the day to edit customer files, order stuff and have the occasional video call.

    THe Air is a beautiful looking machine for people with more money than technical expertise and who like things that look nice. It'll do the job, it's more reliable than windows and it is light.

    However, I think Apple are a bit arrogant with their "wireless for everything" approach. A laptop with no ethernet port? And ONE USB port? It's like a two seater sports car with the passenger seat removed to make it lighter! True, for most purposes it'll be fine, but it does lose a lot of flexibility.
  • TBH I would compare the Apple AIR with the ASUS U1 - not the Eee. The Eee is something completely different.
  • Marian
    Where's the value in Eee?
  • It's obviously about prefence
    Personally the Mac Air would be the better choice if you want something that can have a nice feel though if you plan to get a Mac Air you should get the Solid State Drive (4200rpm HDD as the base hard drive is a horrible bottleneck) or just go ahead and get a full fledged Notebook.

    Mac Air was made to be light while still being up there with major laptop's from the dimensions its about the site of a school book which in actually has more places for it.

    The eee PC is a low cost portable solution, it could be $50 cheap which much nicer usability if they hadn't put Xandros on it.

    When comparing distro's Mac vs. Linux there is going to be things you will run into such as Mac's tend to be custom tailored so their performance is on the up and up at the same time they add alot of gloss which can weight down the machine. Linux has customizability to the nth degree so you can get one that takes 20MB of RAM to 300MB of RAM on boot.
  • Does this article really need to exist? Obviously, people would take a look at the specs and go: the Air is all style.

    And as you admitted, the two notebooks serve distinctly different purposes... why are you even comparing them?
  • James: I'm not sure I agree with you on your police work there. The Powerbooks (and older Apple laptops) used 2.5" standard laptops running at 5400rpm. Go ahead, look it up. The Air is running a 1.8" drive which is running at 4200rpm due to the smaller disk size. It's pretty much the same as the iPod Classic's hard drive. Take a look at the link in that HD section above to see the sort of performance penalties 1.8" drives have in comparison to traditional hard drives.

    Michael Long: Your calculations do not reflect the real world usage of the Air. It's a mighty thin device, but also much longer than the Eee. That alone means it will be more inconvenient to place in bags than the Eee. And yes, the Eee will fit in a manilla envelope too ;)

    Gear: You're right, the Air has a backlit keyboard just like the Macbook Pro. I have a Macbook Pro though and have never really found it all that useful. Also, the top end Eee models have webcams as well.
  • Gear
    I can't believe no one has mentioned the backlit keyboard as well as the built-in webcam on the Air?
  • Actually, the Air is about 20% smaller than the Eee. Which by your definition would seem to mean that the Air is more "portable".

    See: http://www.isights.org/2008/01/which-is-smalle....
  • James


    You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. The hard drive will not affect the encoding speed, but may have some affect on editing if your using using a lot of layers and effects. Also, unless you didn't notice (and you didn't) 4,200 RPM drives had been standard in G4 PowerBooks used for video editing, long before the INTEL Macs. RPM just doesn't have the meaning it once had due to advances in hard drive technology.
  • Richard
    This discussion is very amusing, from the "Mac programmer for 17 years" who argues for the EeePC (yeah, like maybe he ported crap from Windows, which doesn't exactly make him a Mac programer) to the fanboys from either side arguing for or against Apple, and of course that's what it is. If you like Apple, you're on defense -- bring up the linebackers. If you hate Apple, you're on offense -- bring in another receiver.

    Here's the reality. The MacBook Air is a two-seater sports car. Like it, want it, buy it, but it won't carry stuff in the trunk or back of the vehicle. Yes, that's called trading utility for style and sensory experience. Some people do, some people won't.

    The EeePC is a scooter. Small engine. No windshield. Cute as hell. It'll will get you there, but you better not care about getting bugs in your teeth, or breaking down now and again, because both will happen.
  • Joe
    Your "ratios" are so obscured it's not even funny.

    Ipod Harddrives are ungodly slow. Eee has a SSD. Solid State drive. I stripped all the bloat from XP and got it down to 500 megs installed. It boots into windows as fast as my Q6600 with 36.7 Raptors in Raid-0.

    The Air is a gimmick. It has no realistic market. the Sony Vaio's are slow, they have Vista pre-installed and are incredibly expensive.

    Asus has sold over 350,000 Eee's since it was released 2 months ago. It is a bare-minimum, ultra-portable laptop that does everything you need for very low-cost. If you need storage, buy an external hard-drive. An 80 gig ipod drive is not what I want to put my entire system on. I have 2.2 terabytes in my media server, You don't buy a laptop for storage.

    You don't use a Laptop for video-editing or image-editing. You use it for watching movies, reading emails, surfing the internet, doing basic computer functions in a small package. People are buying laptops to replace their desktops and it's idiotic... the will always be more expensive and slower at the same time. I have a 24" 1920 x 1200 monitor I paid $300 for... Q6600 Desktop ~$1100... it is built for HD Video Editing.

    Eee is upgradable to 2GB of Ram, The stock Linux Kernal does not address more than 1GB, I grabbed a 2GB stick for $26... the battery is upgradable and replaceable...

    The Air has no market, the Eee has a market... end of story.
  • buddhistMonkey
    So in all, for one eigth of the price, you get a one eigth of the disk space, a quarter of the ram, half the screen size, a quarter of the cpu power, and only two thirds the weight. That means the Asus eeePC is a pretty good deal all things considered.


    Your ratios are only true if you opt for the $1000 solid-state drive in the MacBook Air. Here's a similar assessment, using the cheaper model with 1.6 GHz CPU and 80 GB drive:

    Price: $399/$1799 = ratio of 0.22
    HD: 8gb/80gb = ratio of 0.1

    As Jon mentioned above, the 900 MHz Eees are actually underclocked to 630 Mhz, so comparing clock speeds, we get: 630 Mhz/1600 MHz (x2) = ratio of .2

    Also, the screens should be measured in pixels, not inches.
    Eee's screen: 384,000 pixels (800 x 480)
    Air's screen: 1,024,000 pixels (1,280 x 800)
    ratio = 0.375

    So in all, for a little more than four times the price, you get ten times the disk space, four times the ram, 167% more screen real estate, five times the cpu power, and only one pound heavier. That means the MacBook Air is a pretty good deal, all things considered.
  • Jeff Lewis
    Let me start by saying that I'm definitely not a Linux fan - and while I was a Mac programmer for about 17 years, I'm now solidly a Windows fan and user. (Yes - we do exist...)

    So, allow me to present a slightly different take on it all.

    MacBook Air:

    As someone earlier noted: the only advantage the Air has is that it's stylish. If your primary purchase criterion is looking good and having lots of 'ooooh' power, the Air is for you. Otherwise, you might want to give it a second thought.

    Even if MacOS X if your critical feature, you might want to think about a MacBook or MacBook Pro. They both represent far, far better price/performance points.

    A lot is being made of 'less is more' but there's a flaw in that mindset that's inarguable: no one is forcing you to use a feature. If you feel you can live with wireless only - no one is standing there with a gun at your head forcing you to stick a cable in the RJ45 connector.

    On the OTHER hand, if you're in an office with no WiFi - not exactly an uncommon situation, not having that connector is death. Yes, you can buy a dongle - but now you're arguing that your laptop is inadequate for your needs.

    You can't have it both ways.

    Either you need it or you don't. If you don't, then you can't argue you can 'fill in' with external peripherals because this makes the slim, lightweight laptop not so slim and not so lightweight.

    If you DO need it, then design it in from the start so I don't need to lugs all the EXTRA plastic and hardware to make it work.

    The Air has many compromises - and even more strangely - some arbitrary decisions that clearly have been made in order to preserve 'slim' rather than 'useful' - like the battery. It should have been possible to make the battery removable without adding much to the size of the device, but they chose not to.

    In the end, this isn't even a Mac/PC discussion. It's practical vs stylish.

    And if you're amenable to Windows, then the field gets MUCH wider. There are MANY ultraportable PCs out there.

    [PS: People who like to brag that Macs are the only computers that can run Windows, MacOS and Linux might want to think a moment and realise that this is not because of the hardware - but because Apple intentionally crippled MacOS X with DRM that prevents it from running on anything but Macs.

    If you can argue that running any OS makes Macs the better hardware, then you have to concede that Windows - by virtue of running on any hardware - is the better OS... (Or Linux for the same reason). Again - you can't have it both ways... :)]

    The Eee:

    I had an Eee for a day. Almost kept it. But in the end there were a number of critical issues. The screen resolution really is too low for things like web browsing. While the memory can be upgraded, the SSD puts hard limits on both the kinds of OSes and the sizes of them.

    SSDs wears out much faster than HDs do, so you cannot risk things like swap files. In fact, the Linux they have on it has been tuned to run without a swap file. This is one reason Windows isn't safe on this machine, since it relies heavily on swap file.

    That directly affects what and how you use the Eee. Most people will use it as a very powerful PDA... and that's a good thing. I see the Eee and the start of the transition away from XScale/ARM PDAs to x86 based systems that are capable of running essentially the same software desktop systems can.
  • bob
    no contest. the air specs much higher and therefore is more useful to people who need the horsepower. I also would rather shoot myself in the foot than work on a 7 inch screen.
  • bob
    no contest. the air specs much higher and therefore is more useful to people who need the horsepower. I also would also rather shoot myself in the foot than work on a 7 inch screen.
  • Jack
    This is not even in the slightest a fair comparison. You gathered this piece by choosing the next smallest laptop available to compare to the Air (and it still does not even compare in size). Look at those spec differences!

    How much does Asus pay you to write these botched articles??
  • Paul In SF
    "I dont know about you guys, but when i place my hands at a comfortable distance apart on the keyboard, its a lot longer than 7 inches."

    I believe that is what is known these days as a "wide stance".
  • xtreme571
    @antonio: ..i don’t think you are comparing apples with apples…

    he isnt comparing apple with another apple...he's comparing apple with EEE pc...lol...but neways...macs have always been overpriced...so if this doesnt fit ur budget...go buy something else...ppl who buy macs...will buy this...not everybody but some of them...so eh

    i'd go for a customized laptop...like asus notebooks, ibuypower or cyberpowerpc...but then thats me
  • Jon
    I don't think anyone would be considering either or a MBA or eeePC. This is just fuel for the fanboys.

    Just in case you missed..
    The 2G has a 800 MHz Celeron M underclocked to 517 MHz and the models with the 900Mhz Celeron M is underclocked to 630Mhz. Also the 2G has no level 2 cache. Please note that the battery life figures provided by Asus is with these default clock speeds.

    Asus has said that future revisions of the eeePC will have the RAM soldered onto the motherboard and that they will be cutting down on the mini-pci slots.
  • Let's look at this from a mathematical standpoint for maxed out eeePC and maxed out MacAir:

    eeePC/Air

    Price: $399/$3200 = ratio of 0.125
    HD: 8gb/64gb = ratio of 0.125
    RAM: 512mb/2048mb = ratio of 0.25
    Screen: 7inch/13.3inch = ratio of 0.5
    CPU: 900mhz Celery/1.8Mhz C2Duo = 0.25 (900/3600)
    Weight: 2lb/3lb = 0.67

    So in all, for one eigth of the price, you get a one eigth of the disk space, a quarter of the ram, half the screen size, a quarter of the cpu power, and only two thirds the weight. That means the Asus eeePC is a pretty good deal all things considered.
  • asdf asdf
    sexy: air
    power: air
    portability: eee
    price: eee
    something I don't mind throwing into the back seat of my car without a carrying case: eee!
  • My Two Cents
    This is a bit like comparing an apple and a slice of bread. They both may be considered food, but the similarities pretty much stop there. Personally I kinda like the Eee, but until either of them support wireless usb or a line of bluetooth accessories (CD/DVD, portable hard drive, etc...), neither will achieve a very large market. Both are good options for what they are trying to do, but I still think they are still too far ahead of their time. In another hardware generation or so (larger screen, wireless usb/bluetooh support), the Eee could very well be a major force in the market.
  • Kevin Chabreck
    This piece is not comparing apples to apples. It isn't even comparing apples to oranges. This is like comparing an apple to an apple seed. It blows my mind that any producer of computer hardware would even manufacture such an inferior product. Additional mind-blowage occurs when i see someone trying to compare this shoddy piece of machinery to an exponentially better computer.

    900 mhz processor? The air's power is nearly 4 times that, with a 1.4 ghz dual core chip.

    7 inch screen? Thats nice, if I have no muscles in my body. Then i can lay on the ground, and slide it up real close to my face. From that angel, its like being in a movie theater!

    Additionally, the keyboard cant be any larger than the screen. I dont know about you guys, but when i place my hands at a comfortable distance apart on the keyboard, its a lot longer than 7 inches.

    Next is hard drive capacity. With the air at a slim 80 gb, or the option of a blazing fast 64 gb SOLID STATE hard drive. Solid state means instant access to your information. No reading from a scratchable, crashable disc. But i suppose its unfair to not mention the whopping 4 gigs of flash memory in the EEE. What do they think people are going to be using this for? Web browsing? Text editing? for 100 dollars less, you can buy an ipod with storage space two times larger than that. The ipod can access the internet, take down notes, and is only a fraction of the size.

    For your next review, why don't you guys compare a car with a tricycle? I can see it now: "Get a car if you are really concerned with style. Buy a tricycle for safety and affordability."
  • OG
    So when Air is put against against technologically better and faster computers, its "portability" becomes important and the integrated battery, slow hdd, lack of ports and expandability becomes unimportant sacrifices for "thinness". Yet when Air is put up against EEE which is -by far- cheaper, lighter and expandable, Air becomes so much better because it has a faster processor and more standard RAM, with Apple fanboys suddenly switching arguments.
    Don't you find it funny trying to justify a computer that is the jack of everything but king of nothing except for thinness?
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