ASUS' Eee PC S101 gets hands-on treatment, release details

Anxious to get your claws around an Eee PC that looks -- amazingly -- nothing like an Eee PC? Feast your eyes on the S101, which was recently toyed with by our brethren over at Engadget Chinese. We must say, this here piece of machinery looks mighty fine save for that not-at-all appealing brown coat, but we suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all. As for launch dates (pricing should range between $699 and $799), we're hearing that the Asia-Pacific realm could see it as early as tomorrow, while Europe will get it in around a fortnight and North America sometime later this month. Oh, and if you're in that latter region, you better bite early -- just 1,000 of 'em will be made available here initially.

[Jash Sayani @ Oct 7th 2008 8:56AM]

Wooww!!!! Its damn thin!! I am totally tempted !!!!

[Flashpoint @ Oct 7th 2008 9:08AM]

If I had a choice between this model and the Mac Book Air similarly equipped, and they were both being offered to me at the exact same price, YOU DAMN RIGHT, I'm TAKING THE ASUS>

[dark star @ Oct 7th 2008 10:15AM]

they moved the vga to the back to make it thin.
finally a netbook i want!!!
now, just hoping this is $400. but i highly doubt

[Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Oct 7th 2008 10:22AM]

Must... release... dual-core Atom...

INTEL, DO IT.

[strider_mt2k @ Oct 7th 2008 10:40AM]

Must reduce battery life further...

Don't do it.

[Knives_Out @ Oct 7th 2008 12:56PM]

gorgeous, but pricey.

[d00b @ Oct 7th 2008 3:23PM]

S101 price tag will be for $699USD.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20081007/tc_afp/lifestyletaiwanitasustek

[thedesolate1 @ Oct 7th 2008 9:02AM]

It looks hawt but why in gods name did they choose that color?

[Peter @ Oct 7th 2008 9:36AM]

there are 3 colors..
brown, golden and black

and i'd take the black one

why is there no HSDPA built-in ??????

[patsy @ Oct 7th 2008 9:45AM]

Who cares? At that size, thickness and weight, and with that sexy design, I would take it in any color, including diarrhea green. Just keep the price down, that's all.

[CraigJ @ Oct 7th 2008 11:24AM]

I like it, actually. After 20+ years of black and beige I think I'm ready for brown, although I wouldn't say no to titanium...

[Rogue_Genius @ Oct 7th 2008 9:03AM]

She's a slim little model, that one. Must be on that 'eee' diet :)

[Flashpoint @ Oct 7th 2008 9:06AM]

Asus has competitive products and competitive pricing.

But, the one thing they are missing is competitive ADVERTISING.

In order for Asus to truly compete against DELL and HP, they must advertise cleverly in America.
If they manage to do that here, advertising on American TV and American movies, that push for market penetration will filter down to everyone that views American media. Advertising in Bolliwood won't hurt either.

They need clever, funny, memorable commercials. Somewhat like Geico's

[Yam @ Oct 7th 2008 11:41PM]

You mean the clever commercial like $150 and don't mention the two years contract?

[diulei @ Oct 7th 2008 3:01PM]

I agree and have been wondering about that for ages about major Taiwanese companies - Asus, Acer, HTC, etc. They make great products but who outside the geek world knows who they are? It's not like they can't afford a few million to advertise.

The Korean gadget giants started a big marketing push in the late 90s - look how well it worked for Samsung and LG.

[Troels C @ Oct 7th 2008 9:08AM]

Just amazing. I want one.

[Andrew:: @ Oct 7th 2008 9:22AM]

1000 will be in the US "initially", is that a tactic to drive the price up?

[flo @ Oct 7th 2008 9:23AM]

singapore airlines, you're a great way to fly :P

[Hey Ya @ Oct 7th 2008 9:29AM]

Ever since the original Eee Pc release, it's been a bunch of "me too" machines released. Finally, something different in the netbook space.

[Josh @ Oct 7th 2008 9:33AM]

Nothing like this to cheer me up about living in the Asia Pacific region :)

I'll be on the lookout for this on the weekend.

[Lars J @ Oct 7th 2008 9:34AM]

I have tried it for a few days and its a whole different experience than the original Eee. No more crappy plastic and faster SSD as well.

PC World Denmark have a video and lots of pictues of the new model.

Video: http://www.pcworld.dk/art/10272

Gallery with Acer Aspire One and Eee 900: http://www.pcworld.dk/art/10268?page=4

[Cybergypsy @ Oct 7th 2008 9:42AM]

Very nice.....

[projekt84 @ Oct 7th 2008 9:49AM]

The fact that it's a laptop spread over a 10" diagonal space that's quite a feat. I don't like it when something claims it's super thin but then is mashed out like a pancake.

[Peter @ Oct 7th 2008 9:54AM]

true
but it had to be a netbook
and i dont think asus would want to kill their own U6 and U2 series for now
if they had made it a 11" or 12", people who didn't need a high performance model would all go for s101 rather than the U2 or U6 series..

but i do hope that they will make it a 12" in the future regardless the increase of price

[qwert @ Oct 7th 2008 9:49AM]

Very nice thingy. Finally an eee again after the first one that has me interested. But whats with all the hate for brown? Doesn't look that bad.
However i need more info!! The engadget chinese has a lot of pictures, thats nice, but what about size and specs? has asus already a page for it?

qwert

[Cybergypsy @ Oct 7th 2008 10:24AM]

Looks like a old buick,color..... the one thats always infront of you, with a couple of older folks!

[Ian @ Oct 7th 2008 9:57AM]

I think the brown just looks bad in the photos. The palmrest region looks perfectly OK in brown, while the exterior photo looks like.....poo.

Anyway, I expect this netbook to cost at least $750, or whatever the Asus N10 costs. This will be like the less useful, prettier version of Asus' other luxury netbook.

[Peter @ Oct 7th 2008 10:41AM]

the lower spec ones are about $700 in Taiwan
but with only 16GB SSD builtin, yet comes with a 160GB external hard drive

[therpham @ Oct 7th 2008 10:24AM]

Holy crap! Do want! I had been seriously considering purchasing a netbook recently but now I'm going to have to wait until they're all that damn sexy!

[Nathan @ Oct 7th 2008 10:27AM]

I want one right now! Where and when can I pre-order this thing?

[steve @ Oct 7th 2008 11:50AM]

Dynamism.com has pre orders Available.

[jd @ Oct 7th 2008 10:50AM]

here is the magic formula:
make it skinnier than Paris, blonder than Pamela, sexier than megan fox, Cheaper than Dolly Parton.

[iSteve @ Oct 7th 2008 12:54PM]

Cheap? This thing will easily cost you $750+, and it only runs a single-core atom. This is not a typical eee PC.

[scoob @ Oct 7th 2008 11:22AM]

The Mac Air > Everything else.

[Yem @ Oct 7th 2008 11:29AM]

Why is HSDPA desirable? You need another SIM card and data account at $x/month to go with it, which pretty much spoils the low price. Just tether to your HSDPA cellphone via bluetooth instead.

[KT @ Oct 7th 2008 11:55AM]

nice one! finally one netbook you want hold in your hands

[steve @ Oct 7th 2008 12:08PM]

I admire the design and functionality but personally I'm about build quality. I recently got my Sony TZ and wouldn't change a thing about it. Sure this is like 1/4 the price and all but all these netbooks lack quality. But you get what you pay for.

[iSteve @ Oct 7th 2008 12:51PM]

"Quality" is subjective.

Case in point: your $2000 VAIO TZ is made out of plastic, the S101 uses plastic, chrome trims, and brushed aluminum. Your TZ was recently recalled due to a potential fire hazard, for a $2000 notebook that wasn't engineered properly. What do you use your notebook for anyways? The low voltage chip is already slow, so I assume word processing and surfing the web which what most people do in an ultra portable anyways (oh and an occasional dvd movie with the built-in drive, but that's all there is to it). Most (if not all) of that can be done in a netbook, at a 1/4 of the price.

[DMAC @ Oct 7th 2008 1:49PM]

First of the TZ isn't made of plastic its made of CARBON FIBER. Secondly the ULV CORE 2 DUO will run circles around a Intel atom. Thirdly the build quality of the TZ is excellent bar none.

[Tyguy @ Oct 7th 2008 2:17PM]

Am I the only one that can't stand it when they mess up the right shift key. Whenever a keyboard is designed like this I hit the up arrow more often than I hit the shift key. My primary consideration in a netbook now is that the shift key not be messed up. Seems like the HP and MSI Wind are better options.

[noname @ Oct 7th 2008 2:46PM]

this is exactly what i was looking for - more professional, more like air, but for 1/3 money (of course with 1/3 of capabilities, but i'm a programmer, so i just need "notepad" and browser, i just want it light).
But i am afraid it just look light - if you look on the pictures, it uses sharp angles so it looks lighter then it actualy is, so i guess the dimmensions will be about the same (it looks like a pictures with 3 cell battery).
If they would just use more of the lcd frame, so it could have a bit bigger display (i guess 12'' would be possible with the same size but lighter frame), i would pay even 300$ more.

[Synfuel @ Oct 7th 2008 3:07PM]

Does this have Expressgate? I do not see a reference to it anywhere.

[Brady @ Oct 7th 2008 6:32PM]

Wow, this is an amazing laptop. Seriously, this thing will definitely turn heads. I am amazed by this little thing and hopefully Dell's E Slim can give this a run for its money, or just be in its ballpark. This amazes my. Did I mention I was amazed?

[ssrat_ @ Oct 7th 2008 6:50PM]

For those wanting the dual core Atom2, it has been confirmed BY INTEL that it will not enter mass production until 2 1/2 of 2009!! so it's going to be a while until it shows up in anything.

I really do like this one, it's one to put on the countdown list

[Ian @ Oct 7th 2008 6:50PM]

Can't see it in the photos either. Looks like this thing has 3 x USB ports, ethernet, and VGA out. No 4-in-1 card reader.

So rather than buy an EeePC 1000/1000H, you're paying for the less features in a nicer package, and for around $700. Actually, compared to the EeePC 1000, it doesn't sound bad.

Too bad they messed up the right SHIFT key, which is a no-go on a $700 netbook.