Official: Eee PC range to expand
Ultimate and Pro Fashion ranges added
Asus has designed a new range of Eee PCs designed to capture the hearts of a wider range of miniature PC lovers, the company has confirmed.
According to a report by Digitimes, Jerry Shen, president of Asus, has said that Ultimate and Pro Fashion ranges of the PC are in devlopment. The current range – Smart Casual – holds 11 Eee models differentiated mainly by their storage and processor options.
According to an Asus Eee roadmap image that appeared online earlier this week, the Pro Fashion category will contain the 1000HV, 1002SA, 1002HA, and T101. The Ultimate category will contain the S101 and S91 Eee PCs. But none of this information was confirmed by Shen.
Very little is known about the specifications of any of the new models yet. However, Shen confirmed to Digitimes that models in the two new categories will features dual-core Atom processors and either a 120GB HDD or a 32GB SSD.
For example, one 32GB SSD model will feature a 10.1in display and have a battery life of between four and five hours. It’s expected to ship in September for roughly $700 to $900 (£450/€575) and will be Asus’ high-end model.
Asus has set itself a target of shipping between 1.5 and 1.6m Eee PCs in the third quarter, meaning it will have sold roughly 5m units worldwide within one year.
COMMENTS
I bought a 701 when they first came out...
...It was a nice little thing, I got Java and NetBeans running on it, and it was what I needed for portable use. But the batteries only lasted 2 hours! I ended up buying a couple of Black and Decker portable power supplies for it (under 30 bucks each, providing AC for up to five hours each on a charge, although the EEE draws so much current they tend to shut down after five minutes to cool -- I've got to look into that).
If it had been any more than $299, I wouldn't have bought it.
What I'd like to see is a $500 laptop that runs Linux, has realistic specs, and lasts eight hours on a charge. Give me THAT, and I'll buy. More than one, probably.
Listen
In case Asus are a bit hard of hearing, let me shout to remind them why the 701 was so sucessful:-
TWO HUNDRED QUID
EEE is now out of date as a dirt cheap laptop
I see that there is a new small and cheap laptop on sale. It is on alibaba.com produced by CARAPELLI LTD called the NPX-9000. It costs £65 each (unfortunately that is for a minimum quantity of 100). Hopefully it should hit the streets at about £80 (my guess). Admittedly, it is a bit weak on its spec. It has a 400Mhz processor, has 1GB flash memory (OK, you will need to put a decent SD card in the slot) and 128MB SDRAM and a 7" screen and Linux OS. It might be low spec but hey it will do the job for the same price as filling up your car for goodness sake!
well most tech don't buy computers on brand
but customers do.
See, imagine you are buying something in a field you are not involved in, say a TV or car. Brand means something to you.
Day in day out fixing or selling of TVs or cars, I bet brand means very little, and other nuances appear.
So, whilst we will be looking at the specs and price ratio, others will just snap them up as they found their little Eee quite an extraordinary gadget.
And even with the price hike, they are on the radar for tech buys, but of course the initial success was the low price and the linux os.
For those not buying, buy adverse folks well, who cares it is not as if you would buy anything, I think you prefer the idea of buying than actual buying :), it is simple find the one you like, wait for the initial hubb bubb to die down and purchase one. There is always something better in the future but that is the nature of tech.
Sticking with my N800
and OS2007, none of this OS2008/Diablo broken shite.
It Just Works for me, fits in a pocket, and I can write Python scripts using GTK in a heartbeat. If I wanted to up to the N810 I'd get a built-in keyboard & a screen readable in full daylight, for still less than 1/2 the Eee. If I want a NICE keyboard, I whip out my Apple Wireless Keyboard, which had zero problems pairing in Bluetooth.
It's a compact, powerful AND inexpensive PC.
