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.
The non stop rapid fire about the extention of the Asus Eee family continues, with the first appearance of the Eee Frankenstein Eee PC 903, 904 (pic), and 905. It’s not exactly clear what the differences between the three models are, but as we’ve heard, they’re all basically the Eee PC 901′s Atom based innards shoved into a Eee PC 1000′s case. This ultimately means you’re getting a larger keyboard and a nasty looking bezel around the 8.9 inch display reminiscent of the 700 series. Does the name Victor Frankenstein come to mind? As before, final specs and pricing aren’t available, but since these are destined to replace the 900 and 901, we’d expect pricing to remain in the $600 / £329 range. Who knows what news tomorrow will bring or indeed the next few hours will bring going by the rapid speed of the recent netbook announcements.
Is this de-ja-vu?
Remember when the eee 900 came out? then a week or so later the 901 / 1000 was announced? Well Asus have done it again.
Asustek Computer is planning to launch new Eee PC models, the 904 and 905, which have an 8.9-inch panel but use a similar chassis and keyboard as the company’s 10.2-inch models according to sources at channel vendors.
The Eee PC 904 and 905 will adopt Atom processors and the major difference between the two and the previous 901 model is that they feature a much needed bigger keyboard. Asus are still evaluating whether to make changes to the two models’ battery and storage capacity.
The company expects the Eee PC 904 ad 905 to come out at a similar price range as the current 900 and 901, and will eventually replace them. Asustek is also considering whether to drop prices for the 900 and 901 to completely clear its inventory or leave them in the market to defend against Acer’s Aspire One, noted the sources.
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.