It’s ironic, really. One of the most common complaints about the original
Asus Eee PC 701 is that the seven-inch display is too small. There’ just enough enough screen real estate there to be useful on a regular basis and the smaller keyboard that accompanies can take some getting used to. At the same time, it’s largely because of this compact form factor that the Eee PC got so popular in the first place.Asus now has now officially announced another addition to their subnotebook lineup with the introduction of the
Asus Eee PC 900. This unit is largely identical to the seven-inch version that was released late last year, except the display is now a much healthier 8.9-inches across the diagonal. For all intents and purposes, this is basically a nine-inch variation on the original. The keyboard is still smaller than a regular laptop, but it does appear to be slightly larger than its predecessor.
They have also decided to upgrade the specs as well, bumping on the internal memory from a current maximum of 8GB (the Eee PC is also available in 4GB and 2GB models) to a solid state drive with 12GB of memory. The first release of the Asus Eee PC 900 will also come pre-installed with Windows XP. If you still prefer the Linux operating system, Asus will be offering the 900 with that OS as well. In fact, word is that the Linux version will come with up to 20GB of internal storage.
The tentative launch date is late next month, but it’s more likely that a worldwide release won’t happen until the summer. Prices start at about $500.
Matt
March 10, 2008 4:41 pm
Still, deciding between the Eee and an on-sale full sized laptop, I’d go with the full sized laptop. More value for your money, in my opinion. Not an portable, but at least you can use apps like Photoshop.
Derek
March 11, 2008 9:19 am
I’ve been thinking about an Eee to use when traveling and/or when I just want to be a little more mobile while blogging at home. With the desktop that I have now, I am obviously limited and have been trying to decide if I want to go with a true portable like the Eee or a more robust machine that is a little less portable.
This slightly bigger Eee might be appealing as most of the knocks on the current versions are the screen size and the small keyboard, so I am not sure if that would get tiresome when working remotely.
Matt
March 11, 2008 2:40 pm
Go with one of Sony’s 13.3″ carbon fiber notebooks, if you happen to have an extra $2000 lieing around. :P
Vadim
March 11, 2008 3:27 pm
At this price tag ($500) I would get a device like that to be a portable media player, but the disk is too small. It will need like 80Gb disk to compete with Archos 705 ($449 at Future shop). Ability to run Windows applications is a plus though.
bob
March 13, 2008 9:11 am
I”ve seen 400 euro posted along with $500. either way it’s way over my limit. I like the 9 inch, i’ve been holding out on purchasing an eee for this ever since its debut. for the 9 inch to be released but at the price range i’ll pass. however drop this 9incher to 4gb and price to $399, i’ll pick it up.