Pics of prototype 8-inch Asus Eee PC

We're not saying we didn't believe Asus when they said they'd be rolling out 8 and 8.9-inch Eee PCs in Q2 (in multiple colors no less!) but it's always reassuring to see pictures. Spotted on a Chinese website, these side-by-sides show the two models to be nearly identical outside of the obvious bezel-reduction and plastic-lightening cosmetic work; even the resolution on both models is fixed at 800 x 480. Another pic after the break.

[Via jkkmobile]

[milivoje @ Feb 2nd 2008 10:57AM]

Trebao bih da mi pronadjete gde se prodaju laptop Asus EEE u Srbiji.
Milivoj Kuzevski

[al @ Feb 8th 2008 7:50PM]

kupi ga v sloveniji je najcenejši

[al @ Feb 21st 2008 9:05PM]

ok

[Alwin @ Feb 15th 2008 5:19PM]

Not an optical illusion. Really easy test. Take a sheet of paper, put it up against your monitor, mark the top and bottom of the laptop screen in the image on your paper, then slide the paper over and compare your markings to the other laptop screen.

[KnightRider @ Jan 8th 2008 6:31PM]

OMFG. I want 2.

[Hung @ Jan 8th 2008 6:29PM]

Just from looking at it, the second one couldn't measure 8" if the first one is 7". The distance from the diagonals for the first one is atleast 1" per side.

Jeez, that would have been such a good that's what she said if I hadn't put this note here.

[Hung @ Jan 8th 2008 6:30PM]

Aww, it's a different framing. I guess it could be 8" then. Whodathunkit?

[JohnTitor @ Jan 8th 2008 6:55PM]

dude you really need to learn the Pythagorean theorem again

[cmonkey @ Jan 8th 2008 7:21PM]

Yep, thats a pretty clever optical illusion in the side by side. The screen looks significantly bigger until you notice that the white bezel got bigger. Still 8" > 7". Hopefully they come out with a 9" in the same form factor to give it a normal sized bezel.

[yuns @ Jan 8th 2008 7:35PM]

it didn't say very clearly in the translated page, but the original Chinese page says this particular model (i.e. the one with bigger screen but same resolution)shown in the pics will not be mass produced, so we still need to wait for the official model to be announced...

[MaGiXX @ Jan 8th 2008 6:30PM]

And the 8.9" is where?

[luidabruin @ Jan 8th 2008 7:21PM]

gizmodo!

http://gizmodo.com/342468/real-live-pictures-of-89+inch-asus-eee-pc.

sorry engadget =/

[Zadillo @ Jan 8th 2008 7:27PM]

That one in the Gizmodo though looks almost exactly the same screen size though. Are we sure that the Gizmodo story isn't actually also about the 8" version and not the 8.9" one?

[luidabruin @ Jan 8th 2008 7:33PM]

you know what....
looking at it twice, i think you are 100% right, Zadillo.

never mind MaGiXX... as you were

[Shan @ Jan 8th 2008 6:30PM]

The one reason I didn't like the orginal model was because of the bezel around it. Glad to see they are putting larger screen versions!

[Nate @ Jan 8th 2008 6:42PM]

You get over the bezel real quick. I love my Eee, and would recommend it to anyone.

[Dirk Lucas @ Jan 8th 2008 6:46PM]

Exactly. The first EEEs are cool but they almost look like those V-Tech crappies where the screen doesn't fill in half the space available.

Now I want one. But as in many cases, not even the first generation has reached us yet. And it won't be officially available for another two weeks.

[Bazooke @ Jan 8th 2008 6:43PM]

It does really sucks for those who brought their eeepc so early.
Since it looks to me that Asus have been updating eeepc a lot lately.
4G, 8G, colors...etc Soon it will not be "cheap" notebook.

[CosterMonger @ Jan 8th 2008 6:45PM]

where is 8.9" the anticipation is going to drive me nucking futs

[Chebwa @ Jan 8th 2008 8:04PM]

that's what she said

[RIFRAF @ Jan 8th 2008 6:47PM]

I wonder how much the price will go up? I don't think you going to be able to find the 8 or 8.9 under $700 in the States.

[Chebwa @ Jan 8th 2008 6:50PM]

What the Eee was always meant to be.

[spam_from_engadget @ Jan 8th 2008 6:51PM]

So the H resolution is 1024, right? Hmm, I want one. It's not perfect yet - some more battery life would be useful - but I think it's good enough now.

[spam_from_engadget @ Jan 8th 2008 6:55PM]

(Replying to myself) - err, no, according to the auto-translation on that page, the resolution is _not_ increased. Bugger. OK, I'll keep waiting.

[kyle @ Jan 8th 2008 7:00PM]

I hope they do change the resolution or at least give the option to display at least 1024.

[MK @ Jan 8th 2008 6:58PM]

This is an old prototype of the 7 inch EEE PC but with an 8 inch LCD. It is NOT the NEW model. Asus changed the LCD to 7 inch at the release time last year.

[Shan @ Jan 8th 2008 6:59PM]

Well there is only so much Asus can charge .. I mean if the 8.9 inch screen version comes with a 8GB SSD and they start asking crazy amounts for it - then it might be better to buy like the cheapest Dell laptop because even whatever configuration it has - it will still be better than the Eee PC. While I appreciate the portability and size of this thing, it's really the price that is the main factor. Once it goes over the lower end price of the laptops in the market - then it won't be as appealing to me.

[Itchy Pajamas @ Jan 8th 2008 7:04PM]

Too much bezel, too little LCD. But if it came in purple...

[Shan @ Jan 8th 2008 7:05PM]

Whatever Asus charge for the 8.9 inch screen version with 8GB SSD - they will have to keep it low. Once you start reaching the range of the lower end laptops in the market, then you have more choice. Personally for me, the Eee PC is more about price than portability, but if they start asking silly amounts for the higher end versions - then I would rather get just a budget laptop from the likes of Dell.

[Russell @ Jan 8th 2008 7:08PM]

What is the point of increasing the size of the screen, but not the resolution? Unless you have terrible vision I would think that a larger screen at the same resolution would actually be less desirable. Screen resolution is the only thing keeping me from buying an EEE. The size has nothing to do with it as long as the DPI is reasonable.

[stillen @ Jan 8th 2008 7:10PM]

Meh, I don't like that they changed the color of the bezel. How about they go ahead and keep that same black frame around the screen and just put a bigger screen in there. If I got the 8" I would have to buy it in black.

[Dennis @ Jan 8th 2008 7:36PM]

Well is there or is there not speakers in the black bezel?

[Benjamizzle @ Jan 8th 2008 7:40PM]

I have been holding off one of these babies to see if they bring out a bigger screen version. If this hit anytime soon im going to get one... I need my Eee!

[ToniCipriani @ Jan 8th 2008 7:52PM]

The screen size change is next to useless if the resolution stays at 800.

[nonamo @ Jan 8th 2008 8:10PM]

I'd much rather see a normal bezel, NO webcam, NO speakers. As pointed out above, it looks like a Teach2Spell thing atm.

I would buy the eee and mod the screen, but i have no idea if an alien lcd panel would be compatable. or where to get hold of one the right size. :(

[nonamo @ Jan 8th 2008 8:23PM]

btw, can anyone PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me what notebook that is at the back of the photo???

Better picture here:
http://p8.p.pixnet.net/albums/userpics/8/3/622983/1199542369.jpg

Now that looks like an awsome laptop!

[SFO Kevin @ Jan 8th 2008 9:11PM]

http://www.apple.com/macbook/design.html

[Brian @ Jan 8th 2008 9:43PM]

How bout the lotion bottle in the back. Something tells me there's a box of tissues just out of the picture.

[Leo @ Jan 9th 2008 1:11AM]

I just read the linked chinese article and I was fairly certain that the original author said this "new" version of the eeepc isn't for sale, as in this isn't going to be the final design of the 8.9 in version 2 of the eeepc. Can someone with better chinese confirm this?

[Michael Reyes @ Jan 8th 2008 11:12PM]

Does annyone know what game is being played. Looks awesome.

[DarkLightConnection @ Jan 8th 2008 11:33PM]

PlanetPenguin Racer.. Linux-only I think

It's a nice game, but you get tired of it (relatively) soon

[jojo @ Jan 8th 2008 10:41PM]

the resolution is still the same ... Can't we have a bigger screen with a higher resolution ? Most webpages are optimized for 1024x768.
This change only means you are eliminating the black bezel and making the horizontal scrollbar (for webpages) look even more annoying.

Am still waiting for at least a 1024x768 or better resolution. I can retire my trusty heavy laptop. Higher resolution same form factor would be a great device if you travel a lot.

[Neoprimal @ Jan 8th 2008 11:58PM]

I'm not asking to be a jerk or di%^, but exactly why is there so much hype and fuss about this machine? It just can't be the price since there are a number of laptops available, even in big box stores like Best Buy/Circuit City/etc. selling for $400-$500 that are at least 2 times better (though yes, 2x the size as well).

So is it the size? Is it the price? What is it?

[Ayle @ Jan 9th 2008 12:55AM]

It's an ultraportable. It's not in the class of the regular sized laptops.

[Dirk Lucas @ Jan 9th 2008 9:03AM]

First, define "better".

And: If its not much you need, why should you pay twice as much for things you don't need?

[Neoprimal @ Jan 10th 2008 1:09AM]

"First, define "better"."

I thought I did....at least 2x the power, ie: 1-2gb Ram, 80-160gb HD, WiFi/CD/DVD/SD, etc. and quite a bit more processing power.

"And: If its not much you need, why should you pay twice as much for things you don't need?"

Who's paying twice as much for things they don't need? The 2 models are $399-$499 for a 4gb/8gb drives respectively and my point is that you can find a new laptop with at least 2x the power at the same price. So, if you say you're paying the same price for more than you need, then...I don't see how that's a bad thing.

It being ultraportable is a good argument I suppose.

[Mic2000 @ Jan 9th 2008 8:32AM]

Lets first bring out the EEE pc in Europe before they make already a newer version.

[David @ Jan 9th 2008 9:02AM]

Well, in the case of the Smart, I'm glad we are getting the 2nd Generation model, and not the 1st Gen model Europe had. So, sometimes it's better to have skipped the first one.

[juan @ Jan 9th 2008 2:28PM]

1GB of ram
8 or 16GB flash memory (i'll add 2gb either way)
and 8.9" for under $500 and i'll buy it.
i'll install windows too

[Oldhand @ Jan 20th 2008 10:40AM]

As it is, the Eee PC's 800x480 screen resolution is irritating, especially when you have to horizontally scroll to view web pages. They should have learned their lesson from cell phones. Nobody likes using a cell phone to surf the net because of the irritatingly small screen and the outrageous fees. ASUS got it right by using WIFI which reduces the cost of internet access. They got it wrong when they decided that 800x480 was an appropriate screen resolution. Even adventurous Eee users have used non-standard Intel drivers to get the stock display to show 800x600 and 1024x768 resolutions so they can websurf without so much hassle. That, above all else, should send a message to ASUS telling them the stock resolution is not enough. Increasing the screen size but forgetting to increase the resolution seems pointless. Hopefully, since the 8 inch model shown is only a prototype, the production model might have a usable 1024x600 screen resolution.