Mobile Micro Emulator

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doodude
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Mobile Micro Emulator

Post by doodude »

Has anyone seen, heard of or have one of these?

http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks ... -PC-900/p1

Im thinking about getting one but Im looking for an 'everymans' opinion. Uh...that means you. :wink:

Im thinking I could take it with me just to play emulators while Im sitting in my hotel room each week.
But Im wondering if the graphics & cpu will hold up for PCE & Genesis emu's.

Any thoughts?
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nimitz
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Post by nimitz »

well, its too big to fit in a pocket like an Iphone, so its not really any more convenient than an actual laptop
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Post by Lordstar »

yeah I agree. As where I would hate to use an Iphone to surf the net I cant see that keyboard being very "lordstar hand size" friendly at all.
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Ed Oscuro
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Post by Ed Oscuro »

900 MHz processor, 512 MB RAM
7-inch screen, 800×480

It's gonna be cramped. It has three USB ports so you can pack along a controller. Personally, I find I do best when I have a controller, even when I'm on a large laptop or a desktop computer, so I wouldn't necessarily count that against the machine, but at somewhere around $600 this machine isn't going to be offering up a whole lot for other purposes.

The screen is 7 inches diagonally...and the keyboard isn't any bigger. I need a foot wide keyboard to type comfortably.

EDIT:

Compare that system with the Cloudbook (which seems to represent a better value):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CloudBook

It can do World of Warcraft and (wow) Quake III! I dunno about emulators...
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iatneH
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Post by iatneH »

Ed Oscuro wrote:900 MHz processor, 512 MB RAM
7-inch screen, 800×480
I believe that dooman posted a link to the eeePC 900, which has slightly different specs than what Ed posted, most notably a larger and higher resolution screen.

Personally (in fact I am posting this very message from it) I am using an eeePC 700 in lovely Blush Pink colour. It is crippled compared to the 701 and is rather underpowered, but IMO for the price the 2G Surf model is the only one worth buying, as once you start pricing the higher end eeePC models, you have much better options from different manufacturers such as Everex and HP etc.

However, I took it with me travelling to a research conference earlier this year and it is *perfect*. I did not have any time at all to play games, but that's not what I bought this for. For some light web browsing and office work and a size that fits in any bag, I think it's great.

If you want to just play emulators though, why not just get a PSP?
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Ed Oscuro
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Post by Ed Oscuro »

iatneH wrote:
Ed Oscuro wrote:900 MHz processor, 512 MB RAM
7-inch screen, 800×480
I believe that dooman posted a link to the eeePC 900, which has slightly different specs than what Ed posted, most notably a larger and higher resolution screen.
Figures, I got them off Wiki, and that means it's out of date.

Everybody laugh at the guy who uses Wikipedia! :B
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subcons
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Re: Mobile Micro Emulator

Post by subcons »

doodude wrote:Im thinking I could take it with me just to play emulators while Im sitting in my hotel room each week.
If that's what you want out of it, then get a portable gaming machine like the PSP or the GP2X. They both play all the older consoles full speed all the way up to the Sega CD as well as arcade games. PSP doesn't do MAME very well (may as well be not at all really), but it does emulate every Neo Geo and CPS1+2 games perfectly. The GP2X does all that except MAME is way better on it from what I read.

I got a PSP in the recent months and it's a portable shmupping beast. Plays many verts full-screen tate when you flip it sideways. And once you get used to the "this is weird" factor of holding it like that, it just becomes natural. I haven't personally played a GP2X, but it doesn't sound like you can go wrong with one of those either.

Plus, by the time you get one of these and a 4/8 gig memory stick, you'll be coming in at a fraction of the cost of one of those mini PCs. And besides, I don't see the point of them when you can just go a bit further and get a full fledged machine (laptop).
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iatneH
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Re: Mobile Micro Emulator

Post by iatneH »

subcons wrote:Plus, by the time you get [a PSP] and a 4/8 gig memory stick, you'll be coming in at a fraction of the cost of one of those mini PCs.
Very true, would be my recommendation too. Much smaller and more usable as well for emulation.
And besides, I don't see the point of them when you can just go a bit further and get a full fledged machine (laptop).
I don't fully agree with this though. Have you ever tried carrying a "full-fledged" machine every day on a commute? That crap is bulky like Hell. Before I was assigned a desktop machine at my lab, I brought my own 15.4" notebook back and forth every day, I barely had room in my pack for my lunch. Now that I have a desktop at work, I just throw my eeePC in my bag and hardly even notice it, it's like a small hardcover book. The intended purposes are quite different, with the ultraportables being highly geared towards travel.

However, I will agree the higher end models are not so worth it. I can only recommend the $300 2GB model for value.
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subcons
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Re: Mobile Micro Emulator

Post by subcons »

iatneH wrote:I don't fully agree with this though. Have you ever tried carrying a "full-fledged" machine every day on a commute? That crap is bulky like Hell. Before I was assigned a desktop machine at my lab, I brought my own 15.4" notebook back and forth every day, I barely had room in my pack for my lunch. Now that I have a desktop at work, I just throw my eeePC in my bag and hardly even notice it, it's like a small hardcover book. The intended purposes are quite different, with the ultraportables being highly geared towards travel.
I don't find taking my iBook with me that bothersome. It's my main computer; I just plop it on my desktop and hook it into an external monitor and keyboard/mouse when I'm at home. It does absolutely everything I need it to do from surfing the net to being a graphics workhorse. Plus, I have a nice bag that I put it in along with all my other shit (phone, wallet, keys, iPod, etc.) because I hate having to carry all that stuff in my pockets any more. It's a pretty compact bag I can just sling over my shoulder quite comfortably.

I can see owning that mini PC thing if you're a business person that does businessy stuff, but that's just not me. And it's especially a bad candidate for emulating games it would seem. But yeah, it's a cool little gadget I guess...
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Post by antron »

nimitz wrote:well, its too big to fit in a pocket like an Iphone, so its not really any more convenient than an actual laptop
except it weighs 1 K and doesn't cost 2 K
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Post by Ed Oscuro »

If you can wait a while, this is probably the future of the next MID near you:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/int ... 47-11.html
The public’s reasoning might proceed something like this:

"An Eee PC 900 for $450 (good) with a Celeron (not good) at 900 MHz (not good)"

or

“An Eee PC 901 for $450 (good) with an Atom (good) at 1.6 GHz (good)”
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Post by doodude »

Ive got a DELL XPS laptop weighing in @ around 10 lbs w/a 17" screen that I finally started leaving at home cuz its so damn heavy.

Then I got Toshiba U205 laptop weighing about 5 lbs w/a 13" screen thats definitely better but still takes up alot of room in my overnight bag.

My PDA is just too damn small for my big fat paws.

I have a GBA but again its small & basic. Id just as soon read...

Thats why I thought this might be kinda cool. Small, light just powerful enough to run an emu at a decent rate with a PS2 controller plugged in & still have web access, etc.

When I 1st saw one of these it was the 800 ( I think!? ) with a 5"(?) screen & cost $350 but the 900 is at $600. Hmmmmm.

But thanks for the advice. I think Ill follow Ed's suggestion & wait a while to see what comes next...
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Post by Ed Oscuro »

doodude wrote:Ive got a DELL XPS laptop weighing in @ around 10 lbs w/a 17" screen that I finally started leaving at home cuz its so damn heavy.
Which model? The XPSes were the competition for the laptop I got, the G2S-B2 myself, which has roughly the same dimensions & weight.
But thanks for the advice. I think Ill follow Ed's suggestion & wait a while to see what comes next...
The good part about waiting is that what comes along is never as good as the press, so you end up saving your money.
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doodude
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Post by doodude »

Ed Oscuro wrote: Which model? The XPSes were the competition for the laptop I got, the G2S-B2 myself, which has roughly the same dimensions & weight.
I got a Gen1 when they 1st came out. You could do a weight workout routine with it! :wink:

Ive turned it into an gaming laptop only which is what it was really designed for. With its 256 MB ATI, 3.4 G CPU, 2 G ram & sub woofer its great for emulators.
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