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Video: Asus 11.6-inch Eee PC 1101HA to ship in Europe this month
We caught wind of this one way back in May, and even got to see the mythical beast in the flesh at Computex, and now Netbook Italia is reporting that Asus' Eee PC 1101HA, the hulking 11.6-inch notebook, will be shipping in Europe at the end of the month for €399 (that's roughly $560). Part of the Seashell family, this guy will be available in black or white, and packs a 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z520, Intel GMA graphics, 1GB of memory, a 160GB hard disk, and Windows XP. We've also seen a 3G version of this bad boy, but we're not sure when or where that one will see the light of day. Check out the hands-on video after the break.
Hands-on with ASUS' Eee PC 1101HGO at Computex
Our compatriots at Engadget Chinese have been doing all the leg work at Computex for us this week, and here's another beauty they caught sight of: the ASUS Eee PC 1101HGO. Yes, this is something we have not previously spied... or have we? This newest addition to the Seashell line is extremely similar to the 1101HA we've caught wind of, but this one's got 3G built in. The 11.6-inch, 1,366 x 768 resolution LCD-boasting PC houses an Intel Atom Z-series CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, three USB 2.0 sockets, a multicard reader, and a six-cell battery. We don't have any information about pricing or availability as of yet, but we'll let you know when we do. Two more shots after the break.
ASUS Eee PC 1005HA found in the wild, bests the Seashell in the little things
We just got through looking at ASUS's new Eee PC 1008HA Seashell, but it might be the 1005HA that really strikes a balance between form and function. The upcoming netbook has many of the Seashell's stylings, but forgoes the recessed ports, port doors and hokey mini VGA plug to bring a more functional experience while hardly sacrificing the aesthetics. This version in the wilds of Germany also has a 6 cell removable battery instead of the 1008HA's "next-gen" 3 cell integrated battery -- we'll have to wait for the benchmarks to see who is crowned the winner, but anybody who's ever had the joy of swapping batteries on a transoceanic flight has probably already made up their mind.
A red Asus Eee PC 1002HAE video hands-on? You got it
Have your eyes set on a rouge Asus Eee PC 1002HAE? The gang at Portable Monkey got their hands on one straight from Japan. Turns out, it's exactly as you expected -- same setup and specs as the 1002HA with a slightly lighter shell and chiclet keyboard, both of which are welcome additions here. If red netbooks are your bag, boy have we got just the video for you after the break.
Asus Eee PC T91 reviewed in the UK: "genuinely moves things forwards" for netbook market
Asus' Eee PC T91 has gotten its first review ahead of the reported late May / early June UK launch, and those cats at TechRadar seem quite smitten with the swivel-proficient touchscreen netbook. Battery life is said to be solid, though points are deducted for not being replaceable. Some issues with the resistive touchscreen also plagued the pre-production model, and while the company assures those kinks are being worked out, we can't help but worry they'll invariably still find their way into the finished product, and that glossy display will no doubt keep the memories of fingerprints long after you want it to. Despite these concerns, the review gives much love for the overall performance, video playback, build quality, and keyboard. At £449 ($688), it ain't the cheapest option on the market, but we do appreciate Asus straying a bit from its tried and true netbook formula. Now how about news on a stateside release, eh?
ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-M and 1005HA-H steal Seashell's sublimity
Sheesh ASUS, are you being serious here? Not a day after your Eee PC Seashell really emerged on the scene in official fashion, here you go trying to rob it of its 15 minutes. Yes, friends -- rather than letting the 1008HA be a diamond in the rough in the Eee arena, it seems as if the company has a whole mess of thin-and-light netbooks planned. Both the 1005HA-M and 1005HA-H have been revealed overseas, with the former taking a lower-end approach with a 1.6GHz Atom N270, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, no Bluetooth, WiFi, a 6-cell battery (supposedly good for 8 hours of use), a 1.3 megapixel webcam and a €299 ($405) price tag. The 1005HA-H -- not to be confused with the already detailed 1005HA-M, naturally) -- includes most of the same internal gear as the Seashell, though it does step things up with two extra USB 2.0 ports, a 6-cell battery (versus a 5-cell in the Seashell) and 0.3kg of extra heft for €349 ($473). Both machines should launch in France by July, and we'd say the real kicker is that both purportedly boast removable batteries, very much unlike the Seashell. See there, we knew they'd set themselves apart somehow! The full specs list is after the break.
ASUS releases new Eee PC 1008HA Seashell down by Swansea
ASUS is finally ready to start selling the latest installment in the Eee PC family, the 1008HA Seashell that we've seen popping up here and there at various prices. The official, tax-inclusive UK price of £379 is now confirmed, which is perhaps a little steep for this svelte but otherwise identical revision to the franchise, still offering that good 'ol 1.6GHz processor, 160GB hard disk, 10-inch screen, and GMA graphics. Look for these to start shipping in about two weeks to stylish Brits, while we elsewhere in the world will just have to keep waiting.
Asus going big(ger) with 11.6-inch Eee PC later this month
If you like the idea of the little laptop that started it all, but need a little more workspace to keep your eyes from going all aesthenopia on ya, hold on to your wallets for a few more weeks. According to DigiTimes, ASUS is planning on releasing an 11.6-inch Eee by the end of the month, following up on its pledge made last year to do just that -- while simultaneously breaking Jerry Shen's promise to never surpass the 10-inch mark without creating a spin-off, "premium" netbook brand. But, with the 7-inchers relegated to their place in history, perhaps now the company has a little extra room on its production lines. No further information is available on the forthcoming model at this point, but we're hoping that new screen will get a few more pixels to fill out its new-found girth.
Asus makes optical-endowed Eee PC 1004DN official
What's that, didn't trust last week's DigiTimes rumory confirmation of the new 1004DN addition to the Eee PC family? Rest easy, as Asus has come forward and made the first optical-offering Eee officially official. The machine packs a Super-Multi DVD writer, what looks to be the same pinkie-friendly chiclet keyboard as the 1000HE, a 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor, up to 120GB of storage, and even a fingerprint scanner. Price and release date are still undecided, but it shouldn't be long before we find out just how well those legendarily long-winded Eee batteries fare at spinning up your Battlestar Galactica boxed sets.
Asus Eee PC 1000HE review roundup
Well, kids, it looks like the Asus Eee PC 1000HE has started making the rounds and so far the reviews have been rather favorable. PC Review was so taken by the machine, in fact, that they declared it the "best one yet... dethron[ing] the MSI Wind as the leader of the pack." Their enthusiasm is stoked by the fact that the machine's been designed around its new six-cell battery (making for something less bulky than, say, the 10-inch Aspire One or the NC10-14GB). Also in the win column are the obvious design improvements over its predecessor, and its hard to beat $400 street price. That said, it is a netbook: the new Intel Atom N280 processor offers "no real performance benefits" over the N270, the features are pretty standard for a machine of its class (160GB HDD, three USB ports, a webcam, VGA out, 4-in-1 card reader and the usual ethernet and WiFi connectivity) and testing failed to find "any performance differences between the 1000HE and systems like the Wind, the Aspire One (10-inch), and the HP 2140." Also according to the magazine, the new software-based overclocking feature is no great shakes. Laptop Magazine feels pretty much the same way, loving the new keyboard, the new battery, and the fact the easy-access panel (for HDD and RAM upgrades and the like) is still intact. On the other hand, they point out that the thing's a little heavy (3.2 pounds) -- but what do you expect from a machine that boasts over 7 hours battery life? Notebook Review singles the thing out for its design: "Build quality," it says "is very good with strong, durable plastics used throughout the body," and the new keyboard and gloss black paint "really adds another level of class and style to this netbook." But don't take our word for it -- hit the read links for the full reviews, and be sure to check out the gallery below.%Gallery-44165%Read - PC Review Read - Laptop MagazineRead - Notebook Review
ASUS's little netbooks go big-box; Eee PCs expected in Walmart by year's end
Last year upstart Acer stole the netbook crown from ASUS, a sales stat that might have been helped by the ability to buy an Aspire One at your local neighborhood Walmart. While you can already pick up an Eee at places like Target and Best Buy, from what we hear at wholesale mixers you're nothing until you go Supercenter, and that's just where the company that started the netbook craze wants to go, said to be planning its own push into the biggest of big-box retailers. If this report is correct, expect to be able to pick up a little Eee with your groceries (and shame) sometime in the latter half of this year.
Modder crafts homemade 12-cell battery for Eee, doubles stock battery life, grows unsightly hump
Remember the Eee 901 "hammerhead edition," the extra-wide monstrosity that offered 10 cells of goodness in one less than aesthetic package? Welcome to that accessory's homebrew cousin, the creation of a modder by the name of TenaciousDre who stole eight batteries from an old laptop and wired them up to the existing four-cell battery, creating a 12-cell shrink-wrapped bulge to protrude less than majestically from the back of his Eee. The good news is 12 to 15 hours of life with the laptop set on its most frugal settings; the bad news is a 12 hour re-charge time and a useless battery gauge that reads zero percent despite eight hours of juice remaining. We have seen uglier examples of excess in the computing world before, but would probably rather carry around a second (and third) battery than have to explain this tumor to every passer-by at Starbucks. [Via Portable Monkey]
Asus's Eee PC 1000HE pulls the shift key in from right field
Eee's 1000H is generally held to be one of the more complete netbook packages out there, but the placement of the right shift key to the starboard side of the up arrow drives many a touch-typist bonkers. Welcome, then, to the 1000HE, or "extended." It features a chiclet-style keyboard that slightly increases the size of each key, but more importantly has a slightly revised layout, moving that shift key to the left. New too is a six-cell pack full of 2.9 amp batteries (versus 2.7 amps in the 1000H), said to add another hour to the Eee's life, up to a total of 8.7 according to Asus. Finally, the company announced an "HAE" model that sports lacks 802.11n, Bluetooth, and presumably a higher lower price tag. No word on what that price will be on either model, though, or when you might be able to get your fingertips on them.Update: Whoops, fopkins commented to point out that the HAE actually is the one without Bluetooth and 802.11n, making it the cheaper of the pair.
Aeeeris kit turns Eee into UMPC, is later killed by Seeephiroth
Eee-branded tablets and UMPCs may be coming, but if you want one right now your only option is to do it yourself. You could go the duct tape DIY route, but those looking for a more aesthetically pleasing path should instead think about ordering up an Aeeeris conversion kit. It's basically a $60 reverse-facing replacement bezel for a 700-series netbook, providing indentations for the touch-screen LCD, its controller, and a pair of speakers (all sold separately). Supposedly the conversion is a "breeze," but after watching installation vids we're not so sure we'd agree with that -- nor the marketing spiel on the site that labels this as a low-cost solution for small businesses. Still, if you're looking for a tablet on the cheap, missed out on the $600 tx2500z last month, and don't have any qualms about dissecting your Eee, hit up the read link and order today.
Russian Eee PC 901 looks good in skin-tight leather
We were all ready to whip out utilize a series of stereotypical cultural allusions when we saw pictures of a leather-clad Eee PC 901 show up on a German site -- only to have our hopes dashed when it turned out to actually be a Russian laptop under there. So, this entry will be entirely free of references to bondage and guys named Dieter, focusing only on what looks to be a very tastefully modified netbook. Nikussan at the Eee-PC.ru forums is responsible for this project, dubbed "Operation Anti-Gloss" (that's "O????????? ????????????" if you dig Cyrillic). He indicated that stretching and gluing this skin on the device wasn't too difficult, the only real issue being the fine trimming required to get it to latch. The finish is perhaps not quite as seamless as Asus's various official leather offerings, but we'd totally rock one at the local S&M club Starbucks.[Via Eee PC News]
Fido-Dido touchscreen installed in Eee PC 900 complete with video
It seems adding a touchscreen to the Eee PC 900 is all the rage these days, and one lucky modder installed the Fido-Dido version with what look to be woot-worthy results. He notes that there's no additional bulge, and a test video shows that the new screen is as responsive as one could hope. If you're the owner of a Eee PC 900 and want to get your hands or stylus on your screen (or you're just a curious little bugger), check the glorious video of the Fido-Dido in action after the break.
Laptop battery shortage should end by Q3
After a fire at LG Chem, li-on batteries have been hard to come by for companies like Asus and Quanta. But fear not, laptop lovers, because it looks like the battery plant is getting things back in order. According to Sung Fu-hsang at Simplo -- a battery manufacturer that relies on LG Chem -- the li-on supply will return to normal by Q3 2008. So how bad is the current shortage? Asus CEO Jerry Shen noted that his company could have sold a lot more than 5 million Eee PCs were it not for the problem.
OS X on an Asus Eee PC
Okay let me start by saying that we at TUAW don't actually condone this hack, because it does clearly break some licensing restrictions, but dang it's pretty cool nonetheless. The interwebs have been abuzz the last couple of weeks about the Asus Eee PC. It's a tiny 2lb Linux-based sub-notebook with a 7" screen and 4GB of solid state storage. The initial reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, especially considering its relatively modest price tag ($399). Now Dan over at UNEASYsilence writes in to tell us that he's successfully installed OS X on the Eee PC.He apparently initially installed Leopard, but given the rather modest hardware of the Eee PC (900 MHz Celeron, 512MB ram) he ended up downgrading to Tiger. Nonetheless, he reports it "seems rock solid on my eeePC." As I said above, this involves some serious hacking of dubious legality (e.g. even if you own a Tiger license, Apple does not allow you install it on a PC). Nonetheless, I think this is a very cool hack, and I can't but admit I'd be tempted myself.
