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Eee PC 2G Surf Review

by ant on January 23, 2008

There’s a pretty good review over at notebookreview.com of the Eee PC 2G Surf. We’ve posted many reviews of the 4G, but never one for the 2G. It details the general features of the Eee PC, but also the differences between the 4G and the 2G Surf. You can also see pictures including the lack of a ram slot on the bottom of the unit.

{ 24 comments }

Brad Linder January 23, 2008 at 5:43 pm

I don’t know about this review. The writer thinks that Xandros is based on Ubuntu.

David January 23, 2008 at 5:57 pm

I agree with Brad. Xandros based on Ubuntu? That’s a pretty basic mistake to make. Also, the reviewer says that:

‘Some people are squeezing old 3D games onto this device and claiming to be seeing playable frame rates. I think that is hogwash. This GPU could not handle 3D games when mated to CPUs running three times as fast and with much more memory’

Where are the benchmarks to backup these claims? Non-existent. If you’re going to review something, you should make sure you test it against the claims you’re making.

dvdivx January 24, 2008 at 1:08 am

I totally agree with the review that the SDD should be replaceable. Just use a standard 1.8″ drive and then it can be replaced with whatever we want.

steve.barett January 25, 2008 at 6:12 am

I think the reviewer has focused too much on performance ! If u need performance go buy a desktop! I personally i love my 2g surf and since buying it have only used my vista desktop for its raw power! The 2 g surf is was it is and lives up to its EEE moto ! Great job i say to Asus !!

Angelis January 26, 2008 at 1:17 am

I went into CanadaComputers with cash, looking for a 4G Surf. They didn’t have any, or any 8Gs, or normal 4Gs. All they had left was pink 2G Surfs. I’d been waiting too long to get one of these things and I wasn’t waiting any longer. I bought one and it’s everything I want it to be. Who needs more ram and cpu power for such a little device. I personally use Fluxbox and this little gem has plenty of power.
It “tried his patience” during testing? Really? I’ve found it to be a great little tool, and programs open as fast as I’d expect them too. Maybe in the world of dual and quad core cpus, it can’t handle a huge flash page on Firefox, with tons of extensions like an XPS Dell could; but I wasn’t expecting it too and maybe this guy was?
No the SSD isn’t upgradeable, but a 4GB usb stick and a 200GB external drive do me well when I’m on the go. It’s a mini laptop, not a file server.

irene January 28, 2008 at 11:49 am

Why do I need to re-enter my (apple airport based) home network password when I start the Eee? Can I teach it to remember it?

If used at a public wifi place– airport, hotel, does it sign on automatically without a fuss?

dwilson9 February 6, 2008 at 11:40 am

Angelis, you’ve hit the button. 2G surf was all I could get in the UK but was somewhat depressed after reading the review! Astonished to find it does everything I want it to – I’ve added Thunderbird, and the Bluetooth stack so I can get emails on the move and use my mobile phone to get the internet. Easiest PC to phone link-up I’ve ever done. I use a class 6 8Gb SDHC card so no problems with data storage, Bluetooth means I can easily transfer files in the absence of a wifi network. And it seems to run more speedily than my dual core Toshiba laptop for even basic tasks!! Brilliant device – can’t see the point of more expensive versions with Windows, big SSDs, surely the point is that it’s cheap and that it works??

Robin February 11, 2008 at 4:56 pm

I agree, what an arrogant & unsubstantiated review! I similarly couldn’t get hold of a 4GB EEE so in my impatience opted for the 2GB, which is just fine & very smart in pure white. When the 16Gb SD cards come down in price I’ll pop one of those in. Its fast as you like, more stable than Windows & I’ve hacked in Thunderbird using the fab WIKI pages. Its light & fits into a £2.49 pencil case! I love it & log on far more often than I ever did with my laptop as its so fast. Its tiny & light & I take it everywhere!

Julie February 15, 2008 at 8:09 pm

I agree with you guys, what an horrible, horrible review!

My 2g works wonders and the only problem i’ve encountered so far was the lack of accents even in the canada-fr keyboard layout (i’m french canadian, sigh.) Again, I suppose it’s more of a OS problem.

I’ve been able to set my wireless connection without a problem (to those mentionning they have to set it each time they connect, there’s a option you can select “connect automatically to this wireless connection” or something alike, I can’t remember for sure) and I’ve been enjoying browsing on the web with it ever since, youtube videos included (she must be doing something wrong because video run just fine over here).

Yes, apps do take a while to open but I have absolutely no complains about it since they run wonderfully well when they’re fully loaded (and my apps in vista on my brand new HP laptop do take a while to load as well, anyway).

Made in DNA February 20, 2008 at 11:52 pm

I’m a writer, and the 2GB has liberated the way I work far beyond what any previous laptop has done. It’s compact size and weight has increased my desire to carry it everywhere. I literally do. I could freakin’ write a story and upload it from my toilet if I wanted to. (Not that I care to but you get the idea.)

In the month that I’ve had the 2GB Surf, I’ve written one short story, done translation work, and posted a month’s worth of posts to my serial fiction blog (http://www.myspace.com/junkdnafiction).

Bad reviews come from sources that do not know how to use/have no use for the product originally. C’est la vie.

irene February 24, 2008 at 12:12 pm

My 2G doesn’t have the Notes application; do yours?

Also when you download an App, i.e. Thunderbird, how do you install it? I thought that double clicking th download would do that but it only shows me all the bits and pieces within the program.

Alex February 28, 2008 at 11:42 am

LONG LIVE THE 2GB SURF

Me to i think is an amazing product.It can do everything and like i can even play emulators on it.I bought it at the UK where they only had that .But at the end this thing is amazingly flexible internet on campus at friends everywhere.And as you said u can put more space .

Somebody has to do a other review of the 2GB surf looking the thing from an other direction.

Gerald March 17, 2008 at 3:18 am

i bought the 2G surf 2 weeks ago and its great! i love the price

Alberto May 25, 2008 at 8:02 pm

I bought this laptop for my hour commute to/from school, and I have to say, I love it! I even use it on my bedside when im too lazy to go to my desktop, and I can type documents so easily! The review here is so biased on speed and performance that the writer completely lost the big picture, that this is not ment to be a desktop replacement! I am currently using the full desktop mode because easy mode is so limited, and I placed a plastic tab below the spacebar due to bad contact, but those are the only complaints I had on my eee pc blue wonder! For $299, its an awesome deal!

Cory May 30, 2008 at 8:47 am

has anyone installed mac on it yet

susie June 17, 2008 at 10:25 pm

Love my 2 G surf Pink. Got it for a great price amazon refurb used amazon warehouse was very excited to get it and very surprised at how easily i was able to adapt to it.
I find my favorite spot is the big easy chair in front of the tv surfing to my hearts content.
I found it very easy to get use to the software provided on it. The amazingly fast boot up get up and get on internet and the ability to find wireless connection is done very well.
The portability is a nice feature as well. Brought it out and about and any where i tried it, the surf found a connection and worked very well. Before anyone thumbs there thumbs down on this product decide what you want to use it for and save your desktop and or full note book for other features. As a portable internet device with some office tools this works very well.

bill June 27, 2008 at 7:53 pm

gezz glade i read all this at frist i read the bad review and was scared cause i read it after i ordered the 2g feel alot better after reading this fourm :) so thank you all…….

bbhui_5 July 15, 2008 at 6:36 am

thank you for creating this forum!!! i am xtremely happy with my black 2g surf. basic task are usually accomplished on time with my eee, and it is very compact–i can always carry it out with me!!

LONG LIVE THE EEE 2G SURF!!!

Dan Palka August 23, 2008 at 10:04 pm

After reading that “professional” review I was a little scared away from the 2GB surf, but now after reading all of these raving comments my confidence is restored and I’m ordering one right now!

Nicolas October 8, 2008 at 8:56 am

After reading some reviews about eee pc, I was scared away from the 2g surf, but now after reading all of these great comments, I decided to by ASUS EEE PC 2G.
it is great. It is light & tiny.I’m loving it.

LONG LIVE THE EEE 2G SURF!!!

Dan October 9, 2008 at 4:58 pm

I just recently bought one off of Ebay. Your responses are encouraging to read.

I am curious about the GUI! I guess my curiosity will be piqued when it arrives. =D

Randy December 9, 2008 at 9:37 am

On my 2g surf I installed Windows XP Pro… no updates… (take about 1.6gig) then I simply use it in my truck (via a wireless router I have w/Sprint service).. I use GoToMyPc and just log into my home pc and also remote desktop for my work… WORKS PERFECT!

Steven Neumann December 28, 2008 at 10:07 am

I bought a 2G off a DSLReports forum. abt $150.00 used with a external cd rom. I liked it with the OS it came with, but i was not that familier with it, so i decide to install winxp on the unit, it took several tries to get it done properly, but once it was done i was very happy, had abt 1.3 gb free, so installed open office. I am impressed at the little pc. its perfect for basic surfing and IMing, i loved it so much, i went a bought a MSI wind, but i feel this has a better case. So for the money i cant beat this. no problems with wireless and/or external webcam. Just my thoughts

Londonflu April 12, 2009 at 2:22 am

I concur; Most of my residential customers purchase laptops from me with emphasis on dual-core, HD size, & memory; and when I ask them “what will you be using their laptops for?” Their reply is; “Web surfing.”

Which means that all that power that they request in a laptop is absolutely unnecessary. However; I offer customers what they want. Since alot of them do also want to watch DVD’s on their laptop as well. I just ordered one of these used on ebay for when I travel because it’s so compact & light. Plus my eyes grow tired of checking emails and surfing on my HTC Mogul Mobile phone.

Cheers! to everyone who posted

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