Asus Eee PC Available ... In Less Than A Month

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After months of anticipation and intense consumer interest, Asus announced yesterday that their low-priced Eee PC ultra-portable notebook will be available for purchase in the United States &quot;within a few weeks.&quot;

Asus isn't providing specific release dates at this time, but their official press release does mention the Eee PC will be available for purchase at Best Buy and New Egg in two configuratons. The Asus &quot;Eee PC 2G Surf&quot; comes with 256MB of RAM and a 2GB Solid State Disk Drive (SSD), but the built-in web camera has been removed in order to bring the cost down to $299. The Asus &quot;Eee PC 8G&quot; is pre-configured with 1GB of RAM, an 8GB SSD, and webcam for $399.

Of course, the $299 and $399 retail prices for the Eee PC will likely come as a shock to some consumers who were hoping to purchase an Eee PC for the originally publicized price of $199.

Asus is also offering the &quot;Eee PC 4G&quot; with 512MB of RAM and a 4GB SSD, but early indications are that only the 2G and 8G versions will be available at New Egg and Best Buy during the initial product launch. Additional specifications (though limited) are listed below:

Specifications:

Model Name Eee PC 8G Eee PC 4G Eee PC 4G Surf Eee PC 2G Surf Display 7" 7" 7" 7" Intel CPU & Chipset V V V V Operating System Linux installed, Windows XP compatible Linux installed, Windows XP compatible Linux installed, Windows XP compatible Linux installed, Windows XPcompatible Ethernet Communication V V V V WLAN V V V V Memory 1GB (DDR2) 512 MB (DDR2) 512 MB (DDR2) 256 MB (DDR2) S.S.D. Storage (Solid-State Disk) 8GB 4GB 4GB 2GB   Camera V V - - Audio Hi-Definition audio Stereo speaker Microphone Hi-Definition audio Stereo speaker Microphone Hi-Definition audio Stereo speaker Microphone Hi-Definition audio Stereo speaker Microphone Battery 4 Cells: 5200 mAh, 3.5hrs* 4 Cells: 5200 mAh, 3.5hrs* 4 Cells: 4400 mAh,2.8hrs* 4 Cells: 4400 mAh,2.8hrs* Weight 0.92 kg 0.92 kg 0.92 kg 0.92 kg * Specificatioin changes are subject to different models * Actual battery life will depend on actual operations and other settings. * Product contains software under GPL license agreement

More information on the Eee PC is available on the Asus website.

 

Related Articles:

• Hands on with the Asus Eee PC

 

Riddle me this, if you had $399 to spend and you could buy this or a low end Windows notebook, what would you get? If I truly just wanted a laptop for office use or web surfing, I'd go with a craptacular $399 Gateway or Acer over this. I'm still interested in seeing this device though, just wish they hit the $199 price point they promised.

 

Well... This does offer extreme portability without the high end price tag of UMPCs.

I assume this will appeal more to people who want full-fledged computer (sort of) and portability.

 

That's a pretty low battery life for such a large battery... What is it with Asus these day?

 

I'm really hoping we'll see some 'kit' mods that can be bought for relatively cheap to upgrade these things. 10" screens, LED backlighting, better cpu? (that one would be tough), etc.

 

Far too expensive for whats inside. The SSD is even with 8Gb laughable...at this price definitely. At todays file sizes (i.e. pictures, films) anything smaller than 20Gb is definitely too small.

My advice to ASUS: put a normal HDD and a 12" screen in it and sell the whole thing at 199€, now that would be a cool ultraportable for a reasonable price.

By the way the $299 variant is not much more powerful than a smartphone...or a normal phone with some better features, and you get that for about 10€ if you sign a 2 year contract.

 

It's a novel concept, I think just cut a few too many corners. I would have gladly paid a few extra bucks for a 10" screen, more power efficient/faster CPU and at a MINIMUM 2 SD slots. I understand it's not targeted at enthusiasts, but the extra $50 would have gone a long way.

 

And that's with a 900 MHz Celeron M that is BIOS-locked to always run at the power-saving 630MHz.

I think it makes some sense in Asia (lots of positive user feedback already out there in Taiwan where it had been released) or places where size does matter -- try use your 15" laptop on a rush-hour metro .

 

It is also quite nice for college student. Even a 5,2lbs (2kg) laptop is heavy when your bag has 12lbs of books.

 

For all this complaining about price, I think its pretty good. You all know that the 8GB SSD drives are selling for about $150? Thats half the price or so right there. Also, you have to keep in mind that as the size goes down, it gets more expensive to make. Asus was too ambitious with their pricing, but all this talk of modding and things like that, its completely backwards to the point of the EEE. The point isn't to be a gaming PC or run photoshop, its to be small and lightweight, yet usable.

 

Well, we haven't had the chance to open up the Eee PC to take a look at the insides (yet) but rumors are that Asus isn't using "true" SSDs on the Eee PCs ... that it's actually just RAM that has been soldered to the motherboard (sort of like dedicated RAM on a video card). If that is the case then you can't use SSD costs as an excuse for the price.

That said, I agree that people are complaining a bit too much about the price ... but the folks at Asus shot themselves in the foot by telling consumers it was only going to cost $199 back when they made the original announcement over the summer.

 

qft!

you can't get anything this size for that price. Anything that's a 2lber is about $2k (sony TX series...)

 

Disappointed with Asus getting our hopes up of a $200 EEE a few months ago. I won't be purchasing an EEE now at $300 and 2gb space (much less than that actually with the OS)

 

Aren't all SSD's really just "flash memory" anyway?

But it's true, Asus did not actually stick a SSD "hard drive" in, they just solder the little chips on the motherboard, so you can't expand the "hard drive" yourself -- then again I have already seen some one stick an USB SD reader with a 4G SD card inside the Eee-PC (lots of tearing things apart and soldering involved).

 

If you think about it, they probably did that on purpose to not let people install their own harddrives...

 

It might not be removable, but that still just goes to show that there is a decent chunk of money in the hard drive. Either way, people that are complaining about the price should just buy an alternative....oh, wait...(you know what I'm gonna say, but I will make you say it to yourself)

 

I'm guessing the answe is "THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE". DO I get a cookie?

 

Why sure - just come on over sometime and I will be sure to have one for you (I will keep it in my pocket until you get here).

 

Well, maybe I will.

I wonder when the EEE comes to sweden...

 

But is the Gateway or Acer 7"? Some would want a notebook as portable as this.

 

Well if You can use a best buy rewards coupon then you could get 36 off which makes it a little better.

I may get one just to play with. Also as far as space goes I have plenty of flash drives with over a gig that can store all my media.

Not a power house, but for the size this thing is a pretty good deal.

The $100 upgrade to 400 also isn't that bad.

I am curious to see how well this performs with video playback, and whether or not you can do any sort of multi tasking.

 

hmm, my two cents personaly I think it would be great to offer a model with no hard drive
(would just run a portable os from a usb pen (4gb you can get for well under $40))
although a battery-less version with no hard drive would suit me great.
something to carry around, plug in and email / im
its still 400mhz faster and has 64mb more ram than my current cheapo laptop
(incidentally that only has a 6gb hdd)

 

Right. Considering the inevitable markup it'll have in the UK you may as well buy a "craptacular" Acer for £299 and get a full size screen, optical drive, bigger hard disk etc. etc.

 

But you'd need to add quite a bit for the closest subnotebook. Which is why this is so attractive. I don't see it for those that just want a cheap notebook for home. It's more for those that want a really small notebook, but can't afford a Sony TX.

 

I totally agree. all this stuff about a more pwoerful processor and larger HDD is bollocks. Next, the gamers will complaining about about how they can't run crysis on it

 

If you read the post, I said that because of the inevitable higher prices in the UK as compared to the USA it's likely that the Eee PC will be in the same price range as the cheapest traditional laptop computers (around £300) and as such is giving itself unecessary competition. Prospective users might be drawn away from the Eee PC because they can buy a more powerful laptop with a larger screen and more storage space and an optical drive (for watching DVDs and burning etc.) and a familiar operating system for the same money. These laptops are based around the same market, basic computing like browsing, IM, office and email etc. on a budget. For the Eee PC to sell here in the UK it needs to come in under £250 for basic versions and maybe £300-350 for the ones with better spec and/or a larger screen.

Given that it will cost the equivalent of £200 in the USA and the current price differences between the UK and US market it seems unlikely that even the basic Eee PCs will come in much under £300 and therefore this great little concept has very little to offer given the competition. People who want a small PC and are ok with the OS are going to be few and far between on the general market so the only big advantage is price, which based on the prices Asus has given seems like it will now be no advantage at all compared to competitors. In my opinion Asus should have the SSD drive as an option and also offer a version with a small 4200rpm conventional hard disk, reducing the cost to manufacturer and buyer and hence giving a significant price saving of the eePC over conventional laptops. As it is, I can't see it doing very well in either market, especially the UK.

Dell can sell you a Vostro 1100 with a dual core cpu, larger hard disk, ATi IGP capable of some mild gaming, an optical drive and more ram for the same price. I know which one I would rather have.

So, it's not "bollocks" at all.

How many conventional users (not NBR people or computer geeks) do you know who own an ultraportable? I know many people with laptops who considered to be 'general public' users with a basic want for computing services without worrying too much about performance and in depth knowlege of the machine. Of those I know in this large public sector only one (my dad) has an ultraportable PC, which he uses for work as he travels a lot. How many consumer UPs are there? Pretty much none. Most are designed for business for people like my dad who need powerful yet light laptops for travel. Even professionals I know do not have them when they do not need them for travel because of the size limitations such as resolution (most people find large res on a 12" uncomfortable) power, inclusion of an optical drive etc.

I believe as there seem to be very few consumer oriented UPs that there isn't much of a market for them. Out of the people I do know with UPs (UP is 12 or 12.1" or smaller, 13.3" doesn't count) even if they are pc geeks or in business all of them were designed as business machines.

I can't see a huge market for the Eee PC especially at these dissapointing prices.

 

It will still be smaller and while for some that's a negative compared to the cheap acers, it will be a positive for many others. The pricing situation here is very much the same as in the uk (i.e. it's quite a bit more expensive than the US), but for people who want a really small notebook, but can't afford one, this will be a boon. Compare the portabilty of a 7", sub-1kg notebook to a 3kg 15,4". And then add that the cheapest competitor is likely gonna be $1500 more and will be larger...

 

True, but I don't think the market for that group of users is gonna be that big. Asus could create a bigger market for themselves with a few changes.

 

Market it for college kids. I know that several of my friends went O.O over this. It's cheap, small, light and perfect for what they want/need.

 

I can see a market there, but does it have the flexibility for "College kids"? The lack of an optical drive could be a major issue there as in my experience they are often used for playing DVDs in these cases. For work only, I agree, there is a market there. However there might be incompatibility problems with mainstream (MS) software uised by the education establishment in question.

 

It allows them to actually get another system without having to compromise, like wanting a 17", but not getting it because of portability/batterylife. Then they don't have to pay the extra money on one 17" that's light and and got the batterylife needed. Or they can get a desktop if they like.

And about the DVD-player.: I have a friend considering Asus U3 (no optical drive) because of it's lightness and portabilty. He doesn't want to game, he just wants someting portable. And these days, people are moving away from DVD's more and more.

 

Ive stopped bringing my 15" notebook to classes cause a 2 hour commute is really bad considering all the books I need to bring. Something like the Eee does interest me for 4 main points:

-fairly inexpensive
-small and light
-decent battery life(3 hour lectures so its good for me)
-limited procrastination functions(self explainatory)

While the ram is a bit low, ive heard of limited upgrading capabilities in that area. The HD space may seem low but 2gb is alot of essays, assignments and such. Theres a cars reader for a potential 8gb or 16gb SDHC, as well as a USB drive or two.

I'm gonna pick one up, i'llsee how it works

 

I'll still import one of the high end models. Ubuntu mobile looks like it'll be the perfect companion for it and my Nokia N95.

 

I have a couple friends here in Indonesia who are interested in it. One is a father who wants it for his 8 year old son and a friend who just thinks it's nice. Shame I can't have it shipped here, customs is a nightmare in this country.