Asus Eee PC 1000 vs Atom-based 901 vs original 701... fight!

There you have it, the hotly anticipated 10-inch Eee PC 1000 sized up next to the 8.9-inch Eee PC 901 (center) and original 7-inch Eee PC 701. Feeling. Misty.

Here's the scoop from Engadget Chinese who just got out of the press briefing at Computex in Taipei:

• New 6-cell battery offers up to 7.5-hours of battery for Eee PC 1000, 7.8-hours for 901, 7 hours for Eee PC 1000H
• The "H" in the Eee PC 1000(H) model means hard drive, yes, hard drive up to 80GB. A first for an Eee.
• The Eee PC 1000 will max-out with a 40GB SSD
• Fully equipped with 802.11n and Bluetooth -- hoozah!
• Intel's Atom across the board

More pics after the break.

Update: Detailed pricing and specs now in.

[Flashpoint @ Jun 3rd 2008 12:48AM]

WOW

Now all we need is some cat-5 cable and a hub and we can have a LAN PARTY using games from the 1990's like Quake 2 - which will run just fine on the underpowered hardware.

[Einhanderkiller @ Jun 3rd 2008 12:55AM]

Quake 3 is where it's at, man.

[Ignatius @ Jun 11th 2008 10:57AM]

Screw Quake, StarCraft LAN FTW.

[Ex @ Jun 13th 2008 3:15PM]

UT 99 FTW!

[Flashpoint @ Jun 3rd 2008 12:50AM]

The choices are so similar.

We should leave this contest to one logical deciding factor.

Whichever can download and store the most porn within 1 hour is the winner.

[Keith MacDonald @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:05AM]

Blu-Ray or 1080i HDTV would be overkill since the display doesn't support such high resolutions. It should be able to handle H.264 at 720P tho.

[Johan S @ Jun 3rd 2008 12:50AM]

I'd like to see if it can play an HD movie or DVD smoothly with no jerks or blatant frame skipping.

[peekinde @ Jun 3rd 2008 12:51AM]

why must they copy the ugly ass ginormouz bezel from the macbook?

[Jayden @ Jun 3rd 2008 12:54AM]

Cant they just make the screen bigger without a fat frame instead of making the whole thing bigger

[monkfishbandana @ Jun 3rd 2008 6:07AM]

I completely agree! Unfortunately, they seem to be moving away from the 'cheap ultra-portable' idea and moving into 'average-cost notebook' territory.

Personally, I'd still go with the 901 over either of them. The 701's screen is too small, and the 1000 is beginning to look like a normal laptop.

[maveric101 @ Jun 4th 2008 9:40PM]

except for the crazy battery life.

[Skullgrl @ Jun 8th 2008 4:31PM]

The thing is, with the 1000 series they are targeting traveling workers who need laptops but don't want to lug around heavy ones, need ultraportability and a lower cost. By lower cost I mean a lower cost of what UMPC's used to be. A decent Sony one (which was just about all that was out there that was an actual laptop) would be anywhere from $1800 to well over $2500. They are getting away from their original idea of the $100 laptop but they are coming closer to a new kind of reasonablely priced UMPC.

[jimmyb @ Jun 3rd 2008 12:58AM]

and yet no shots comparing keyboard sizes.... ???

[rbanke @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:01AM]

I have a 900 on the way. the 900 is about the biggest i want a umpc to be. If i want something bigger than 8.9 inch screen i'll jump to a standard 14 inch laptop.

[Ryan @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:03AM]

Between the Wind and the Eee PC 1000... I think the only determining factor left for me is the price. If Asus can match or beat the price on MSI's offering, they win due to the ssd.

[Ryan @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:05AM]

I suppose I should also consider the overall size of the units... Is the Wind smaller or larger than the 1000? Anyone know yet?

[Joshi @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:23AM]

I haven't seen any direct comparison shots, but they appear to be almost identical in size. The Eee 1000 will almost certainly be significantly ($200+) more expensive than the Linux version of the Wind, however. And the Eee's keyboard still looks like death. I'll be buying the Wind, methinks.

Like I said the other Eee 1000 post - the Eee stood out because it was a) small and b) cheap. Who's bright idea was it to keep making it larger and more expensive?

And you know there's going to be an Eee 1001 in like two months anyway. :-p

[Greg Mcp @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:07AM]

My question, and I guess what everyone else is suggesting is whether the 1000 is too big. If it's the size of a laptop, then it's just a laptop and it has stepped out of it's original form factor.

[Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:17AM]

Damn it Asus, why give them glossy lids to constantly wipe off of fingerprints? : (

So the 1001 has a larger screen and keyboard and storage options than the 901, thats it? I want the 901 but with the features from the 1001 like the HDD. : (

[BYOPC @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:21AM]

Beautiful. but can you imagine how expensive?

i have a 701 and love it, and i think that was the true eee. the 1000 muddles the image. anyone agree?

[z @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:22AM]

We needs a confirmed price check. The rumored $650 will never fly with me.

[Joshi @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:33AM]

The Eee 900 is $549. The Eee 901 is going to be a bit more expensive, so we'll say $599. Thus, $649 for the Eee 1000H pretty much the best case scenario. The Eee 1000 will probably be even more expensive - that 40GB SSD (even if it's a 32GB SSD with 8GB of internal flash, a la Eee 900) doesn't come cheap.

I think all the current Eees could use a round of price drops, though. The 8GB 701, in particular, seems overpriced. If all sub-8GB Eees dropped in price $50, and the 8GB and higher Eees (including all upcoming models) dropped in price $100, the line as a whole would be more competitive with the likes of the Wind (although the Linux-based Wind would still have the Eee 1000H beat).

I really would like to get an Eee. I like the size, and Asus does deserve some credit for basically inventing this genre of notebook (even though they now seem intent on abandoning it). I'm just not going to pay more for an infuriating keyboard (how hard is it to fix the right shift key)?

[marcin @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:24AM]

i'll take either the 1000 or 901 at a sub $500 price and i'm there day one.

the 7.5 - 7.8 hour battery life is impressive. beats the 15 minutes i have on my 4 year old laptop.

[MastrCake @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:26AM]

Price?

Well, just by using the following data...

40GB SSD
+802.11n
+Bluetooth
+Bigger battery
+Brand new Intel Atom

=No longer a niche product. Eee's gone mainstream!!!

[CosterMonger @ Jun 3rd 2008 10:04AM]

it'll go mainstream when they fit a DVD/RW drive

[Jimmy @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:42AM]

hmmm. Looks like the 901 is where its at. Is any information about the resolution of the 1000 provided? Honestly, the wind and the mini-note (with isaiah, wishful thinking) are the only other options for me. Honestly, having used a multi-finger touchpad for 2.5 years now, i consider the touchpad on the new eees a killer feature. In my honest opinion, well worth the price markup compared to the wind.

[Luisen @ Jun 3rd 2008 4:37AM]

You are very honest, Jimmy ;)

[craig#2 @ Jun 3rd 2008 1:48AM]

HEY ENGADGET! NEXT TIME YOU TITLE AN ARTICLE "THIS VS THAT VS THE OTHER THING, FIGHT!" COULD YOU DO US A FAVOR AND COMPARE SOME SPECS AND PRICING? WHAT YOU HAVE HERE IS SIMPLY A PHOTO. THANKS!

[jon @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:02AM]

WHY ARE WE SHOUTING???????

[craig#2 @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:41AM]

They can't hear you if you don't shot.

[Keith @ Jun 3rd 2008 12:02PM]

That's what the Columbine kids said...

Ohhh! Did I just say that? Too soon?

[Dave @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:04AM]

I just wish the 901 came with more case stickers

[ScooterDe @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:55AM]

strange, but the top photo only has two stickers, then it sprouts another. They add them in the show room?

[Solarix @ Jun 3rd 2008 8:41AM]

In the top picture, the 8.9" screened computer is a 900, not a 901. Look at the placement of the power button

[chickenator @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:19AM]

so the point of having SSD is just to claim theoretically another 1/2 hour of battery life?

[sinjinn @ Jun 3rd 2008 9:49AM]

it also makes it more rugged

[CosterMonger @ Jun 3rd 2008 10:25AM]

shake a laptop equipped with a regular HDD while it's on, the EeePC had kids in mind, and kids are the ultimate torture test.

[SocraticCyborg @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:26AM]

I think these companies lost focus of the reason the first eee was so sweet, it was that 200 hundred dollar price point!

I'm not going to spend twice that amount on one of these laptops, the price point is too close to fully functioning machines ...

[JPitstick @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:34AM]

That black 901 is teh hotnessss. Price (and performance?) wise id rather have the 900 though. Anybody know when I can get my greasy little hands on one?

[Steve @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:52AM]

"Intel's Atom across the board"

Does this mean the 701 now has an ATOM CPU? If so, NIIIICE :)
Presumably they have different CPU speeds from the 901 and 1000(H).

Also, I'm surprised that the 1000 has such a large bezel... maybe because the keyboard is bigger (hard to tell from these photos).

[roflercopterer @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:54AM]

Jeez, did they have to clean ejaculate off the notebooks after engadget looked at them? At least try to hide it guys.

[Haikibutsu @ Jun 3rd 2008 2:59AM]

Sir, that laptop is about to fall. I will need to confiscate... er... seize that laptop and put it in the hands of my roo... er... LPS.

[Volt @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:00AM]

500 bucks for a 900?
That's it, i'm going windy. As stated above by few, they lost it.

[Akshya @ Jun 3rd 2008 4:31AM]

Its gr8 if need is just for using Internet.

SSD Drive the next Gen hard disk are very fast in reading but unfortunately takes longer than normal disk to erase data just need time to discharge the data store conductor. but its very reliable I guess as thr is no motor on disk hence will use lesser power. very much shock proof.

I saw similar kind of or much better config provided by IBM Lenovo but at much higher cost, I guess thy deserve that cost caz of the quality thy offer.

[aaronbareford @ Jun 3rd 2008 7:04AM]

Does anyone else think that Eee logo is just mega lame? xD

[Rand MacKay @ Jun 3rd 2008 8:28AM]

I was thinking the very same thing yesterday. Desperately in need of an 'update'.

[ITRanger @ Jun 3rd 2008 8:00AM]

I wonder if any of those 6-cell batteries will fit in the original 701. Probably not.

I want 7 hours plus on my 701. sigh.

[Kate @ Jun 3rd 2008 10:15AM]

My thoughts exactly...everyone who asks me about my computer seems really excited about it, except for the average battery life.

And is it just me, or does the battery charge really slowly?

[sdb @ Jun 3rd 2008 8:31AM]

I would totally buy the 901. I have a Vaio TZ150 now because that was the only small pc I could get my hands on last year. But it's fragile and overpriced @$2200 (when I bought it). Now someone is telling me I can get all the same stuff for $650 or less? 901 is teh NOM!

[Kate @ Jun 3rd 2008 10:18AM]

Eee 1000: 901, get off my lap!