Will the Aspire one satisfy this very specific purpose?

M

masten

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Hi there

Im looking to get an aspire one but I have a very specific purpose in mind for for it which is:

I will be sending the machine to a potential client as part of a highly targeted marketing campaign for my business. Here's how I want it to work

I will load up on the screen with what I want the client to see, put it in stand-by by closing the lid then post it to to them.

The client will get it on their desk with insturctions on the lid to open at which point it will resume immediately and the client will see what I have prepared for them on the screen.

This is all it has to do. Nothing more.

All this works on my regular 15" vista toshiba laptop.

So issues are:

- Will it resume from standby when you open the lid (The EEEpc requires you to press the on button and then takes about ten seconds with no info that it was resuming by which time the client might have just closed the lid and put it away wondering what it was)

- As far as I know it is only vista that gives an immediate resume, so can I get vista running on the aspire one on the basic model.

- Do the linux versions run the java vm whcih my product need to work?

- And most importantly how long is stand-by time. It's 2 days on my regular 15" Toshiba but that's got a rubbish battery. Probably need at least 3-4 days for this purpose. If client gets it and battery is dead then it's all been a total waste of time.

Many thanks in advance for any replies

Masten
 
When you close the lid it will go into standby. When you open the lid nothing happens until you press the power button (which is blinking) or any key. It then takes about 10 seconds until it shows what was on the screen before, the screen is black while doing so., however the color of the power button changes. The battery will probably last many days.

It may seem like a stupid question, but why is the client not capable of pressing a button?
 
You won't get Vista running smoothly on any version of the Aspire One, that's why it ships with XP, it's just too much of a resource hog. Linux does support java, whether it's installed by default I don't know but it should be easy to install if not.

Since the boot time of the Aspire One linux version is so short (12-15 seconds), would it not be better to ship it powered off, that way you guarantee that that the battery will last. You can easily have it startup your application on boot, perhaps even skipping the linpus menus.
 
This scheme sounds like a convenient way of disguising expensive (illegal) payola as advertising.
 
Hi Macles and Ghee

Brilliant. Thanks for the detailed response. That's just the kind of info I need. Thought I was going to have to buy one and take the chance.

The client will have probably never heard of me. The point behind this is to 'grab' their attention in a way that letters, phone calls, emails etc generally don't. Everything therefore needs to run as smoothly as possible with as little intervention as possible.

It may well be that they have to press the button but Im trying to find a way that they dont.

Ghee: OK. Vista's no good, but then it only has to do this one thing - nothing more. Is there not a cut- down version that'll run more smoothly. But you're probably right about shipping it switched off (with the linux version) which is what I was originally going to do but just exploring options.

Many thanks again for your detailed replies

Masten
 
There must be quite some money to be made in your business if you can afford to give laptops away to potential clients. I think it must be possible to have it resume from standby automatically if you do some research.
 
Hi Macles

I wont be giving anything away. Ill get it back either when I get a face to face meeting or will provide some kind of paid for return mailing package.

cheers

M
 
masten said:
The client will have probably never heard of me.

Then

I wont be giving anything away. Ill get it back either when I get a face to face meeting or will provide some kind of paid for return mailing package.
Click to expand...

Don't send it unless you don't care if you don't get it back, once you send something unsolicited to another person they have NO legal responsibility to return it, there is a specific federal law about this. By sending it unsolicited you are implying it is theirs to keep with no limitations, no paperwork or return envelope in the package will make it otherwise. (It was created to stop vendors from sending unsolicited merchandise to a customer then forcing them to pay for it, often the merchandise was sent with no return shipping if it was ever actually sent at all)

Anyone familiar with the Radio Shack CueCat incident should be remember this law, it was the one that meant Radio Shack or CueCat could not stop you from hacking the device or using it for whatever you wanted too even though they included a license in the package that said otherwise, because the device was attached to the free Radio Shack catalog and they never asked if you wanted it.

Oh I forgot to mention the Federal Law is in America, your mileage may vary in other countries... but I still don't think you can expect it back.
 
Yep, have to agree with UTS on this one. Personally, if I received an ultraportable in the mail as some kind of promotional material, I'd be very disappointed to be expected to return it, even if the shipping was prepaid. Plus you'd almost certainly have to include the power supply, in case the battery developed a fault in transit. Much safer to send the promo as a (8cm)LiveCD which could double up as a nice coaster with your company logo on it. Much cheaper too. Any PR jobs going at your location, perchance?
 
And what does your java program do... detonate a bomb ?

I wonder how many of your potential customers will just freak and call the cops when they get a laptop in the mail with instructions to turn it on...
 
Hello chaps

Thanks for the feedback. Is really good to get all this feedback so I can iron out the problems.

Wicked: Yeah. I know. Ive already thought of that. Might be a deal breaker. Dunno?

UTS: OK. Thanks for the info. Im in the UK btw so dont know what the laws are here. Worse come to worse Ill have to go pick it up. 2 hour drive. Not so bad.

hmraao: Ive tried CDs. Hasn't worked

Let me explain the rationale behind the whole idea:

Traditional marketing methods suggest we send out hundreds of mailers in the form of letters, emails, CDS etc and try to catch a few fish. Tried this. Doesnt work. I then cottonned on to the idea that why not just contact the few ideal hi-end clients that

1. Know need my service
2. Can afford to pay for it
3. Have a lot of branches so one sales meeting results in lots of work

So I tried this using letters and emails. didnt work. They never rang.

I then met somebody who is an expert in developing creative businesses and said what you need to do is do something that makes them feel special enough to ring you.

An example: A marketing agency in the UK wanted to work with PUMA UK so they sent the decision makers breakfast every day with all the bowls etc branded up with their logo. After a while they rang up just to find out who the hell was sending them breakfat. This led to them being taken on by the client.

Its like, if you're in a bar and go up to ten girls one by one and ask them out they're not going to feel special so none of them will take you up on the offer.

You've much more chance if you focus on the one you really desire and make them feel special.

So, my idea was to send a laptop to my top 3 potential clients with a video of me on it introducing myself and a demo of my product. This makes them feel special as they know you havent sent a laptop to loads of other companies, and I also get to present the product right to them there and then

The point is, is to do something that gets them to ring you. If you're having to ring them then you're back in cold call territory which defeats the object.

This' just my first idea. If anyone else has got any better ones I'd love to hear them.
cheers

Masten
 
hmraao: Would love to take somebody on to do the PR and let me get on with doing what I do but funds wont stretch to that yet. Where are you based though, anyway?
 
masten said:
Hello chaps

Thanks for the feedback. Is really good to get all this feedback so I can iron out the problems.

Wicked: Yeah. I know. Ive already thought of that. Might be a deal breaker. Dunno?

UTS: OK. Thanks for the info. Im in the UK btw so dont know what the laws are here. Worse come to worse Ill have to go pick it up. 2 hour drive. Not so bad.
Click to expand...
I'm in the UK as well, can I be your first tester?

Free AA1 for me!!! :D
 
masten said:
hmraao: Would love to take somebody on to do the PR and let me get on with doing what I do but funds wont stretch to that yet. Where are you based though, anyway?
Click to expand...
Ouch! (Note to self: Never suggest anything that you're not prepared to follow through on; all that "walking the walk" stuff.) Team GB. Thanks for showing interest, but I'm not really looking to get into PR, except that of the armchair, Dragons' Den variety.

Nevertheless, I'm a firm believer in describing problems in as much details as possible. That way you stand a better chance of getting useful feedback. So the elaboration of your specific need, and modus ponens deserves some response.

The "foot in the door" problem that you describe is, of course, the classic challenge of promotion. The advice that you received about making select clients feel special has some merit. However, it is rather undermined by the examples that you give. For instance, I'd be prepared to wager that the courters of Puma probably never asked for their breakfast sets back, and walking up to a succession of girls in a bar really isn't the same thing as blanket marketing. After all, who's to say that the decision makers at Puma, Adidas, Nike, Jordan, Reebok, Asics, Eastbay, Mizuno, Converse, LRG, Southpole, DC, Uggs, Van Skates (I could go on, but you get the point) couldn't all have received breakfast for free for however long it took, without each other knowing.

An equally valid approach to marketing is to make your potential clients feel that you are so special that they want to do business with you. And that is, of course, what the pitchers attempt on Dragons' Den. And here is the key, hinted at in your first example. It is the Dragons, the investors, the key decision makers that you must seek to influence. And in a way that shows how indispensable you are to their business. You must talk the talk and then walk the walk. Make them an offer they can't refuse. (No horses' heads, please.)

But, this is all getting rather off topic. So let me make one last observation on your proposal to use an AAO to present yourself and your product. Wouldn't it be more impressive to be seen on one of those massive modular tv screens on the back of a flatbed parked in front of their offices for however long it took to get them to give you a call? I'm just saying, the AAO's a bit small.

By the way, UTS may be talking about US law, but, in this area anyway, UK law is remarkably similar, and ignorance of it is, I'm afraid, no excuse. Caveat "Sendor" (It's not real Latin. It's a joke. Kinda.)
 
Hi, thanks for the input

>An equally valid approach to marketing is to make your potential clients feel that you are so special that they want to do business with you

With the greatest of respect - you;re missing the point. That goes without saying. I have no problem at all making my potential clients feel that Im so special that they want to do business with me. My product sells itself if Im on front of the right person. It's getting in front of them. That's the hard part. That's what this 'guerilla marketing' is all about. I cant make them feel how special I am or make them an offer they cant refuse if they never see or hear of me.

>For instance, I'd be prepared to wager that the courters of Puma probably never asked for their breakfast sets back, and walking up to a succession of girls in a bar really isn't the same thing as blanket marketing

I think it is. It's a numbers game which is fine if you've got thousands to waste on the cost of attempting, but failing, to acquire the 99 out of 100 that didnt sign up.

I like the flatbed idea. Now you're talking though not sure if you're trying to wind me up or not. Very expensive for bank of tv screens. Havent go a flatbed and could be a long wait. Dont know if Id have the balls to do it either. Check this out though which is same idea but much cheaper

http://blog.davidparrish.com/tshirts_an ... rrill.html

Masten
 
Any advice I offer is in good faith, and never a wind-up. Check out my other postings, if you don't believe me. If you find one of them that doesn't make a serious point, then I promise never to post to this board, again. Now, that's talking the talk.
 
masten said:
This' just my first idea. If anyone else has got any better ones I'd love to hear them.
cheers

Masten
Click to expand...

Have you considered portable DVD players? A lot cheaper the the AA1, a quick Google search shows units for as low as $50 US. Just use Windows movie maker to make your presentation and burn it to a DVD, best thing is it would be real easy for them to remove the DVD and play it on a larger unit like in a meeting room if they liked it and wanted to show it to other decision makers.

(I'll PM you my address to send me half the money you save, thats my standard fee, lol)
 
masten said:
UTS: OK. Thanks for the info. Im in the UK btw so dont know what the laws are here. Worse come to worse Ill have to go pick it up. 2 hour drive. Not so bad.
Click to expand...

The law in the UK is very similar. You should have a look at The Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971.
 
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