ASUS vaguely hints at alternative Eee form factors

ASUS isn't being shy about its plan for global Eee domination, and it sounds like the company is exploring expanding beyond the laptop and desktop form factors we've already seen. Speaking to Current.com.au, ASUS Australia retail manager Emmanuele Silanesu said that ASUS's Eee group is "obviously looking at other form factors rather than just a clamshell," but wouldn't confirm anything -- and just to make things even hazier, Silanesu said that a forthcoming touchscreen machine from ASUS might not carry the Eee branding. That's just about as vague as it gets, but we're in agreement with UMPC Portal that ASUS has plenty of low-power, low-cost UMPCs on the shelf (like the R2E pictured above) that could easily be made over to fit with the Eee line. We'll see when we see -- Silanesu hinted that something was due to appear at Computex in June.

[Via UMPC Portal]

[janis scott @ May 23rd 2008 6:56PM]

$399 Msi wind? Oh wrong post.

[Cagrino @ May 23rd 2008 7:15PM]

I'd just be happy if they made the current Eee into a tablet PC.

[Jimmyy @ May 23rd 2008 7:24PM]

Amen, brother =)

[ethana2 @ May 23rd 2008 7:36PM]

An affordable tablet? Like a cintiq 12 WX with a processor and RAM thrown in?
Hmmmm....

[Casey @ May 23rd 2008 7:44PM]

I always look for "heart touching" features in my electronics.

[The Dude @ May 23rd 2008 9:17PM]

I'm all for this odd slogan.

"Rock Solid..."

That's what she said.

"...Heart Touching"

Well, that's just not workable. The "Heart" makes it sappy...you'd have a difficult time making it vulgar.

[Hellios @ May 23rd 2008 7:49PM]

A cheapo tabled?

Yes please!

[Tesseract @ May 23rd 2008 8:56PM]

I have an EeePC and it is the best little computer I have ever had, that said I'm seriously looking at the newer 900 series (with Windows).

This new design doesn't appeal to me as I need that keyboard as I use the EeePC for photography and writing (which I blog), touch screens are nice for drawing but they are too slow and clunky for the speed that I write and review. (Of course if you have a Wacom Cintiq, it really is the best for drawing on screen).

All and all it will be interesting to see which direction Asus is supported.

[Ethan @ May 23rd 2008 9:57PM]

We're calling laptops tablets now?

[Ethan @ May 23rd 2008 9:57PM]

Um, I think it's fairly clear I meant clamshells.

[AlphaTeam @ May 23rd 2008 10:24PM]

Right.... =D

[AlphaTeam @ May 23rd 2008 10:25PM]

This looks like a Nokia N8xx.

[hkicedude @ May 24th 2008 11:12PM]

Yes a tablet Eee PC would be nice. Notice that with the recent price drop in Kojinsha SH and SA, pricing or really dramatic features (multi touch screen) are the key to success Stay off of Vista if at all possible, since Vista is really not for portable computer of any kind even some have tablet function built in. XP tablet might be better option. I am willing to pay around US$720 for one that has almost all the features of Kojinsha SH series without the Vista and maybe with the Atom chip. Or Asus could make one like the Fujishu 1010 with Atom chip and get rid of Vista and load XP tablet on it as another option.

[Wwhat @ May 24th 2008 6:07AM]

Make it smaller, use a touch interface, put in a phone chip, call it the ePhone :x

[Armen @ May 24th 2008 3:20PM]

Samsung Q1 Ultra's form factor is excellent. I've been using one on a daily basis for months now and I'm extremely satisfied with it*. Though I'd love to have been luckier on the purchase date and could get the Q1 Ultra Premium version, it's heavier but has 9 hours of battery life (mine is 4).

* It's very important to know that the device itself (without the USB full-size keyboard) is not suitable for blogging, typing a lot of text, etc. IT'S NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR LAPTOPS or even sub-laptops. IT IS A READING DEVICE BASICALLY. But the small keyboard is A MUST because I use a lot of keyboard short-cuts while reading things (including surfing, PDF, Zinio) and I hold the device in both hands. Actually using keyboard short-cuts makes things way easier in Windows. But of course if you want to type noticeable amounts of text you can plug the USB keyboard.

In my opinion Samsung has got it right because:
- Screen size is 7" and any smaller than 7" (1024x600) would make it really hard to read, and some Windows interface fonts are hard to enlarge. Some webpages gets messed up (overlapping text and ...) when you enlarge the font size too much.
- non-sliding keyboard is very practical for entering website addresses, renaming files, keyboard short-cuts...
- has enough grip space at the sides to hold the device comfortably.
- STAND is a very important feature, I put the device on the stand while it's on a table. Gives me a great viewing angle.
- 4 hours of battery life has proved to be sufficient for my daily usage. When I'm at home laying back in the armchair I plug it in.
- (if I remember correctly) ~680gr is very conveniet to hold in both hands (of course lighter would have been better).
- touchscreen (most of the umpcs has it if I'm not mistaken)