Must Read: Sorry, but bringing back the Start menu won't help Windows 8

Topic: Hardware

Flogging a dead horse, Asus releases Eee PC 1025 Flare series netbooks

Summary: Asus has rolled out its latest Eee PC netbook, complete with new Intel Cedar Trail Atom processor and Windows 7. But who's buying?

Sean Portnoy

By for Laptops & Desktops |

The world may be lining up at Apple stores to get its hands on the new iPad, but that hasn't stopped Asus from rolling out a new series of netbooks for the small minority of folks who'd rather have one than a tablet. (Yes, I know, there are a few of you out there.)

The Eee PC 1025 Flare family comes with a new Intel "Cedar Trail" Atom CPU and the usual low-level specs we've come to expect from a netbook. While running Windows 7, the Flare also has Instant On technology that rouses it from sleep mode in a mere 2 seconds. Presumably its "Flare" comes from the 11 different color choices available, including pink and purple.

So how does the $299 system perform? Our sister site CNET already has a review posted, and it's the middling score that a netbook would receive circa 2012. Despite great battery life, the Flare suffers from sluggish performance and an outdated design.

With consumers embracing tablets for Web surfing and the like, and Ultrabooks continuing to drop in price, it looks like time is up for the netbook in nearly all cases. Someone might want to send the memo to Asus.

[Via VR-Zone]

Topics: Hardware, Mobility

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

43 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • Is it really a dead horse?

    I dunno, even recent sales of the iPad have slowed from previous models... Sure, the netbook sales are way down but, the more companies that leave the segment, the more lucrative it becomes for those who remain.
    slickjim
    Reply Vote

    • Can you give us...

      the sales figures that you're talking about, please?

      EDIT: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_ceo_ipad_launch_weekend_broke_records/

      Apparently, you know more than the CEO of Apple about iPad sales. Can you share that information? I assume you got it by looking at the inventory of your local Best Buy.
      msalzberg
      Reply Vote

      • You believe all the hype you read!

        Without any real numbers it's just spin. A friend of mine went to Walmart to line up for the first IPAD. Guess what? There were six people there, 30 minutes before they went on sale.
        Laurentian Enterprises
        Reply Vote

      • A CEO has to be very careful...

        @Laurentian Enterprises

        chooses his words.
        msalzberg
        Reply Vote

      • Believing the hype

        @Laurentian Enterprises,
        Like you I do not believe everything I read, however I would ask you to consider the consequence to Apple if Tim Cook was lying. The class action investor lawsuit would be in the Hundreds of Million dollars range if Tim Cook casually misstated the sales volume.
        YaBaby
        Reply Vote

    • Hmm.

      http://www.marketwatch.com/story/att-statement-on-ipad-sales-2012-03-19
      msalzberg
      Reply Vote

  • I have both

    And I use the netbook about 5 times more than the tablet. I like to actually create content - you know, type stuff in. Without abreviations and ridiculous spell-corrections.
    dimonic
    Reply Vote

    • Tweecha zone

      I have both as well. The iPad is right here, next to the desktop I'm typing this on... you know, the one with the 24" screen and the Aeron chair.

      The netbook? I'm not sure. I think I saw it under the bed the other week.
      Robert Hahn
      Reply Vote

    • So do I.

      I have both also, both a laptop and a iPad that is. Never saw a need for a low quality low performing cheap mini laptop.

      My laptop which I use mainly for creating content is connected to a second monitor screen (24") and is located at my home-office desk. The iPad is not merely a low quality mini laptop, its' something totally different. And offering a whole host of new use cases.
      dave95.
      Reply Vote

    • Ditched the netbook year ago

      My first netbook (10") died, just after warranty ran out -- they said replacement motherboard would cost like new netbook, so I did not bother... My second netbook (11") was much much better, but felt slow, hard to produce much on it.. but was ok for traveling although battery life wasn't that great. Unfortunately, it was stolen -- so I finally made my mind and bought myself an Macbook Air (13"). Same weight, less bulk, MUCH better in any other respect you can imagine. Oh, and.. runs UNIX out of the box. :)

      As for producing things, if things are short, they get produced on my Air. If things need more time and typing etc, they get produced on my desktop workstation, with large display, comfortable keyboard etc. Sometimes, contents gets produced on my iPad 2, especially while traveling in places like bus or car (and not driving). Because I feel the iPad can be great production device for some tasks, I am getting the new one as soon as it starts selling here, on 23rd.

      Netbooks are great devices, but their niche is limited. If I already have full-function laptop with the same weight/dimensions/battery life like the Macbook Air, I can't justify any netbook, ever.

      And, by the way, the English have this saying "I am not rich enough to buy cheap".

      PS: By the way, my workstation class laptop, with a bigger screen, larger drives, etc, has not been switched on now for two months.. (putting a reminder to discharge-recharge the battery so it does not go to waste)... just because it is heavy and in fact.. ugly.
      danbi
      Reply Vote

  • Oh I don't know....

    Is iPad with a bluetooth keyboard setup any thinner, lighter, and cheaper than this netbook?

    I don't think so. Hence the market. QED.
    Samic
    Reply Vote

    • Bingo!

      You have it. Buy an iPad or any other tablet, add a keyboard, a cover or case, an external CD drive and what do you have? A netbook or notebook with a lot more functionality. If my Thinkpad were to die I'd buy a netbook over a tablet any day.
      Coyoteaz
      Reply Vote

      • Addled

        First, your argument is contradictory. Perhaps you need to use the edit button?
        Second, what you would buy is irrelevant, as the market apparently thinks differently.
        And third, please name the "functionality" you get out of a netbook that you don't get out of your above referenced set-up. I can list a large number of functions that your netbook can NOT perform adequately.
        .DeusExMachina.
        Reply Vote

    • Logic fail

      QED my a**. If you paid attention, you'd notice that the market is not their, not because the iPad is the same thing as a netbook (they aren't) but because NO ONE IS BUYING NETBOOKS ANYMORE. Please post sales numbers that show otherwise.
      The reason everyone is pulling out of the netbook market is because they can't make any MONEY.
      .DeusExMachina.
      Reply Vote

  • An iPad can't compare ...

    ... with a netbook or laptop running Google Docs. These have way more functionality and productivity for students, plus they're cheaper. Using Google Docs on an iPad is an exercise in futility.
    jrockefeller1@...
    Reply Vote

    • ...or any pure tablet, for that matter.

      I agree. I can't understand why anyone would want anything without a physical keyboard -- even a phone. For the average user who can't touch type, I guess they can't see any difference between physical keyboard typing speed and entering text on a touch screen. For people who create content (rather than simply consume it), a physical keyboard will always be a necessity. And, I don't want to carry around a separate Bluetooth keyboard, as many tablet users do, in a bloated folder case.

      One more reason for choosing a net-book is that you never have fingerprints on your screen. Nothing irritates me more than having to wipe finger prints off of a touch screen to clearly read what it's displaying! I believe the whole "touch thing" is highly overrated and needlessly increases unit cost for customers who don't care about using it.

      At that point, I prefer to use net-books with Google Docs for most of my work. There's nothing to back up, and they're cheap to replace when broken, lost, or stolen. If I need more computing power, I remote-desktop control my home PC.
      Bit-Smacker
      Reply Vote

      • Just Convenience

        I have a 7 inch tablet now, and the advantage to one is just convenience for quick reference and consumption. I use mine to read, to look up stuff on the Internet (the IMDB and Wikipedia apps can be handy), to watch YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Daily Motion, to check email, and for a few puzzles and games (though I have other gaming options that I use more often). For anything more serious, a netbook would be better. Pretty much everything I can do on the tablet I can do on my smartphone, but the bigger screen is nicer for a lot of it.
        CFWhitman
        Reply Vote

      • Huh?

        Being that you can easily use a keyboard with the iPad, what the heck is your point?
        .DeusExMachina.
        Reply Vote

    • Google..

      This may be true for those who sold their soul to Google and accept their documents are inspected and possibly sold to third parties by Google.

      Thanks God, iPad does not default to Google Docs for document editing and lets you run full-fledged document processing applications ON the device.
      danbi
      Reply Vote

  • Battery Life Is Big

    The review basically says that this netbook is a pointless exercise. Then it goes on to say that there is nothing good or new about its performance except the great battery life. Battery life is the biggest selling point of a netbook, and the review underestimates its importance. Tablets aren't the end all and be all of portable computing. There are still appropriate uses for netbooks.

    Really, the reason it became possible for tablets to be more appropriate than laptops or netbooks in general is about battery life. People may not realize it, but the biggest reason that tablets have become practical recently is the extended battery life that is now possible. Tablets are about convenience over laptops, and without really good battery life, all the other convenience factors are negated. If you have to hook up to power anyway, then setting your laptop or netbook down and opening it don't seem like much extra trouble. It's only that you can now remain untethered that makes it so it's practical to use your device standing up, holding it in one hand and running it with the other.
    CFWhitman
    Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close