Asus' 2nd generation Eee PC already planned for April, 2008

It's all a bit silly at this point, but ASUS says that they'll be introducing their 2nd generation Eee PC in April 2008. Right, even though their first generation Eee PC has yet to launch. The new Eee PCc (hey, why not?) will sport Intel's Merom-class processor and other improvements that would allow it to lower power consumption from 11W to 7W while potentially allowing Asus to eliminate the fan entirely. Silent-running with longer battery in a $200ish ultra-portable? Yeah, you've got our attention.

[CJ @ Sep 6th 2007 9:30AM]

Whoop Whoop, Second time first in comments hahah, sorry just doing this for fun :P (whats this article about?)

[webon @ Oct 17th 2007 9:33PM]

thats damn sad.

[Balzac2m @ Sep 6th 2007 9:32AM]

I hope they release one with a screen that covers more then 20% of the lid. 10" should fit in to the 7" case.

Me want!

[Kory @ Sep 6th 2007 9:39AM]

With the Foleo gone, this is now the only option. I'd be surprised if the price points don't creep up a little bit.

[jimmyfinch @ Sep 6th 2007 7:44PM]

I thought it did creep up....to almost $400.

[Bobby @ Sep 6th 2007 9:41AM]

I was excited about the EEE in the beginning but Asus managed to foul everything up. They've increased the price and reduced the specs and make it a deal breaker for several, including myself.

Check out the news over at EEEuser.com, excellent EEE resource.

Plus, where's the XG-Station you were talking about Asus? You've managed to really dissapoint me, shame on you.

[Fuzzball @ Sep 6th 2007 9:49AM]

Well they need to hurry up and release the first one already. Wasn't the rumor mid-August? We're banging on the door for mid-September now. I have money I want to trade them for one of these. It's really annoying when a company doesn't want my money; they should feel honored because the privileged doesn't come often.

[Coleman Foley @ Sep 6th 2007 10:11AM]

sounds good

[antics @ Sep 6th 2007 10:19AM]

they had my attention, lost it, got it again, now its gone... I'll be excited when there is hardware that I can actually get my hands on.

[Alan Partridge @ Sep 6th 2007 10:32AM]

What happened to that $150 sweedish laptop Engadget posted about a while back? I assume it was a scam but didn't they say they would be shipping by now?

[jimmyfinch @ Sep 6th 2007 7:46PM]

Someone had to have gotten [one/taken] by now.

Anyone want [to boast/a shoulder to cry on]?

[Raymond @ Sep 6th 2007 10:39AM]

This'll come out sometime when the Optimus Maximus is also released which is probably never.

[CosterMonger @ Sep 6th 2007 11:38AM]

want. {only for the $200 USD though give or take $30}

the criticism for this thing is alarming, it is what it is, a light take anywhere computer with no strings attached ideal for any network, by no means is it your main computer but it might be the one you use the most:

"it doesn't have a conventional hard drive" who cares my first computer had a 120MB HDD, 7 years ago 4-8 gig HDD were common, solid state foo

"It doesn't come with windows" $200 foo

"it doesn't have built in optical" neither did $2000 tablet PCs of the same performance, $60 gets you external, $5 get you a usb or a crossover cable to connect to your main compy that has a burner

this thing is theoretically capable of running COMPIZ and a NES emulator, need I say more?

[DarkAardvark @ Sep 6th 2007 3:44PM]

"It doesn't come with windows"
what OS would it have? i really dont care, i'd probably put ubuntu on it anyways =D

[Sjoepie @ Sep 7th 2007 3:42AM]

it comes with customized Xandros Linux

[Jeff @ Sep 6th 2007 1:45PM]

Mayhe they're trying to avoid the inevitable and totally uncalled for scorn Apple is receiving now in regards to the iPhone? They're saying, "Listen, a better deal is coming. Don't say we didn't warn you."

[Vincent @ Sep 6th 2007 6:10PM]

Wow, last week i just bookmarked the '1st gen'. I really want this product, seems SOO nice.

[Karl Olson @ Sep 6th 2007 8:44PM]

well, given that the base model is now looking to be $250 US with 900mhz processor, 2GB of SSD Flash Storage, 256MB of (possibly upgradable) RAM, an SDHC-capable card slot, 3 USB ports, customized Xandros Linux OS and various other stuff, it's definitely a long way off from their initial specs of a 4GB/512MB RAM unit at $200 US, but it's still least expensive subcompact on the market, well, once it reaches the market.

Still, it'll be interesting to see whether it actually takes off. At the moment, it's has a serious potential to end up another niche flop, like the Jornada and other laptops of that ilk.

[Ryan @ Sep 7th 2007 3:09AM]

7" screen size is OK, however, WE NEED 1024 pixels wide!!!

[Ende @ Sep 8th 2007 11:53AM]

I was skeptical about their promise from the beginning and well remember how the same people were criticizing the Eee when it was revealed that the display was awkward they way it is. It's still a very very good substitute for the $2000 "ultra-portables" we have right now.. with all their windows vista and 80gb storage, all they can do is pretty much same with this $250 device, which is being able to surf the net, e-mail & IM, and work with your documents and play some SNES games... To me, it's the best thing happened since the Epson HX-20.
Will definitely buy one of these to supplement my desktop and my Asus gaming laptop.

[Jason @ Sep 9th 2007 2:15PM]

Any update on a Canada/ US release for the first generation?

[Mary @ Sep 9th 2007 6:00PM]

I was really excited when I first read about the 'eee'. I'm progressively less so as time goes on and I can't see it ever actually being released.

I just want a small, light, portable machine - about the size of a 7" screen DVD plyer - that gets good battery life, at least 4G flash storage, and as much memory as it takes to run open office - for around $200. Linux is fine, wireless would be a plus. But at this point - it could have a 16-grayscale screen and I'd be happy (although then I'd probably want it for $150 ;))

There's obviously a market for a simple take anywhere writing/internet browsing machine - forget the people who want gaming and fancy graphics - I need a small machine I can WORK on.

[Jess Robinson @ Sep 12th 2007 3:41PM]

Try a second hand Psion Netbook (not the pro) then, it does all that..

It's getting a bit long in the tooth now tho, no USB, no external VGA like the eee. Runs off a CF card and has a pcmcia slot for WiFi.

I may replace mine with an Eee, if it surfaces..

[Bigg Russ @ Oct 17th 2007 10:36AM]

On first look, I thought that read Moron-class processor! LOL!

[Robban @ Oct 19th 2007 7:10PM]

Oh My F****** god thats funny!

[JBrown @ Oct 31st 2007 12:26AM]

HEY everyone, I've been hanging out at eeeuser.com following this little beauty.

A couple users uploaded pictures of the interface on the Eee and I built a little Online Test Drive for the Eee.

Check it out at: http://www.honeypothack.com/eee/internet.htm

-Josh

[Dave @ Nov 9th 2007 6:05PM]

This is a great little laptop. I wouldn't own it as a primary machine (which is why I'm going to be purchasing a macbook soon instead of one of these) but it is great as a super small lightweight laptop. There's really only one deal breaker for me at this point in time - the screen! it's a tad small for web browsing, especially to someone used to using a 20" display. something with a resolution closer to 1024x768 would be nice though (10" anyone?).

other things that would be really cool to see would be longer battery life, perhaps into the 5-6 hour range, and an upgradeable processor. These are of course far less likely, but it would be really great to be able to stuff a core 2 duo in here, battery life be damned.

really great form factor though. I hope more machines like this start coming out, I can see a real demand for something the size of a dvd case that doesn't cost 2k. Things like the oqo and the flybook are really quite cool but the price is prohibitive for something with such comparatively limited specs. A great step in the right direction imo.

[Chebwa @ Nov 10th 2007 9:45PM]

You're getting a MacBook?! Holy sh*t, you're the coolest!

And you say you want 5-6 hours of battery life, then you want a Core 2 Duo in there "battery life be damned."

Go away.

[Alex @ Nov 11th 2007 9:31AM]

just hopes that Asus will add some power to the screen...