Eee 900 now available for pre-order for delivery May 12

We already knew a few delivery dates for the Eee 900 worldwide, but ASUS came real with the Stateside deets today, so if you're in the market, get ready for some unboxing fun on May 12th. A plethora of online retailers should be taking your $549 pre-orders soon, including Amazon, Buy.com, Newegg, PC Mall, and Costco, and several brick-and-mortar retailers will also get stock on the 12th as well. Other than that, it's the same Eee 900 we've been seeing for a while now -- we're just waiting for that black one to hit.

[Lance @ May 7th 2008 4:46AM]

Hopefully they come to Australia soon

[Mike MacCana @ May 8th 2008 11:12PM]

Already launched (note this is APC, so not quite trustworthy)

http://apcmag.com/windowsbased_eeepc_cheaper_than_linux_one.htm

[Mike MacCana @ May 8th 2008 11:12PM]

It was released yesterday:

http://apcmag.com/windowsbased_eeepc_cheaper_than_linux_one.htm

http://www.asusnotebook.com.au/1080_ASUS-eee-PC-900-Black-Notebook-Intel-CeleronM-900MHz-with-Linux.php

[ijyt @ May 7th 2008 4:47AM]

I want Galaxy Black. :c

[StomperGames @ Jul 3rd 2008 12:46AM]

yeah it is sick, have it on my 701

- http://www.stompergames.com

[Chris @ May 7th 2008 4:48AM]

$550? holy crap!

I think Asus have missed that point here. What made these so appealing was the price not the hardware. You can go buy a real laptop for that money.

$300-$350 is where it should be.

[TeddyLikesComputahs! @ May 7th 2008 4:59AM]

yep, completely missed by a mile. i thought they were suppose to be laptops where you buy w/o thinking about it. i guess i'm sticking with the first gens!

700 FTW!!!

[Mic2000 @ May 7th 2008 5:19AM]

Totally agree on that one, its really ashame that they say a 200 dollar laptop, bring a 300 dollar laptop, and now there coming up with a 549 dollar laptop? WTF

But still i want one (A)

[DrXym @ May 7th 2008 6:25AM]

The 9" screen is very desirable but not $200 desirable. I bought the 701 because it was cheap and cheerful. It hit a sweet spot for price and performance. The screen was pretty tiny but it was workable with tweaks.

I don't get the price disparity for the 900. It should just be the 701 with a larger screen and perhaps a $30-40 premium for getting it.

Besides, isn't the next gen meant to be based on Atom? In which case the 900 is

[Phil @ May 7th 2008 10:09AM]

For this price I'd pick up the hp mininote, more storage, better shell/keyboard. hell, faster processor too!

[Mike Cerm @ May 7th 2008 10:15AM]

The 900 also has an additional 8GB of storage (16 for the Linux Version). They're charging more for that.

Unfortunately, I don't think people want that. I'd pay $449 for the 900, and I think a lot of people would. I wouldn't care if it only had 4GB of storage, because I can pick up an 8GB SDHC card for $30 if I want more space.

By bundling the 9"screen with the unnecessary storage, they're ensuring that I buy neither the 701 nor the 900.

[Risa @ Jun 1st 2008 7:21AM]

I have never found a retail (and proper sized) laptop priced 300-350. Never. Unless of course you go to the cheap branded laptops that break easily.Please do inform me when you've found one that price - a laptop that is decent

[BV @ May 7th 2008 4:58AM]

This price is crazy - what's the point if it's only marginally cheaper than full spec laptops? I would be surprised if the smaller size is going to appeal broadly enough to make this a hit like the 700...

[Geqxon @ May 7th 2008 5:00AM]

549 dollar? That's like what, 12 euro?

[TeddyLikesComputahs! @ May 7th 2008 5:16AM]

12 euro? That's like what, 4 pounds?

[jorge @ May 7th 2008 6:04AM]

no! Its 550 euros according to Apple

Do you know any US pc store that ships to europe?

[Joe_Templeman @ May 7th 2008 8:01AM]

Yeah good luck avoid import duites on that one.

And enjoy the american keyboard too..

[pete @ May 7th 2008 5:04AM]

anyone know of an australian release date?

[Lance @ May 7th 2008 5:26AM]

Asus said sometime in May, but never set a date

[CJ @ May 7th 2008 5:28AM]

Pretty sure I read in the Brisbane MX Paper the other day that they will be out in the next week.

[Lance @ May 7th 2008 6:00AM]

Because MX is known a reliable source for tech info!?!

[Yaussie Net @ May 7th 2008 8:41PM]

The Australian release date is May 18th to distributors. Expect the resellers, merchants and some retailers to get them by the 19th or 20th (give or take a day or so).

[Charles Han @ May 7th 2008 5:33AM]

wow seriously wasn't the appeal of eee pc the price factor?

[David @ May 7th 2008 5:46AM]

but people here in the UK have them already?

[Adam @ May 7th 2008 6:04AM]

for a 9 inch touch screen with 20 gigs of SSD, you should not compalin about the price

the SDD alone is worth $200 by the sound of things

im waiting for the atom based versions though

[sinjinn @ May 7th 2008 6:08AM]

doesnt have a touch screen.

[TareX @ May 7th 2008 6:29AM]

and doesn't need one...

I prefer the HTC Shift form factor (sliding, tablet-like touchscreen), but it's a bit on the low spec side. Haven't seen any RTS games running on it, unlike the Eee PC.

[Mike Cerm @ May 7th 2008 10:20AM]

It's not really an SSD. It's soldered-in flash memory. I know that's a small distinction, but it's an important one. You can find 16GB SDHC cards for $60 in some places.

[Joshua Ochs @ May 7th 2008 11:34AM]

That on-board SSD also pumps 40MB/sec, same as my desktop hard drives. Your SDHC card isn't even in the same ballpark (a top-end Class 6 card delivers a whole 6MB/sec). USB keys similarly aren't going to deliver anywhere near that performance.

[ps @ May 7th 2008 6:07AM]

When Ryan has saved Motorola, maybe he can also become CEO of Asus. Let’s say as a hobby. ’Cause he would know what people really wanted was a full spec laptop in this formfactor an a solid hydrocarbonaluminuimoxid case for about 100 $. Any technologist -- i didn’t say exec, i said technologist -- knows that a mini-notebook like that would sell like hot cookies.

[Patu @ May 7th 2008 6:10AM]

549 U.S. dollars = 354.903355 Euros

Not bad IMO. I dont know what laptops cost over there but in here you'd have to put at least 150€ more to get a "real" laptop. (which is about the same in performance but a lot bigger and heavier)

[jorge @ May 7th 2008 6:14AM]

no, that's a lie, no Co. is doing the convertion that way, they are doing
1$=1€

an angry portuguese ...

[jorge @ May 7th 2008 6:12AM]

Do you know any US pc store that ships to europe?

[stereopolis @ May 7th 2008 6:18AM]

http://store.redbarncomputers.com/index.asp are supposed to be good.
Will mark as gift or write a low value on package...

[TareX @ May 7th 2008 6:26AM]

Great.. I'm starting to be more and more convinced with the Eee PC concept, esp. after seeing games like C&C:zh and Pro Evo Soccer 6 running smoothly on them.

Not to mention MAME, and SNES emulation...

A much better investment than any PSP, IMO... unless Sony comes up with a high-spec touchscreen portable... which I don't see coming anytime soon...

[conor @ May 7th 2008 3:54PM]

UX series....

[ITRanger @ May 7th 2008 6:40AM]

Not sure what the big deal is? Places like the BT Shop and Micro Anvika were already selling these in the UK. It's the black one that is not yet available, apart from Amazon.co.uk who lists one as available at a large markup.

The Asus Eee 900 price is worrying, I'm still thinking about the HP 2133.

[CJ @ May 8th 2008 3:21AM]

Aus Prices:

"At a Sydney launch event for the much-anticipated Eee PC 900 model, local product manager Albert Liang revealed that the XP model would sell for $599 in Australia, while the Linux model would be $649."

Quote from: http://apcmag.com/windowsbased_eeepc_cheaper_than_linux_one.htm

Release Date: "Australian Eee PC 900 is yet to be confirmed, but we expect a release by the middle of May."

Quote from: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/laptops/soa/ASUS-Eee-PC-900/0,2000065761,339288413,00.htm

Or If you are real keen... you can order now....

http://www.asusnotebook.com.au/eee-pc.php?gclid=CL7jzOShlJMCFRpZiAod1UTcwQ


....for $800 lol.

[ITRanger @ May 7th 2008 7:52AM]

Lol. This could all be a cunning marketing/pricing plan by Asus to bring us back to paying standard notebook prices for the less powerful and cheaper to manufacture UMPCs.

The next upgrade to the Eee PC will be over £500 ...!

The buying public will be stupid enough not to notice.

[substance90 @ May 7th 2008 7:24AM]

LoL, the original idea a few years ago was to build a 200$ laptop, it then later became a 300$ pricetag and now... it will be around 550 euro in Europe...

[KyleK @ May 7th 2008 7:51AM]

The Eee 900 will most likely cost €399 in Germany, launch is expected mid-June.
The 701 was €299, the additional €100 buy you the larger screen, 20GB SSD (in comparison to 4GB in the old one), and a better Webcam (1.3MP instead of 0.3MP).

Of course I'd prefer it to be €349, but that ain't gonna happen. It's still a good price given the size and weight of the laptop. I likey!

[Baz @ May 7th 2008 7:56AM]

Yup, got to agree with the above - a $150 premium over the original 4G 700 series (itself priced $200 over its originally announced price) for a 9" screen is absurd - and does take this EeePC well beyond the 'disposable/bought without a second thought' computer the 700 series introduced.

Its unfair to compare any EeePC with a 'real' notebook at a similar price, but the EeePC at this price does need to compete with the identically priced HP 2133 Mini-note (KX869AT) - which has a better keyboard, substantially more onboard storage and a Linux distro with far better support than Xandros.

ASUS has consistently shown itself to be clueless as to the capabilities of the EeePC and the demands of those that actually bought the device (rather than who ASUS thought would buy it) - and continues along this track, while preferring to simply create new models rather than address the issues outstanding and offer better Support.

If they lose market share (in a market they created) because of an underwhelming $550 EeePC, they have no one to blame but themselves.

[Shola @ May 7th 2008 8:06AM]

I'd be all over it if it had Intel's Atom

[jzuckerman @ May 7th 2008 8:15AM]

Maybe the price is directly connected to a barrel of oil.
But unlike oil wait awhile and it will go down.

[Jason @ May 7th 2008 9:07AM]

Does anyone remember this?

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/21/dear-palm-its-time-for-an-intervention/

Why were we all haters?

Looks like everyone and his dog wants a fole.... eee pc.

[BigTeebo @ May 7th 2008 10:45AM]

The EEE PC is a standalone system. The Foleo requires a cell phone to be useful(bad). That, and Palm was going to make it(also bad). Apples & rotten apples.

[Matt W. @ May 7th 2008 10:00AM]

The extra $150 seems to buy a lot (vs. the 700):
- Larger (9") 1024x600 screen (vs. 7" screen at 800x480

[Matt W. @ May 7th 2008 7:01PM]

(most of my post appears to have been gobbled up by the datamonster. Here's the rest of it...)

- 1GB of DDR2 RAM (vs. 512MB)
- 20GB (vs. a paltry 4GB)
- 900Mhz Dothan-core Celeron (vs. same chip downclocked to 630Mhz)

It also has a larger trackpad, too.

I hear that the new 900 has a shorter battery life, this is to be expected when you add a larger LCD and a fast chip.

For those wondering about the Intel Atom, I don't think it's such a great chip for something like this. Check out these benchmarks of the Atom @ 1.6Ghz vs. the Celeron @ 900Mhz:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/03/08/intel-atom-initial-benchmarking-data-vs-pentium-and-celeron-m-processors-before-official-release/

Pretty sucky, if you ask me.

[Rick @ May 7th 2008 10:06AM]

Can someone -please tell me why the Linux version comes with a bigger SSD than the XP Home one?

[Rick @ May 7th 2008 10:23AM]

I don't see it @ amazon, J&R, mwave, newegg