ASUS 15.6-inch touchscreen Eee Tops launching tomorrow -- $499?

Can you feel it? That dull sense of ennui isn't the result of the diminished hours of daylight, oh no, it's the sensation of the Eee Top's imminent launch in Taipei. ASUS has a news conference scheduled for Thursday to out the ET1602 and ET1603 XP PCs into the wonderfully erect world of all-in-ones. Something we've been expecting since January of this year when we first heard about ASUS' Eee branding promiscuity. We're still looking at 15.6-inches of touchscreen LCD, a 160GB hard disk, 802.11n WiFi, a pair of 4-watt speakers, and 1.3 megapixel webcam all propped up by a tepid 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor -- a CPU that ASUS knows a thing or two about. The ET1603 packs a better ATI HD3450 graphics card and battery for 4.4-kilograms (9.7-pounds) of luggable PC. We'll have to wait for the pricing and country details but we can speculate that it'll arrive in the US pronto after seeing its wireless (EK-C2) keyboard slip through the FCC yesterday. Could be a holiday winner if it hits for the $499 price rumored way back when.

Read -- Eee Top launch tomorrow
Read -- Eee Top keyboard FCC

[substance90 @ Nov 19th 2008 8:10AM]

Make it 20.1 inch, add 4 gigs of RAM and a real dual/quad core CPU and I`m in! A portable desktop replacement, exactly what I and everybody, who travel often, but not everyday, need.

[Mike Cerm @ Nov 19th 2008 8:12AM]

You just described the HP Touchsmart, which goes for a little over $1000.

[Mike Cerm @ Nov 19th 2008 8:11AM]

This thing will be perfect for a lot of potential customers, assuming that Asus gets the pricing right. Personally, I like the design, but I really don't think that I could deal with an Atom processor in a general-purpose desktop computer.

[ntlam @ Nov 19th 2008 9:49PM]

iMac killer ;-) haha.

[Ayman @ Nov 19th 2008 8:15AM]

I can see people taking them to Starbucks

[Chris @ Nov 19th 2008 8:21AM]

They need to come with a 4x4'' Apple sticker for that.

[Ayman @ Nov 19th 2008 8:38AM]

Problem solved
http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Mac-Logo-4-Reflective-Sticker-Decal-2-1-in-RARE_W0QQitemZ360108100426QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item360108100426&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A570|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

[Ricksta @ Nov 19th 2008 8:15AM]

This would be perfect for a jukebox. Every other touch computer on the market is around $1k and up. If you know of one cheaper than this, please share.

[Smi @ Nov 19th 2008 8:25AM]

I was just thinking that. Hook it up to a decent amplifier and set of speakers and you've got yourself a nice touch screen media device/jukebox. Rip it out of its shell and put it in a decent looking one and you may just have something special.

Let's wait and see if it's actually any good, though. ¬_¬

[Reader @ Nov 19th 2008 8:27AM]

Correction, get a nice external sound card, then hook it up to an amplifier. Or if you do rip it out of the shell, there may be a PCI slot or some variant to use.

[Reader @ Nov 19th 2008 8:29AM]

At 500, it seems pretty reasonable. 15.6 touchscreen is pretty sweet if you're looking for that. Would make a great point of sale station for small businesses/restaurants.

[Chris @ Nov 19th 2008 8:31AM]

I really want this at work now...

[broli @ Nov 19th 2008 8:31AM]

I love the keyboard. Why don't more manufactures copy the slim iMac keyboards.

[GB @ Nov 19th 2008 8:41AM]

I totally agree! This slim iMac keyboard is so cool!

[Kasiro @ Nov 19th 2008 8:51AM]

499$, like how we actually got the 701 at 199$ right?

[Ian @ Nov 19th 2008 9:05AM]

If this is a home computer for all your really basic needs, why not just get a laptop for $499? This thing should be considerably cheaper, no? I realize it's a touchscreen, but so what?

[AnalogJunkie.com @ Nov 19th 2008 9:15AM]

mm I love touch screens. Seems a reasonable price for such a device - Should make enough people 'ohh' and 'ahh' that they'll make a pretty penny for the holidays with a well advertised release.

[pwiegers @ Nov 19th 2008 9:16AM]

I want one - with a Flash 4 GB HD, and linux, please? No noise - no windows.. perfect! :-)

[Canoo @ Nov 19th 2008 9:45AM]

and 1/3 the price

[Canoo @ Nov 19th 2008 9:45AM]

was suppose to be a reply

[Danny F. @ Nov 19th 2008 9:49AM]

At $500 it makes for a pretty awesome jukebox/digital picture frame thats for sure. Would definitely get one to set up on a shelf in my room w/o a keyboard or mouse when I get some extra cash.

[kernelhappy @ Nov 19th 2008 10:01AM]

Either drop the price to $300 so I can use it as a coffee table home automation controller/browser/email console, or raise the price to $600 and include a Atom 330, secondary HDMI output capable of 1080P video and let me use it as a media center pc/controller and I'm in.

At $300 though these would make incredible home automation controllers.

[Louis @ Nov 19th 2008 10:36AM]

£449.99 in the UK - play.com

[GingerFox @ Nov 19th 2008 4:01PM]

ouch really? thats alot tbh you can get dual core, hell even brand new quad core pc's off ebay for £400, but maybe thats the price you pay for a touch screen, AND i agree that a 1.6ghz atom would probably be too slow for a desktop =/ maybe

[Terry Thomas Photos @ Nov 19th 2008 10:53AM]

What is the resolution of the touch screen? Can it be used with Photoshop to edit images? (Most likely, though the Atom CPU would be underpowered for Photoshop users.)

BUT it's just a first step along the path. I fully expect to see a more powerful similar unit in the future which would be good for Photoshop use.

Questions:
Would this qualify as a Tablet PC?
Is this battery powered or only work on AC mains? (If battery I could use it on movie sets when shooting stills to review my work.)

Terry Thomas...
the photographer
Atlanta, Georgia USA
www.TerryThomasPhotos.com

[Terry Thomas Photos @ Nov 19th 2008 10:57AM]

I followed the links and answered my own questions:

Asustek has already listed two versions of the Eee Top on its Web site, the ET1603 and the ET1602.

The ET1603 is clearly designed to be a more expensive device. It boasts an ATI HD3450 graphics card and has a battery, apparently to make it easy to carry around. The device weighs 4.4-kilograms, according to Asustek.

The ET1602 does not include a specialized graphics card nor battery, but most of the rest of its specifications are the same as the other model, with 160G byte hard disk drive, 1G byte of DRAM, wireless Internet capability via Wi-Fi 802.11n, a 1.3-megapixel Web cam, two 4-watt speakers and several choices of ports including USB and three audio ports.


Terry Thomas...
the photographer
Atlanta, Georgia USA
www.TerryThomasPhotos.com

[DJ @ Nov 19th 2008 11:15AM]

This would be a great PC to have on the countertop in the kitchen. Plug in a USB TV-tuner and you'd have it all.

[Pat @ Nov 19th 2008 12:58PM]

Just make this idea a laptop convertible and you will tap into a huge market of people that spent 10 hours on a PC and want the portability of a laptop married to the ergonomics of a desktop.

[Kali4 @ Nov 19th 2008 4:09PM]

I would probably just mount it directly into a wall. Use it as a media streamer or home automation panel. If it was a little cheaper I would mount one in every room of the house and use it as an intercom service as well, thanks to the included cam.

[GingerFox @ Nov 19th 2008 4:02PM]

that would be a hella expensive intercom system lol

[kingu @ Nov 19th 2008 9:02PM]

Because a 1.3MP camera looks really good on a 15.6" monitor, not because you can.

[Ismail @ Dec 28th 2008 3:59AM]

Hi,

I am from Saudi Arabia.

Anyone can provide us the exact price ( in USD ) of Asus Eee Top ET 1602 all in one touch PC?

Is it available in middle east ? If so, plz send me the contact details for Asus All in one PC.