Atom-based Eee PC to hit UK in June
Why buy a 900 now?
Asus will release an Atom-based version of its Eee PC early in June, a number of company executives have said.
The company's recently launched second-generation Eee, the 900, uses the same Celeron processor as its predecessor, albeit running at a higher, 900MHz clock speed. It's believed Asus stuck with the Celeron partly for cost reasons but mostly to allow it to ship the Small, Cheap Computer™ ahead of a raft of Eee rivals all based on the new Intel CPU.
Intel formally unveiled Atom earlier this month. The version launched is codenamed 'Silverthorne', and was developed for handheld devices. A more laptop-centric version, codenamed 'Diamondville', is due in June.
Asus Eee PC and friend: should she wait for Atom?
Asus executives said the Atom-based Eee should show a longer battery life, thanks to the new, more energy efficient CPU. It should experience a performance boost, thanks to Atoms ability to handle two processing threads simultaneously. The Celeron M can only process one.
The Atom-based Eee is expected to hit the UK by the end of June, an Asus spokeswoman said. That's just a couple of months after the arrival of the 900, which may now prove less popular as punters wait instead for the more advanced model.
Asus hasn't said anything else about the Atom-based Eee's other specifications, but it has said in the past it will offer an Eee with integrated 3G and/or WiMax. The new model has to be the most likely candidate for these enhancements.
COMMENTS
I can't complain about EEE-woman anymore!
Ok, so slightly off-topic, but since I went and bought not one but two of the lovely little EEEs I can't complain about EEE-woman anymore.
Two? Well my darling fiance wanted a pink one for work (web designer and all-round g33k) and I didn't think it was fair she should have all the fun, so I got a white one for me to play with.
Cute little things, they are terrific fun; Linux or XP, some brave bods jam Vista into them, someone even got OSX running on it - I predict the EEEpc (especially the cheap/cheerful Mk1s) will become the C64 of the next couple of years.
Hmmm, think I'll try Vice for Linux on mine tonight...
Nice
So nice to see she is back.
Perhaps we tend to forget each particular Eee PC , will fill it's own niche and the clones from Dell/HP all tend to have a larger screen much the same size as in the light weight very portable Toshiba Portege 3XXX P2/P3 powered series sold at the end of last century .
Although the last units did have an excellent idea of an additional clip on flat second larger battery pack which almost tripled it's portable on time away from the nearest power point (perhaps if ASUS incorporated that flat second battery pack idea in the Atom model option list it would blow away the opposition and leave them in the dust too ).
Interestingly , what intrigues me that is some older last century designs from Toshiba , have now been reborn again in the last half of the first decade in the new century !
Now , if the either the seven or nine inch Eee PC had a factory fitted touch screen and a long life clip on second flat battery pack integrated , who indeed would not want one and leave the larger heavier power hungry short life units at work or home ?
Love the fire breathing El Reg bird , any one for toast ?
integrated 3G
how easy is it to get a standard issue mobile phone company 3G USB adapter working with the Eee? if this is simple I'm not sure I'd bother waiting till the end of june for (possibly) integrated 3G (when the end of august model will be announced anyway...)
@Ashley
I have to agree, Asus can only hurt sales with these constant announcements. Right now, the Eee is in such short supply that they *can* sell all they make, but that will change as they ramp up production and competitors appear.
The Apple approach of 'no comment' until new models appear is better for the bottom line. They can sell old model machines right until the new ones roll off the production lines *AND* surprise customers *AND* reap the free publicity.
TV EEE
I agree that would sell like crazy, but as a non-TV owner I wouldn't want one. The idea of the 1Tb USB drive attached sounds familiar (that's my plan for the desktop EEEs I'm going to buy).
The only reason set-top-box type machines died out is that they were way too limited the first time around. The EEE is a much more comfortable compromise.
