ASUS Eee Box B202 desktop gets pictured: we like the concept better

Not like this is the first time we've seen a finalized product look noticeably worse than the concept preceding it, but it's a shame ASUS' Eee PC desktop won't be nearly as pretty as we were led to believe. According to Chile Hardware, the picture you see there to the side is a bona fide Eee Box B202, which weighs in at less than one kilogram (2.2 pounds) and packs an Intel Atom processor / 945 chipset, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB hard drive and a Linux-based operating system. No clue how legitimate those specifications are, but hopefully the unit itself looks way sexier from the other side.

[rektide @ May 12th 2008 5:39PM]

this unit just makes me sad no one bothered making Core2Duo units with such sweet form factors.

[Steve Jones @ May 12th 2008 5:58PM]

Still doesn't change it aesthetics. I quite liked the concept.

[liveonlocation @ May 12th 2008 6:13PM]

They did make Core2Duo units, they're called the Mac Mini...

[CraigW @ May 12th 2008 6:35PM]

@liveonlocation: Exactly the type of blind Mac fanboyism that we've all came to expect from the standard Engadget poster. What about people who want an extremely small form-factor home server?

[S @ May 12th 2008 6:42PM]

Oh and this crappy little thing will?

I'm not a MAC fanboy by a longshot, but even I can say that the Mac Mini is the most powerful ultra-small form factor PC around..

Faster processors, double the RAM, and bundled with an OS that costs money rather than free...

[CraigW @ May 12th 2008 6:52PM]

How you can make out that OS X is better just because it costs money is beyond me. Linux/UNIX is more powerful in a server environment than OSX will ever be. My next build is a headless uATX box that'll just sit in a corner being a development server for various projects, probably running Fedora 9 with the X server lopped off once it's configured up. For this, the B202 looks almost perfect. Small, cheap and does the job.

I don't need it to cost way more than the spec's are worth just because it looks pretty and comes with an O/S that has been (extremely successfully) designed around a desktop environment. And yes, I know the Mac Mini will run Linux, however the price is stupid if you plan to use it purely as a server, never getting looked at.

[Che @ May 12th 2008 7:50PM]

AOpen MiniPCs, which can be purchased from thebookpc.com.

You're welcome.

[Adam @ May 12th 2008 7:52PM]

CraigW, you do realize OS X leopard is certified UNIX, right? ;-)

[Wiigee @ May 13th 2008 12:50AM]

Adam, you realize that just because on OS is unix certified doesnt men its a great serves OS. Most really powerful servers (ex. google) run Linux, its simply the best OS for that enviroment.

[Pochi @ May 12th 2008 5:43PM]

Why did they lose the circular base? It was much better...

[iofthestorm @ May 12th 2008 10:14PM]

It also looked unstable as hell, but yeah, this looks fugly. Dunno if it'd be worth having as a home server.

[Homeboy @ May 12th 2008 5:45PM]

So it's basically an Eee without a screen and battery???

[stefan @ May 12th 2008 7:29PM]

But why is it the same weight as the eee then?

On the same matter:
I like the "under one kilogram" statement... when 2.2 pounds are just 2 grams short of 1 KG. Wouldn't want to know how the meetings between marketing and engineering went.

[Kiteless @ May 12th 2008 7:44PM]

Stephan: Maybe they put the power brick inside the box. Just take the little 3 prong (pr maybe 2 prong) power cord and plug it directly into the back. As a long time Eee owner I am looking forward to these little things.

- Kiteless

[Wiigee @ May 13th 2008 12:50AM]

80gb hdd instead of a flash drive likely has something to do with it.

[Brad @ May 12th 2008 5:46PM]

That design looks like something from Zune Originals. C'mon ASUS, you're better than that.

[Steffen Jobbs @ May 12th 2008 6:12PM]

I gotta admit. It really does look like a piece of zune. Asus should stick to it's Eee portables.

[Tom @ May 12th 2008 5:47PM]

So a box for the price? Taken without episodes of factors such as expense and withdrawn without second folded machines!
Kind of expected!

[Ryan @ May 12th 2008 9:01PM]

... Hablas ingles?

[JoSav @ May 12th 2008 5:49PM]

i prefer to buy a fully loaded PC that will run mostly anything i want.

[Rohit Kapur @ May 12th 2008 5:57PM]

So do I; that, however, doesn't mean that everyone can afford them.

Good for you if you can, though.

[Rick @ May 12th 2008 5:53PM]

Chile today,
Hot tamale

[Ronald McD @ May 12th 2008 5:59PM]

You know what blows my mind? Asus is pronounced ah-soos. I always thought it was eh-sis.

[skantonio @ May 12th 2008 6:04PM]

Thank god, I thought I was the only one.

MSN was talking about the company last week and the guy said Ah-soos, and I was thinking, haha, he pronounced eh-sis wrong.

[Pochi @ May 12th 2008 6:06PM]

I still pronounce it "wrong." Ah-soos sounds so god awful, I HATE IT.

[stefan @ May 12th 2008 7:19PM]

But it HAS crossed your mind that this may be a non-english brand name?

Or do you pronounce Sony "So-nay" - or Hitachi "High-touch-aye" for that matter?

[abelIAN @ May 12th 2008 10:49PM]

what kind of godforsaken dialect pronounces long e sounds as a long a?

[vdogg89 @ May 13th 2008 12:11AM]

haha i know, ah-soos sounds so crappy.

[marcin @ May 12th 2008 6:14PM]

whens this thing coming out? i want one already.

the case looks lame but as long as its under 300 bucks with those specs then i'm def. getting one.

[telepheedian @ May 12th 2008 6:08PM]

Am I the only one that actually likes this one better? Ovals, to me, are very 1998. Also, I would like to point out that its a lousy cameraphone shot, not the prettified photoshop mockups they showed earlier.

[Doug @ May 12th 2008 6:16PM]

I too like this one better. All them ovals and stuff remind me of the God Aweful 1998 Ford Tarus... OUCH! Soooo Fugly.

[Mike P. @ May 12th 2008 7:13PM]

Not to mention the oval makes no sense in terms of desk space. You'd lose the space you saved by making the actual computer smaller...

[Graham @ May 12th 2008 6:26PM]

Its a Wii desktop.

[Chriscc @ May 12th 2008 7:22PM]

I think you mean "WEEE" desktop :D

[Onetrack @ May 12th 2008 6:30PM]

SWEET.. atom powered, 945 chipset?

Count me in.. cheap hackintosh.

[Ayle @ May 12th 2008 11:55PM]

Remember that the Atom is crappier than the core duo, it is even crappier than the celeron 900 used in the current eee... Tiger lags on the current eee, I dont want to imagine how bad it will be with the Atom...

[Xell @ May 12th 2008 6:32PM]

the base looks straight out of a 70's movie. I liked the concept a whole lot more...

[stefan @ May 12th 2008 7:20PM]

It reminds me of those cheap vertical-stands which come with some routers or USB Drives. You know.... the ones that we throw away with the box...

[Curtis the Claw:PSN-ctclaw @ May 12th 2008 6:39PM]

That "art' on the side has to go, I'm glad the circular base is gone though, now I can fit it in a more closed spot.

[FireWolf @ May 12th 2008 7:03PM]

Considering how well I like the EEE, I would purchase one of these if the price is as low or near as low as the EEE. The small form factor makes it a great desktop in conjunction with a LCD screen. I'd buy one.

[The Weakonomist @ May 13th 2008 7:06AM]

Tux, we welcome you to The Weakonomist's primary blogging hardware. Where's the line for this thing?

[AJ in the East Bay @ May 12th 2008 7:59PM]

What's with the Star Trek looking stand? Asus, please!

[adobochicken @ May 12th 2008 8:14PM]

Upgradable?
I wonder if u can add or remove the stock RAM.

[whisper450 @ May 12th 2008 8:28PM]

Just looking at those spec you can bet it will run Windows XP.

1 GB of ram
80 gb hdd
atom processor

Just like the top spec MS posted for computer eligible for the cheap xp license.

Its kind of sad that microsoft can somehow control what kind of hardware manufacturer can put in their computer

[VZWguy @ May 12th 2008 8:29PM]

if it is as cheap as the eePC or the tower market, connectable to a cheap monitor, add a few usb2.0 slots ofr external HD, and you have a very nice, inexpensive tower for the same market that would buy a small portable laptop for on the go life....


really if you think of the marketing potential....it's quite large.
the price point would have to be pretty low, i mean if you cna get a portable laptop for 400, you should be able to get a tower for 200-300 range at the most I would think.

I'm thinking it is a nice option for the low end user.

[PCIV @ May 12th 2008 9:30PM]

Don't know what you people are whining about, I personally think it looks as good as, if not better than, the Mac Mini. With decent specs and a better price, such as $400 with screen, it would be worth it. Now, you might say that why not get a eeePC, but that has a really small screen, and grandmas and grandpas are squinting too much.

[bioadam @ May 12th 2008 9:38PM]

I think it looks great; unobtrusive. And to all the budget PC haters, cheapness is as cheapness does.

[Rob @ May 12th 2008 10:08PM]

Please have DVI... why do laptops and small PCs have VGA but never a digital connection? Analog looks horible on LCDs.

[vdogg89 @ May 13th 2008 12:12AM]

this is true. I wish they would make the switch to exclusively DVI. Why do they still sell VGA monitors?

[Wiigee @ May 13th 2008 12:50AM]

if its cheap, i wouldnt mind having a home server.