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ASUS 15.6-inch Eee Top all-in-one now shipping
Good news, pre-orderers. ASUS' 15.6-inch Eee Top all-in-one PC is now shipping from legitimate e-tailers around the web. Just in case you've forgotten just under six bills buys you a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and Windows XP Home. In other words, netbook components tucked within an LCD. Of course, we'd recommend holding off for the much larger, much more HD-friendly ET2203 and ET2003, but it's your loot.[Thanks, Jamil] Read - On sale at NewEggRead - On sale at Amazon
ASUS announces Eee PC E1004DN with optical drive, 1008HA gets a release date
In a bombshell of moderate proportions, the gang at DigiTimes have reported that ASUS will be following Mouse Computer's lead (when was the last time you heard that?), and have announced the first Eee PC equipped with an optical drive, the E1004DN. This bad boy sports an Intel Atom N280 CPU, a 120GB HDD, and will be in the ballpark of NT $18,000 - 20,000 (roughly $531 - $590). It should see the light of day sometime in mid-April. The same source reports that the Eee PC 1008HA will be getting its release in May. Out of curiosity, we asked @billyjoel for a comment and have yet to receive a response.
ASUS quietly reveals Atom N280-equipped Eee PC 1002H
Till now, the only N280-packin' Eee PC of any stature was the amazingly long-lasting 1000HE. Thankfully for everyone who appreciates minute improvements in speed, ASUS has just pushed out another with the mildly quicker chip: the Eee PC 1002H. Not the 1002HA, mind you -- just the 1002H. Outside of the new CPU, however, most everything remains exactly the same from the 'HA' edition, including a 10-inch LED-backlit WSVGA display, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 160GB hard drive, 1.3 megapixel webcam, inbuilt stereo speakers, a multicard reader, VGA out, three USB 2.0 sockets and audio in / out jacks. There's no mention of a price or release date, but it should arrive in Pearl White, Pink and Black whenever launch day comes.[Via Eee PC-Blog]
ASUS promises voice-controlled Eee products by end of the year
For a company that gets so much (deserved) guff for endless, boring product iterations, ASUS also manages to sneak in a good amount of crazy functionality -- some of it more gimmicky than others. ASUS has been doing multitouch trackpads since before they were hip, is toying with dual touchscreens and is even crazy enough to build the Fold / Unfold computer. Next up for the firm is voice control, with a whole team dedicated to voice recognition, and plans to ship Eee PC and Eee Top products by Q3 or Q4 of this year. According to ASUS CEO Jerry Shen they're working with third parties in this effort, so we're guessing they're not going to reinvent the voice recognition wheel. Still, it's a promising development for a line of computers that seem to suffer most when it comes to input methods -- we'll wait and see how well they pull it off.
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA reportedly priced at 359
We're not totally sure we believe this just yet, but Notebook Choice has it that ASUS' Eee PC 1008HA -- which we got up close and personal with at CeBIT -- will begin shipping out across the pond next month. Reportedly, the base price will hover around £359 ($518), but again, we're not completely getting our hearts set on that 'til we hear something from the mouth of ASUS (or a legitimate distributor). Honestly though, that price sounds about right; as beautiful as it is, we were pretty underwhelmed by its very netbook-like performance during our brief time with it.[Via Electricpig]
Buffalo's external 32GB and 64GB SSDs can swap insides with your Eee PC's original drive
Sure, you could look at it as crass commercialism, but we choose to see the softer, gentler side of Buffalo in this act of kindness: buy a new SSD upgrade for your ASUS Eee PC 901-16G and Buffalo will toss in a free chassis to hold your existing 16GB drive. The 32GB and 64GB drives will run you $129 and $228, respectively, and actually ship inside the external drive -- you don't have to swap SSDs if you don't want to, but we like the option. We would, anyways, if we lived in Japan.[Via PortableMonkey]
HDMI-equipped ASUS Eee Box 206 eyes-on
A number of you bemoaned the fact that MSI's WindBOX lacked an oh-so-necessary HDMI port, so maybe the better option for you is an LCD mounted Eee Box 206. Yep, the HD-minded mini PC was set up here in Hannover, with one of the units hosted up nicely on the rear of a flat-panel monitor. The fit was flush and the connections were easily accessible, so those looking for a nice, if not underpowered media center should definitely give this one a glance. Speaking of glances, you do cast some right now in the gallery below.%Gallery-46966%
Video: Eee Dock app launcher demoed on Eee PC 1008HA
While we've already shown you exactly what ASUS' new Eee PC 1008HA looks like, we stopped by again today to take a peek at a less obvious new addition. The Eee Dock app launcher is making its debut on this here netbook, giving users an easy way to access a few common areas from a pull-out dock that can be positioned on the top, bottom or left / right sides. While we assume the 1008HA we toyed with had been on for days sans a reboot, the Eee Dock was a touch sluggish, though it did seem to get the job done if you weren't expecting lighting fast reactions. Our biggest knock was the inability to customize what apps and locations could pop out from the main menu, though we're cautiously hoping ASUS adds that ability in the future. Hit play above to have a look, or feel free to browse the stills below if that's more your style.
ASUS phasing out 7-inch Eee PC, original Eee motto, keeping 9-incher
Given the furious pace of Eee PC updates and the industry's general standardization around nine- and 10-inch netbooks, it's not exactly shocking news that ASUS is phasing out seven-inch Eees, but it's still sad to see the original of the species shuffle off this mortal coil. According to ASUS CEO Jonny Shih, the company is going to be focusing on 10-inch models like the new Eee 1008HA, and although the company previously said the 8.9-inchers were due to axed as well, Shih says they're not going anywhere due to demand from telecom providers and emerging markets. Oh, and the company is also changing the meaning of the Eee acronym from the original "easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play" to "easy, excellent, exciting." Honestly? This changes everything.[Via PC World]
ASUS: Our Eee PC 1000He is better than Acer's Aspire One D150, fashion elegant too
When you're number two, you've always got a humble eye and a gun pointed at number one. Just look at Apple and those "Get a Mac" ads. Now in true Pepsi-challenge fashion, ASUS is trying to convince consumers that its Eee PC 1000He is vastly superior to Acer -- the number one seller of netbooks -- and its Aspire One D150. On the surface, the two laptops appear to be identical in that they share the same N280 processor, 10-inch display, and 1GB of DDR2 memory. Of course, same specs result in an equivalent application performance as seen in the reviews. But if you look closer (as ASUS hopes), you'll see that the 1000He features a larger keyboard and touchpad, faster 802.11n WiFi, and more robust 8,700mAH battery and power management compared to the 5,800mAH jobbie found on the Aspire One. ASUS takes the comparisons much deeper though, right on down to the size of the power bricks to prove its point. Ok ASUS, you win... too bad better products don't always translate to market dominance. P.S. Picture of the competing transformers after the break because we know you're wondering.
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA hands-on
While we initially assumed that ASUS' Lamborghini VX5 would be its sexiest laptop at CeBIT, now we're having second thoughts. After taking the wraps off of its downright stunning 10-inch Eee PC 1008HA yesterday, we spotted the bugger sittin' pretty today at the outfit's booth. Needless to say, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to snag a few snapshots and share 'em all with you. Much like the S101, the so-called "Shell" has very little "Eee" in its blood. In fact, you'd barely know it was part of the family without that descriptive placard sitting there beside it. ASUS engineered this one for fashionistas who'd like a little PC with their next style accessory, and everything from the glorious paint job to the ultra-clean lines screamed "gorgeous." Really, take a look below and see for yourself.%Gallery-46604%
ASUS debuts the Eee PC 1008HA "Shell" 10-inch ultraportable
ASUS has taken the wraps off its latest Eee PC, the 1008HA we heard was on the way to follow up on the S101. As far as anyone can tell -- ASUS is a little coy on specs so far -- the laptop harbors fairly traditional netbook specs and a netbook pricepoint, but the exterior is all new and rather attractive. The computer is 1-inch thick and weighs 2.4 pounds, with a curved, shiny plastic "shell" (ASUS calls it "pearlescent") to give a bit more luster than the average Eee PC. ASUS is including 802.11n, Bluetooth, 3G and WiMAX options, and packing in it Eee Sharing and Eee Arena software. We'll be looking to dig up more specs and some hands-on time with this unit this week at CeBIT.[Via UMPCPortal]%Gallery-46497%
Hands-on with ASUS' Eee Keyboard
Remember that Eee Keyboard that was announced during CES? ASUS did itself proud by bringing a few to CeBIT this year, and we were able to swing by and take a look. The 5-inch, 800 x 480 touchpad was looking mighty fine, and the Atom N270 within seemed plenty powerful. It's a touch hard to believe that ASUS was able to shove a 16GB SSD, 1GB of RAM, WiFi and Bluetooth modules, VGA / HDMI ouputs and a few USB 2.0 ports within a slim, elegant keyboard, but somehow or another it did. Oh, and the actual typing experience wasn't bad from the few moments we spent practicing this here post.%Gallery-46324%
Hands-on with ASUS' galleria of Eee PCs at CeBIT
ASUS broke out a stable of Eee PCs here in Germany, and we were on hand to have a look at all of the freshest ones. The pivoting, swiveling T91 (or T91GO, as it were) courted us most heavily, though we will admit, even our pansy man hands felt like they were going to twist the swivel screen right off. The touchscreen functionality seemed decent enough, but the spongy display left a bit to be desired. The 1000HE was also on display with its purported 9.5 hours of battery life, as was the WWAN-packin' 1003HGO. See for yourself if our word ain't good enough.%Gallery-46315%
ASUS Eee PC 'Shell' ultra-thin netbook launching in April?
Between the Commercial Times and DigiTimes, no secret is safe within ASUS. The former is reporting (via the latter) that ASUS will launch its second generation ultra-thin Eee PC in April as followup to the Eee PC S101. The Eee PC Shell, as it's supposedly called would mark a welcome departure from ASUS' staid alphanumeric naming convention and is said to be easier to carry than the S101 while bringing higher specs and a longer battery life for just NT$17,000 - 20,000 ($486 - $571) -- that's well below the S101's $699 suggested retail price. The name Shell, of course, would seem to imply a curved, clamshell design. Now, with one of ASUS' favorite events, CeBIT, starting next week, we'd expect an announcement to be days away if the rumor is true -- a high probability what with the launch of yesterday's Eee PC firesale and Intel's new CULV processors for ultra-slim laptops prepped for a March launch.
ASUS' Eee PC 901 with 20GB SSD and 6-cell battery now just $268
An Eee PC costing $550 just 8 months ago is now selling for less than half that price from a trio of major on-line retailers. In an apparent across-the-board price cut, several SSD-based EEE PC 901 models have been slashed with your choice of Linux or XP. Most notable is the 8.9-inch netbook configured with a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, 1GB memory, 20GB SSD, Linux, and 6-cell battery. Careful though: the European CeBIT show (an ASUS favorite event) is just days away and with it should come a few new Eee PC models running the latest Intel processors and chipsets. Consider yourselves warned. Hit the read link for the details.
ASUS Eee PC T91 sits down for photo shoot, early critique
Much like the S101, the T91 isn't exactly "Eee PC" material. Sure, it's small and ASUS-branded, but design wise, it's a pretty bold departure. bit-tech was able to sit down and take an early look at the Eee PC T91 convertible tablet, and while the machine is still a few months out from release, it seems that you can curb your enthusiasm in the meanwhile. Critics found the touchpad to be a hair less awesome than those on other Eee PCs, the lack of multitouch to be a real bummer and the uncanny ability of the LCD to attract fingerprints as just plain annoying. Of course, their unit was still subject to alterations, so the crew isn't completely giving up hope that things won't improve by launch day. In fact, it noted that the inclusion of a DVB-T tuner, WWAN support and GPS functionality were very nice touches, but it still maintained that a standard netbook would likely suit you best unless you're just head over heels for touching.
ASUS experimenting with Android-based netbook
We'd already heard that ASUS was at least considering using Android on its Eee PC netbook, and seen it wrangled onto one unofficially (see above), but ASUS's Samson Hu has now offered a few more details that indicate just how serious the company is about the XP/Linux alternative. Apparently, ASUS has already allocated a team of engineers to work on the Android-based netbook, which Hu says could be ready by the end of the year, although the company isn't committing to actually releasing a product until it sees how things pan out. No further word on ASUS's other Android experiments, unfortunately, but it seems safe to bet that ASUS is devoting even more attention to those, at least if its latest timeline is any indication.[Via GadgetMix.com]
ASUS begins shipping ultra-longevous Eee PC 1000HE
ASUS' Eee PC 1000HE, which managed to garner some pretty high praise amongst reviewers, is now shipping out to eager buyers. For those that missed it, this here netbook sports a 1.66GHz Atom N280 and a high-capacity battery that could last up to 9.5 hours under perfectly ideal conditions. And for under $400, how in the world can you complain with that? If you too have received your tracking number, feel free to gloat about it in comments below. Might want to hold the actual digits close to your chest, though -- we hear netbook interceptions are on the rise.[Thanks, Mitchell]
ASUS announces WiMAX-equipped Eee PC 1000HG
Despite the fact that LTE looks to be the de facto standard for next-gen mobile data, ASUS has an unwavering love affair with WiMAX. In fact, we've already seen the company introduce a WiMAX-equipped laptop, and a WiMAX-enabled Eee PC was demoed way back at CES 2008. That said, the company is just now getting around to producing a new one for the adoring public, but for whatever reason, it's not even boasting about it. Tucked deep, deep within a release gloating about the Eee PC 1003HA and T91's ability to handle Windows 7 Beta is the promise of an Eee PC 1000HG. Said netbook will include both WiMAX and WiFi capabilities -- or, more specifically, IEEE 802.16e, WAVE2 and WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n support in the 2.4GHz~2.7GHz and 5.1GHz~5.8GHz bands. Of course, "future" could mean "we'll release this in late 2019," but we're banking on hearing more details sooner rather than later.
