anybody using the Asus Eee PC for trading? please give your opinion of its usefulness and suitability for trading and whether its stable or do you have reboot alot? thanks.
It's basically a toy, I can't see anyway it could every work for trading which is why no one has responded. It does not use Windows, it runs on a proprietray Linux compilation, the only trading you can do on it is web entry from some retail brokerage, and even that will be slooooow. You need to stick to mini-laptops that run on Windows XP or Vista if you want to trade on them.
I was actually looking at these babies recently for a similar reason. I wanted to use it for tracking my positions (mobile internet) while I was out and about. If your trading strategy involves holding positions for a couple of days as mine does, they may have a place in your arsenal. But they will never replace the regular desktop PC or laptop as a standalone trading unit.
If it is Linux, it probably runs Java and hence could probably run things like IB's TWS. It seems it does run Java http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080306124437AAhg08A
This is probably not quite the answer you are looking for, but if trading is about making money. Don't skimp on your moneymaker. There is no need to go hog-wild and blow 5k on a dreamstation if 1200 buys you a respectable rig with excellent throughput. At the other end of the spectrum, devote a bit of your profit to having an ergonomic work area with good lighting and good displays. It pays for itself many times over. If you are scraping the money together for an intro trading rig, perhaps your initial investment pool is a bit small? I think those Asus EEE pc are excellent low-cost PC alternatives, but anything in the mid-range price range is going to give you so much more including virtualization, multi-boot and multi-OS support. good luck.
thanks for all the replies. windows xp can be added to the current 7 inch screen model by this summer there will be a 9 inch model which comes with windows xp. the purpose of the asus was for the occasional time when i would leave the house/office. if you check out the specs you will realize this is not a toy but a serious machine. access to the internet is very quick.
Purchased a Fujitsu Tablet PC P1620 for trading on the go. Weighs about 2.5 lbs. Runs Windows Vista. I run e-signal and IB TWS from it with no problems.
The new 900 series does come with Windows XP. http://blog.laptopmag.com/eee-pc-to-get-intels-diamondville-hard-drives-and-fashion-forward-style Very interesting as a mobile solution.
I've got one of these. What it is good for is a very light, cheap way to get mobile internet in an urban environment I consider it more like a clamshell type PDA So it depends upon what you mean by trading. It's better than a phone / pda, due to its keyboard and power, but only good for a remote part of your trading hardware It is possible to put windows XP on the regular version, but you need to be pc literate, have to "lite it" - make the install smaller XP runs very fast, boots in 20odd secs and is completely stable. I use it mainly for mobile internet / skype and watching movies on long haul flights http://www.eeeuser.com/