In an effort to push out the remaining 900 Eee PC stock to make room for the new Intel Atom-based 901 Eee PC’s, Asus is offering a $100 rebate in the US to help the sales of the original 9″ model, even though it wasn’t that long ago that it was introduced into the marketplace. With the price drop, the Eee PC 900 20G Surf goes for $449 on amazon, the only major retailer that is currently offering discount. Hopefully other retailers and countries will soon follow suit.
Seems that just about anyone inside of Asus is authorized to discuss the Eee PC’s future plans judging by the barrage of information that appears just before any launch. An unnamed “company representative” says that a 3G version of the Eee PC will be launching as early as September in Europe. An alternative to the WiMax version already annouced and demonstrated on Sprint’s Xohm. The prices for the presumed HSDPA/HSUPA enabled netbook will of course vary depending upon contract.
Asus Eee PC 1000
Straight in at Number 1 is the Asus Eee PC 1000. looking at the feature list you’ll understand why. This could turn out to be the future standard for all netbook manufactures.
Whats Hot:
The Asus Eee PC 1000 series has a larger 10.2 inch screen reportedly running at a scorching 1,024×600 pixels. Its keyboard is much larger than it’s predecessors, it’s 92 per cent the size of a full size laptop keyboard. Inside it’s boasts a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU and up to 2GB of RAM making it most powerful of all netbooks on paper. As you may have guessed from previous trends the 1000 series comes in two versions: the Linux version gets a whopping 40GB solid state drive while the Win XP model named the Eee PC 1000H gets an 80GB mechanical drive. Hi-Def audio and a battery life of approx 7 hours are promised and there’s even rumours that a 3G module will be appearing.
Whats Not Hot:
The 1000 series is slightly larger and a wee bit less portable than the 900 and 700 series. It weighs about a one and a third that of an Eee 900 (1.33KG). The 1000 and 1000H will be more expensive than the 900 and 700 series.
When can I get it?
Estimated for release around Q3 2008.
Asus Eee PC 901
Number 3 is the Asus Eee PC 901. It’s Asus’ attempt to iron out all the problems associated with the 900, and in light of increasing competition attempting to keep the Eee PC brand at the top of the netbook food chain.
Whats Hot.
The 901 gets rid of the ageing 900MHz Intel Pentium M and injects a new shiny 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU and 1GB of RAM. That’s good news since the Atom CPU promises to make the 901 faster and more power efficient than its older counterpart. Asus state the machine on its 6 cell battery should last between 4 and 7 hours. The keyboard’s has improved too, which makes typing easier for chubby fingered users and you also get 802.11n Wi-Fi. There’s even rumour of a WiMax/3G version but nothing in concrete yet.
Whats Not Hot.
The majority of the 901’s other specs are identical to the 900. It still uses an 8.9 inch screen which some users although probably not that many will find a strain on the peepers. As with the 900 the Eee 901 will come in two varieties. 12GB of solid state storage for the Win XP model and 20GB of solid state storage for the Linux version.
When can I get it?
Estimated for release in Q3 2008, maybe slightly earlier in some countries. No word on pricing yet.
Asus Eee PC 900
In at number 5 is the Eee PC 900, which is here because it addressed some of the things that bugged us about the Eee PC 700. It’s a superb device in its own right, and one that gave other manufacturers the benchmark for creating a ultra mini laptop.
Whats Hot:
Asus threw out the 7 inch LCD panel on the 700 series and replaced it with an 8.9 inch LCD screen with a superior 1,024×600-pixel resolution. This immediately made the 900 series better for browsing the Web, watching movies and generally messing about with. Those nasty speaker grilles on either side of the LCD screen were relocated to the underside of the machine, the web cam got a boost to 1.3 mega-pixels from 0.3 mega-pixels. There was a much wanted increase in storage and it was boosted to 20GB for the Linux version, and 12GB for the Windows model.
Whats Not Hot:
The 900 uses the same keyboard as the 700 so it’s just as rubbish to type on, It’s just too small if you suffer from fat finger syndrome. Asus have also stuck with the 900MHz Pentium M CPU which in the world of ever progressive technology seems very dated against the faster, more energy efficient CPUs used in more recent netbooks. The biggest problem, however, is the price. Both versions of the Eee PC 900 will set you back £329 UK - $600 US, which is too expensive in our opinion. Hopefully, however, Asus will drop the price as newer machines including the Eee PC 901 hit retail. There was also an issue with the battery supplied with machines which varied from country to country. HK users were supplied with a inferior battery but Asus saw the error of their ways and came good giving their customers a free battery upgrade. Fingers crossed Asus do the same for the rest of the loyal 900 users.
When can i get it?
Now, but… Hold out for the 901 model if you can or at least wait for the price drops on the 900.
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