ASUS Eee Pad official: Intel CULV processors, Windows 7, and a 10-hour battery life
By Vlad Savov 
posted May 31st 2010 3:29AM
posted May 31st 2010 3:29AM
Update: ASUS has given us a $399 to $499 price range for the Eee Pads, but don't start salivating just yet. We were also told that the Eee Pad won't be out until the first quarter of 2011.
Update 2: As promised, we've now got a preview of both devices, which you'll find right here.
Stay Connected and Multitask with the Eee Pad
Engineering excellence meets stunning design in the ASUS Eee Pad, an ultra-slim and light yet high-performance slate device designed to provide users with a real time cloud computing experience. The Eee Pad will be available in two configurations.
The 12" Eee Pad EP121 is a full-featured slate computer that serves as a multimedia player, e-reader, and compact computing device. Powered by a CULV Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor and the Windows® 7 Home Premium operating system, it effortlessly handles multitasking tasks whether enabling users to check their email and calendars, have video conferences, or process Microsoft Word and Excel documents simultaneously. The ASUS Eee Pad EP121 offers two convenient modes of character input-an embedded virtual keyboard or an innovative hybrid keyboard/docking station design. All of this power is available in a personal computing device that delivers up to 10 hours of usage.
For users seeking additional mobility, ASUS is proud to present the 10'' Eee Pad EP101TC that runs Windows Embedded Compact 7, which provides an engaging user experience and delivers instant connectivity to the Windows world. It also provides a familiar full-featured user experience across various connected devices and cloud computing services.
ASUS in the building .. now the game has started for real ..
@goseki it would seem that people are slowly catching on to the fact that ASUS is super frickin awesome.
@goseki
This is the perfect tablet. Only I need a stylus, does any1 know who that N-trig Electronic Pen add-on works?
I would pay $ 1100,- for this if I can use a stylus...
@goseki finally...why do they so much time to come up with this? culv core2duo is not new... I just hope for acer to come up with such a tablet. i have a 4810t with culv processor and it's great
@goseki
"Very nice, how much?" -Borat
@goseki ASUS are the true creative and innovators in the gadget world these days. People rave on how awesome their precious MacBooks are but in the end, it's a laptop. A functional one (unlike, say, HP's), but in the end, it's familiar in the sense that it's very conforming to a traditional laptop.
I love ASUS. I don't particularly WANT any of their products, but I seriously respect what they do.
@goseki
Weight is imp. If it uses IPS panel I am sold.
@goseki
Annnndddd. Boom goes the dynamite.
Here we go!!!! This is more like it ASUS!
@gorkhali Eee Pad and ExoPC fight!
@Nice
Pictures show 10 hours of use in docking station? Not without? (maybe battery in docking station?)
@Nice
Not sure. It says portable docking.
Maybe a clip on keyboard with an auxiliary battery.
@goseki This is at least the 10th time I've seen a company announce a tablet running Windows 7. Not sure what's so innovative about that. The thing is that most of them dropped the idea after trying to actually use it. HP even spent over a billion dollars to buy Palm all so they could avoid having to ship a tablet running Windows 7.
Have fun trying to click on tiny icons with a pen, or trying to figure out how to tell the computer whether you wanted to left-click, right-click, or merely move the cursor to that location, or trying to type without a universal and standardized autocomplete/spellcheck system, or trying to select text (no shift key or multitouch), or trying to play games (no built-in mouse or keyboard), or trying to use an app that relies on mouse-over events, or trying to do damn near anything on what will undoubtedly be underpowered hardware for Windows 7 (for a press release that apparently has it all figured out, they conveniently left out details on the CPU speed, the GPU, the storage space, the PRICE, etc.).
Oh, and the iPad will likely have multitasking by the time this Eee Pad [maybe] comes out.
@imikedaman
Actually, I think it's far more likely that they bought Palm as a long-term investment so they could put WebOS on their iPaqs and other products, gaining footholds in the mobile market and any other market they introduce WebOS to.
Why spend $1 billion to, as you say, just avoid putting Windows 7 on their tablet? Doesn't seem like amazing business sense really...
@imikedaman
Ugh, you people...
Windows 7 is perfectly fine on a touchscreen. Why do you think the taskbar is bigger? It wasn't just for functionality, I once read that it was also to be more finger friendly. And judging from some of the touchscreen Windows 7 devices I've used (HP Touchsmart desktop/laptop), it is.
Also, Windows 7 has ways to left click, right click, select text... and Windows 7 already has inherrent Multitouch.
Addtionally, it will probably be more powerful, have more storage space, and be cheaper than an iPad.
So please, next time you want to bash a product that has nothing to do with your precious little iPad, do your research.
Oh, they just announced the price. Something tells me they'll do the same thing they did with every other hardware announcement and jack it up a few hundred dollars before launch (the original Eee PC doubled in price from announcement to shipment).
I will take this time to point out other serious usability problems: trying to use an app that relies on keyboard input anywhere (even for simple tasks like option-clicking something), or having to manually open and close the keyboard all the time because the backend lacks the "hooks" to determine when a text field gains or loses focus, or trying to manipulate something with pixel precision, trying to click and drag on something with your pen and hand in the way (the iPad's software was designed to avoid this as much as possible), etc. etc. etc.
@imikedaman Why don't you go back to posting about video games, and leave the computer articles to those of us who know what we're talking about
Posted from Chrome running in RDC on my HD2.
@imikedaman
Yes, because Heaven forbid a company DARE to price a tablet at the same as an entry level iPad...
@imikedaman I'm sorry but the iPad is crippled by compromise .. if you want a larger iPod Touch or iPhone by all means .. but iPhone OS 4 is not going to solve the fundamental issue .. its not OS X.
If you could load Android onto the iPad you may have something, at least you're not fighting against Apple's crippling restrictions (these are mitigated a little through Jail-break).
Given a decent bios you could happily run Chrome OS on these ASUS pads. That'll get you most of what you need to use every-day.
@MastrCake All the multitouch support in the world won't change the fact that the Eee Pad does not have multitouch support. The hardware lacks it. It's like saying you can attach a grayscale screen to your computer and get color output just because Windows 7 supports color output. Reality does not work that way.
The same thing goes for left-clicking and right-clicking. Of course Windows 7 supports right clicking (...the hell?), but how will the stylus enable you to input those commands? A left and right mouse button on the side? Tilting the stylus one way or the other?
In short, you have more anger than knowledge on this topic.
@imikedaman
they said the ipad would have iphone os 4 much later than the iphones
so i doubt it :)
@MastrCake I'm not sure what you're trying to say about daring to price the Eee Pad that way. If only prices were determined by gut feelings and nothing else...
Another dose of reality for people who know very little but think they know more than I do: the fastest dual-core CULV processor available now is 1.6 GHz. And it costs $289. For the processor. Even la-la land can't produce a significantly faster chip with a decent GPU AND include the entire rest of the computer (battery? touchscreen? Windows 7 license?) for $110 more.
And I don't have an iPad and don't talk about video games much. I'm more on software development websites.
@imikedaman
its called a mouse, you know, you attach it
full windows 7 should be taken advantage of, so i doubt the hardware wont let you multi touch
plus, who the hell needs multi touch on a tablet PC anyway?
ill be fine with a stylus :)
@imikedaman
"...the Eee Pad does not have multitouch support. The hardware lacks it."
Source?
As for the left-click, right-click. It'll work just like it does now.
Tap for left-click, tap and hold for right click.
Not real complicated. Of course if an iPad is all you can handle, maybe it is.
@imikedaman
This is my last reply to you then I'm moving on to happier posts.
Nobody said this thing won't support multitouch. Nobody said this thing will. But most importantly, nobody said anything, unless you just so happen to work for ASUS (Which I doubt given your pro-Apple banter).
Good day to you sir.
@goseki My iPad laughs at you welfare pad.
@imikedaman
How about some actual reality, the SU9600 cost $289 at release, more than a year ago. It's less now.
Don't want to spend that much, SU2300. Dual core, runs W7 fine and costs less than $100 per in quantity.
@imikedaman
Simple apple zombie...How much will you have to pay for your multitasking when it comes out? Guess it doesn't matter the cost because people like you will trip over themselves to run out and buy it...unbelievable! It's amazing how many idiots roam this earth!
@Steve2000 my iPad sits like an orphan most of the time .. can I get some welfare for it plz .. thx
@goseki The add-on keyboard and CULV processor is what really does it for me (with 10-hour battery being nice too). And a price that appears to be less than the iPad.
Asus just won this round.
@kojo87
Asus has the bad habit of promising stuff and never delivering it.
Where is that famous k-board with integrated netbook and screen?
And those ion equipped multitouch AIO nettops?
And the 10" convertible netbook with dual core atom and ion2?
It seems like the vaporware office is the fastest growing section of Asus
@MacMan No, there were reports that HP killed its Windows 7 tablet because it was not happy with the experience. It makes perfect business sense to spend money to make money. In fact, that's like the basic tenet of running a business. They bought WebOS so they could sell a viable product and eventually turn a profit.
@HoldenMccrotch If your answer to the bevy of usability issues is to attach a mouse and keyboard, my only question is why are you waiting for this tablet instead of buying one of the many Windows 7 tablets already available? You could even get one that doesn't require you to purchase the essential dock with keyboard and mouse and attach/remove it all the time.
@jon My source is that their press release failed to mention what would otherwise be a major selling point. I can also guarantee you that it won't come with an internal optical drive. Laugh all you want, but people laughed when I claimed the Dash didn't have an internal battery just because none of their press releases mentioned having one.
Who knows, maybe they'll change the product before release so some of these things change, but right now there's no way that's a multitouch screen.
@gorkhali just tell me why u want an IPS panel. it's personal device and u don't want zillion people watching @ the same time..+ with IPS u practically have no privacy on ur screen.
@imikedaman
Have you actually used Windows 7 on a touch screen device? I have, on an Asus R2h, Latitude XT and XT2, ACer 1820ptz, HP TC1100 and I can say that you are talking absolute rubbish.
You see, there's this thing called OPTIONS!
1. Set the display DPI to 125%. Done. Everything is nice and easy tp click
2. Decrease the time it takes for the screen to detect you holding your finger on the screen to right click. Done.
Please, try not to simply repeat what you've heard and actually use the computer. If not, stay away from tech pages as you're not willing to expand and learn.
@imikedaman
Wow reading your posts is painful. You're either just making things up on the spot or repeating really bad rumours.
1) HP have not officially canned their windows 7 tablet, it's a rumour.
2) If HP only bought Palm for WebOS to convert to tablet, that makes them idiotic.
3) Please stop posting.
ok tech is getting close to my ideal tablet pc not quite there. My main question to ASUS is WHERES THE ION2 CHIPSET? I don't do a lot of gaming but I really like my 1080p HD video output for when I am traveling and have an HDTV available. So far this year the Notionink Adam is going to be my tech purchase (I will use Ubuntu as well as android). I really wish more laptop companies would use the Pixel QI tech too. Why are tablets so shamefully underpowered even in todays world? I am still sporting my Toshiba Portege 3500 since the tablet market hasn't really gone far since then.
So whats the REAL battery life gonna be? Nobody with half a brain believes this will really get 10 hours of regular use.
@goseki
Correction: The game doesn't start until NEXT year.
@goseki
Mmm....Tasty
@Steve2000 My PC laughes at your ipad.
@kojo87
Man, is this national tablet announcement day? this is awesome. Well except for this one. 2011? Get back to me when you're within 3 months of release. These specs all become infinitely less interesting when it's 7 months from now.
@r3loaded
ASUS won this round? Do you have a time machine and have you magically traveled to 'first-quarter 2011'? I don't care what people think of the iPad, but let's stop stroking every company that trots out vaporware - at least until they ship production hardware - which seems mighty hard to do lately.
@imikedaman
Actually the PR doesn't mention a touchscreen at all.
I guess we should assume it doesn't have one.
@goseki Now this is the first time we'll be seeing Windows 7 performs over a tablet -- to think that the old hp slate should have. Hopefully they will still push through that. http://j.mp/tablet-from-palm-webos-or-win7
@goseki F**k yea they are- so far this is THE one that I am sold on.
@goseki yea man the iPad is done, unless they can somehow implement Mac OSX into it. If that happens, the iPad is a winner, but for now it's a waste IMO.
@imikedaman
your an idiot because your reasoning is flawed. The press release wont mention the obvious. It mentions what is profound and different assuming people are already on the same page in the tablet world.
Who says Windows 7 is bad for touch screens? Most peoples complaints are that you need a substantial processor to run a full OS. This has it. Problem solved. Lenovo and HP make great tablets running
Windows7 the problem is they are freaking expensive. This is the price of a netbook. Price point is ASUS and Acer's strong point. They deliver great technology in light and small packages with killer batteries and cheap. Maybe its that time of the month for the iPad to be used for the only thing it was designed for.
win 7 doesnt look to shabby on this device
@zorro -- "win 7 doesnt look to shabby on this device"
... until you open up any Windows app... and it looks like the same ol' Windows.
I can do things 100 times easier with a mouse and keyboard on Windows. Edit some web page code in Dreamweaver... switch over to Photoshop to edit a graphic... switch to Filezilla to upload...
I wouldn't wanna be doing all that work with my fingers or a stylus... or have an on-screen keyboard popping up every time I wanna use a keyboard shortcut.
Sorry... Windows works best with a mouse and keyboard... no matter how well it's dressed up.
@Michael Scrip When are all these people screaming keyboard and mouse at Tablet wakeup to the 21st century? If you need keyboard and mouse affixed to your tablet, then buy a freaking netbook or laptop!
Tablets are made for people that know how to use a tablet, it is a mobile data/web consumption device! If you need to write long article on a word processor then get a tablet stand + usb or bluetooth keyboard/mouse or do it on your desktop at home!
@Michael Scrip
Why do you make it seem like someone is forcing you to use the Eee Pad to "Edit some web page code in Dreamweaver... switch over to Photoshop to edit a graphic... switch to Filezilla to upload"??
Grow the f**k up and comment wisely. This is clearly not made for 3D super graphic movie productions. It is simply what a tablet is: a fully functional OS giving you freedom in a touch screen device to minimize input methods and give you a light wight portable PC to do your everyday entertainment, meetings and school doses, and if it does stuff like paint on Photoshop then it is simply a win.