As you know, Asus will be announcing its Atom-based 8.9-inch Eee PC 901 and 10-inch 1001 tomorrow at Computex. However, the more obscure WiMax Expo show has already kicked off featuring a WiMax-enabled Eee PC 901. While the WiMax version won't ship until later (for obvious reasons), the 901 models at the show are being displayed in both black and white models based on a 1.6GHz Atom processor with 1GB of memory, Bluetooth, WiFi, memory card slot, and a 20GB SSD for Linux builds or 12GB SSD for Windows. Oh, and the 1.14-kg laptop features a 4- or 6-hour battery life depending upon battery selected. As to the older Eee PCs, ASUS' CEO said they'll be cutting prices on those which makes the Celeron M 701 and 900 models all the more attractive.

Read -- Eee PC 901

Information doesn't get much more twisted that this so you'd best tread lightly with it. We've got a DigiTimes rumor whose message appears modified in translation. Engadget Chinese tells us that the original DigiTimes article (in Chinese) states that Asus is planning an Eee PC "sub-corporation." In other words, an ASUS spin-off that would include more than just low-cost ultra-portables. The rumor is attributed to DigiTimes' proven ASUS sources. However, DigiTimes' own English translation simply calls the move an Eee "sub-brand" which was already obvious with ASUS' announced plans for additional Eee branded products including the E-DT desktop, E-TV television, and 19- to 21-inch E-Monitor all-in-one said to be due in Q3. DigiTimes' sources also claim that ASUS will slap a 1001 model number on its 10.6-inch Eee PC and then -- perhaps supporting the spin-off claim -- says that there will be a premium 11-inch Eee PC before the end of the year as well. Originally, Jerry Shen, ASUS CEO, said the Eee PC would never exceed 10-inches so that it wouldn't cut into ASUS' laptop offerings. A spinoff would presumably give the Eee brand more freedom to compete.

[Via Engadget Chinese]

Read -- DigiTimes (Chinese)
Read -- DigiTimes (English)

Rumors of a 10-inch Eee PC continue to fly fast and furious, and as we were trying to piece together the various contradictory statements from Asus and other sources, we happened to notice these pictures from Computex that clearly show an Eee PC model "1001," encased in a slightly larger form factor with -- you guessed it -- a 10-inch screen. Now, all the other rumors we've heard involve stuffing that larger screen into the existing 7-inch 701 form factor, so this could be an entirely different branch of the Eee tree, but it's definitely interesting that Asus hasn't been talking about the 1001 much at all -- you'd think that it would at least rate a passing mention during the hoopla of the Eee launch, but we haven't heard a peep. Check some more pics -- including one of the entire Eee lineup at Computex including the 1001, at the read link.