EeePc
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Asus Eee PC priced: $299 to $399
Yeah, we hear your moans and feel your pain: $299 for an Eee PC with 2GB SSD, 256MB RAM, Linux (presumably), and no camera. It's certainly not our (admittedly too-hopeful) expectation following the June announcement. If you're still with us, the fully-spec'd 8GB model with 1GB of memory, camera, and 3.5-hour battery will sell for $399 when Best Buy and NewEgg receive their stock at the end of the month. Well, there's always Eee PC version 2.
Hands-on with Eee PC
Our Engadget Chinese brethren were at the official Eee PC launch event this morning. As such, they've pulled together plenty of pictures and video of an actual production unit. It's all waiting for you just over at the read link.
ASUS Eee PC models announced
They're here, the Eee PC from ASUS, just announced in four ultra-portable flavors. Models offer between 8GB and 2GB of solid state disk capacity, 1GB to 256MB of DDR2 memory, and 3.5-hour or 2.8-hour batteries. Each sports an Intel CPU and chipset supporting Linux or XP, a 7-inch display, and Ethernet and WiFi. A video camera is only available in the 8GB and 4GB models. What's missing? The fracking price that's what. No worries, we expect the information to arrive courtesy of NewEgg and Best Buy over the next few hours if not minutes. In the meantime, see the model breakdown after the break.[Via I4U]
ASUS Eee PC ships this month: $199, but not for you
Jonathan Tsang, ASUS president of Sales and Marketing, announced a, uh, announcement this morning. On October 16th, they'll announce the prices for their anticipated low-cost, ultra-portable laptop, the Eee PC. He did, however, offer some meat with that small potato: Best Buy and Newegg will carry unspecified configurations by the end of this month with prices not to be below $199. The $199 model? Sorry, it's only available for contract purchases.
Asus' Eee PC up for pre-order... again
If you'll recall, Asus' Eee PC first went up for pre-order at NCIXUS just under a month ago, and merely days after the wee machine was exposed courtesy of a Russian review, here it is again on yet another e-tailer's website. The Eee PC 701 is holding down the high-end with 4GB of built-in storage and a $399.99 pricetag, while two versions of the Eee PC 700 are available at $259.99 and $299.99 price points. Interestingly, the website requires a $150 "non-refundable deposit" up front, and promises to only charge the balance once your laptop ships "in early October." Personally, we still wouldn't be so quick to put up a down payment just yet, but for the brave (and unfathomably impatient) ones out there, hit the read link to place your (pre)-order.[Via Laptoping]
Asus' Eee PC 701 exposed in Russian review
Well, would you take a look at this. Turns out, 3DNews somehow managed to get their palms around (and within) Asus' Eee PC 701 for a hands-on review. Granted, a heap of the writeup was a bit hard to grasp without understanding Russian (or being a master in deciphering broken translations), but we were able to notice that their sample unit boasted a 900MHz ULV Intel Celeron M processor, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a seven-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, Ethernet, a 56k modem, and 802.11b/g. Additionally, the wee machine was even put through a series of benchmarks, so if you're interested in digging through an early review (or just want to brush up on your Russian), head on over to the read link -- but for those just yearning for a few more pics, they're posted after the break.
Asus' 2nd generation Eee PC already planned for April, 2008
It's all a bit silly at this point, but ASUS says that they'll be introducing their 2nd generation Eee PC in April 2008. Right, even though their first generation Eee PC has yet to launch. The new Eee PCc (hey, why not?) will sport Intel's Merom-class processor and other improvements that would allow it to lower power consumption from 11W to 7W while potentially allowing Asus to eliminate the fan entirely. Silent-running with longer battery in a $200ish ultra-portable? Yeah, you've got our attention.
E-tailer offering up Asus' Eee PC for pre-ordering
We'll be straight with you: we wouldn't send a dime to this place just yet, but a strange e-tailer appears to be offering up three different Eee PC models for pre-order, with availability showing "1 to 2 weeks." A little digging has revealed that this webstore opened up shop this May, is registered to a Canadian address, and has very few reviews (positive or negative) from shoppers across the web. Of course, all signs thus far are pointing to shady, but the price points listed are actually right in line with rumors we heard just days ago. Ah well, hopefully this means that Asus' wee PC is headed our way sooner rather than later, but we'd certainly wait it out just a bit longer before taking the bait.[Thanks, Mike]UPDATE: Thanks to a few Canucks tuning in, we've learned that the master site -- NCIX.com -- is actually a "very reputable retailer in Canada." Fine by us, maybe this sign is more legitimate than previously assumed.
Asus Eee PC pricing and release dates loosed: less flash for more money?
Take it for what you will, but a forum jockey over at Eeeuser claims to be up on the hubbub regarding the release details of the Eee PC for the US. According to the poster's "high ranking manager" source within ASUS North America, three models of the Eee PC will ship. Of these, two will ship to the US in late September: a $269-$299 model with 7-inch display, 2GB of storage (4GB was the previously stated minimum), 4- or 6-cell battery, 512MB or memory and built-in WiFi; and a $369-399 model which bumps the storage to 4GB. Both models will be available in black or white with those 4- and 6-cell batteries delivering up to 4- and 5-hours of runtime, respectively. Unfortunately, that hotly anticipated $200 model will not be making its way into the North American market. So while it looks like we'll be getting less flash for more money, none of this is official until ASUS says it's so, ok?[Thanks, Ken]
Asus' Eee PC possibly delayed
Granted, nothing was set in stone in regard to the Eee PC's release date, but those hoping to snag one before heading off to college may be out of luck. According to a user who inquired to Asus about the launch status of the diminutive machine here in the US, he was informed that current estimates show the device "hitting the market in mid-September to early-October." Unfortunately, the response also included the wee fact that specifications aren't yet "100-percent firm," and considering that the aforementioned dates are mere months away, that kind of uncertainty isn't exactly comforting.[Via Eee User, thanks Devon]
Asus' new Eee PC 701 joins the laptop-lite fray with a bang
Asus and Intel seem to be bridging the gap between the fairly humanitarian efforts of the OLPC project and their own Classmate PC efforts, and the recent rash of mini-laptop attempts such as Palm's Foleo and VIA's NanoBook. Specs and launch plans aren't entirely nailed down, but this new Eee PC line has quite a bit going for it, even as crowded as this market is getting. The 7-inch ultraportable is based on an unnamed Intel chipset, and runs regular Windows XP or Linux without a problem, but really shines in its "easy" mode that strips things down to a barebones OS mainly for internet browsing (sound familiar, Foleo?). Asus didn't even leave Palm alone with its Wii comparisons either, stating that the Eee name, which stands for "easy to learn, easy to play, easy to work," also conveniently conjures images of the Wii game console, which is known for being novice-friendly. The Eee line will kick things off with the Eee PC 701, which will sport 802.11b/g WiFi, Ethernet and a modem for connectivity, along with a webcam, 512MB of RAM and a 4, 8 or 16GB flash drive for speedy, reliable storage. The real kicker is that prices for the 2 pound laptop are supposed to start as low as $200, and the Intel / Asus duo won't be aiming this at massive governmental purchases, but instead will be offering it to consumers through traditional retail channels.[Via HardwareZone]
