Amazon has started to accept preorders for the Asus Eee PC 901, 1000, and 1000H. Asus has said the computers will begin shipping in the US on July 8th.

Amazon is charging $699 for the Eee PC 1000 with an 40GB SSD, 10.2 inch display, and Linux. You can pick up an Eee PC 1000H for $649 with an 80GB hard drive, 10.2 inch display and Windows XP. Or for $599 you can grab an Eee PC 901 with an 8.9 inch display and Windows XP or Linux. The XP version sports a 12GB SSD, while you can get a 20GB Linux model for the same price.

The new computers come in black and white, and you can place an order or search Amazon using the box below. (Disclosure: If you place an order through the search box, I'll get a small finder's fee).



[via Eee PC.net]

Asus plans to launch a version of its popular Eee PC laptop with built-in support for 3G wireless connections later this year. PC World is reporting that European customers might be able to pick up a 3G unit as early as late September.

Asus likely won't be the first company to throw a 3G card into a low-cost laptop. ECS has already signed deals with European wireless providers to bundle and HSDPA card with the ECS G10IL laptop.

It's possible that these deals could drive the price of mini-notebooks down even further. When you buy a cellphone from your wireless carrier, odds are the price you're paying is far below the value of the hardware. But the carrier subsidizes the cost of fancy phones by getting you to sign up for long term contracts. We could see the same thing happen with laptops, which means you might be able to knock a hundred dollars or more off the price of an already cheap laptop by committing to stick with a mobile company for a year or two.

Asus has officially confirmed what everybody already knew: the company will be releasing a new Eee PC model that has the screen of an Eee PC 900 and the body of an Eee PC 1000. In other words, you get a nice roomy(ish) keyboard but a cheaper 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display instead of the 10.2 inch display that comes with the 1000 series.

The 904 will sell for £269 or about $533, and should be out in mid-July. The PC will not include the fancypants new Intel Atom CPU, but will instead feature the older 900MHz Celeron M chip currently used in the Eee PC 900 and 701 series.

Here's a rundown of the specs:

• Operating System: Windows XP
  
• Display: 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 pixel
• Storage: 80GB HDD
  
• RAM: 1GB
• Weight: 1.4kg / 3.1lb
  

Asus appears to have launched a slightly retooled version of the Eee PC 900 laptop. The Eee PC 900 is the precursor to the 901 series, and packs an Intel Celeron 900Mhz CPU instead of the newers Intel Atom chip. Originally the Eee PC 900 was available only in 12GB Windows XP and 20GB Linux varieties. Now it looks like you can pick up a 16GB version with Windows XP or Linux.

Excaliber PC is taking preorders on the new computers, with the Windows version going for $449 and the Linux model priced at $399. What's odd is that the original 12G and 20GB versions cost substantially more. But it's not clear what, if any other changes Asus has made other than adjusting the storage capacity.

I wonder if it's possible that these computers are mislabeled and might actually be the upcoming Eee PC 904 or 905 models we've been hearing about. The 904 will sport a larger case and keyboard but the same 8.9 inch display as the current Eee PC 900. And Hexus reports that the 904 may in fact use a Celeron CPU due to a shortage of Intel Atom chips. But Hexus also says the Eee PC 904 should include an 80GB HDD, not a 16GB SSD.

So taken at face value, it looks like Asus is continuing to expand its lineup and considers the modified version of the Eee PC 900 to be such a minor change that the company doesn't need to bother coming up with a new model number. The Asus product page for the Eee PC 900 does indicate that the PC comes in 12GB, 16GB, and 20GB varieties. No word on why the 16GB version would be so much cheaper.

[via jkkmobile and EeeUser forums]

I go offline for a day or two, and look what happens? Here's a brief roundup of news that broke while I was in the process of moving and getting my broadband connection up and running:Asus Eee PC News

• Elantech, the maker of the Eee PC 901 touchpad have issued a software update that enables additional multi-touch features like task switching, rotating, scrolling, and zooming. Jkkmobile has more, plus a video which you can find below.
• Jkkmobile also added an internal 3G card to his Eee PC 900. You can check out a ton of pictures and some video on his site.
• But wait, there's more. Jkkmobile also decided to slap a touchscreen display in his Eee PC 900. This isn't jkkmobile's first foray into touchscreen Eee PCs. He was also one of the first folks to add a touchscreen to an Eee PC 701. You can check out a video of the touchscreen Eee PC 900 below.
  PC Retail Magazine says it has received confirmation from Asus that the company will indeed be releasing a laptop bearing the Eee PC 904 moniker. The Eee PC 904 HD will be available in the UK within the next few weeks, and will be the same size as an Eee PC 1000, but while that means it will have a larger keyboard than the Eee PC 901, it will have the 901's smaller 8.9 inch display (and a big bezel around the screen). The price hasn't been set, but PC Retail Magazine reports it will be around £250, or about $500 US.
• 
  A whole slew of Eee Monitor photos leaked out this week. The Eee Monitor is basically an all-in-one PC that bears a vague resemblance to the Apple iMac. In other words, it basically packs all your usual PC components into a case that's not much bigger than an LCD monitor. Oh yeah, and it includes an LCD monitor, plus 6 USB ports, a webcam, ethernet, and audio ports. Word on the street is that this puppy will start at around $500 and will run Linux or Windows XP.

MSI Wind News

• While it should be a few more days before the Wind notebook lands in the US, it looks like the company has managed to push a handful of units out the door in Europe. Scan Computers in the UK had a few units in stock briefly. And reviews and hands-on videos are starting to pop up. [via Mobility Site]
• The Medion Akoya Mini, which is basically identical to the MSI Wind in all but name is also on sale in Europe. And you can find unboxing photos and reviews for that as well. Sascha Pallenberg promises to post an English language video later today.

Acer Aspire One NewsIt looks like the Acer Aspire One will come in several flavors. Acer has announced a new 150 series to compliment the 110 series. The 150 will have a higher price tag and a larger hard drive. Oh yeah, and Acer appears to have bumped the price up a notch. According to the product pages at Netbooksbillinger.de, here's a rundown of the prices and specs:

• Acer Aspire One A110L - 329 EUR (or $522 US), 512MB RAM, 8GB SSD, Linux OS
• Acer Aspire One A150L - 359 EUR (or $570 US), 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Linux OS
• Acer Aspire One A150X - 399 EUR (or $633 US), 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Windows XP Home OS

It's not clear yet whether those prices will be reflective of the US price. Acer had originally promised to release a $379 laptop, and generally computers do cost less in the US. But $140 less? We'll just have to wait and see.[via Eee PC News.de]

Eee PC multi-touch:

Eee PC 900 with a touch screen display:

Woke up this morning to the news that Asus will soon be pushing out two more Eee PC models. Word on the street (and by street, I mean DigiTimes and Blogeee) is that the new units will feature larger keyboards.

According to DigiTimes, the new computers will be called the Eee PC 904 and 905, and will feature an 8.9 inch display in the same chassis currently used by the company's 10.2 inch model. In other words, you get a larger keyboard, but you also get a large bezel around the screen. The idea is that Asus will be able to sell the Eee PC 904 and 905 for about the same price as the exisitng Eee PC 901, but you get an easier to use keyboard for your money.

If this is true, what you'd get is a computer with an 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, 12GB to 20GB of solid state storage, Windows XP or Linux, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, and a big bezel around the screen. Meanwhile, the MSI Wind will pack the same features, plus an 80GB hard drive and a larger screen (with the same resolution) into a case that's about the same size. And MSI will charge about $150 less.

DigiTimes suggests that Asus is also considering giving the 901 and 900 a price cut or dropping them altogether when the new models hit the streets.

French site Blogeee has posted some images of one of the new models. Apparently the site got its hands on two sets of pictures, because one photoset is labeled Eee PC 903 while the other says Eee PC 904. The 903 looks a lot like existing models, but the 904 is quite clearly a new unit with a larger bezel around the display. No word on what under the hood changes might exist in the 903, or what differentiates the 905 from the 904.

While Asus has yet to ship a spare battery charger for the Eee PC, it looks like eXpansys will begin offering one on July 31st. The eXpansys battery charger will cost $41, and will let you recharge a battery while you're using your computer. Right now the only way to charge an Eee PC battery is to plug your Eee PC into the wall.

[via jkkmobile]

You may not be able to pick up an Eee PC 901 yet (unless you happen to be in Taiwan), but if you plan to pick up the Linux model eventually and add Windows XP manually, Asus has you covered. The company has posted Windows XP drivers on its support web site. The files include:

• Audio driver
• Bluetooth driver
• Chipset Driver
• LAN driver
• Advanced Configuration and Power Interface driver
• Touchpad driver
• Graphics driver
• WLAN driver

[via Eee PC News.de]

Asus is sending out emails to UK Eee PC 900 owners letting them know that they will not be able to trade in their 4400mAh batteries for higher capacity 5800mAh batteries.

When Asus sent out review units of the Eee PC before launching the computer, Asus included the higher capacity batteries. But when it came time to ship the Eee PC 900 in the UK, Asus went with the lower capacity version. The decision makes some sense, since there's a global battery shortage at the moment. But it kind of stinks to read about a machine getting decent battery life in all of the product reviews, only to find that the real world version gets significantly worse mileage.

A few weeks ago Asus announced a promotion to let British Eee PC 900 owners upgrade their batteries. You still had to pay £10, and because you have to send in your battery before getting your replacement, you have to be willing to go battery-less for a few days. But it's better than having a crappy battery, right? Right?

Anyway, now it looks like Asus is postponing the battery trade-in indefinitely. EeeUser reports that customers are getting friendly letters alerting them that the program will be "postponed until further notice." No reason has been given. I'm guessing it probably has something to do with the battery shortage.

PC World India is reporting that the Eee PC 901 will hit the streets in "late June" and that Asus will be dropping the price of Eee PC 701 and Eee PC 900. I'm taking this information with a grain of salt, since I haven't seen an official launch date yet and because computer makers have a tendency to miss their initial ship dates.

Also, PC World India says the Eee PC 901 will retail for $649, which is the same price we've been hearing, but the magazine claims the new prices for the Eee PC 701 and 900 will be $479 and $549. Last time I checked, the Eee PC 900 is already selling for $549, and the Eee PC 701 sells for between $299 and $499 depending on the configuration. So while it would make sense for Asus to discount the older models, I wouldn't put too much stock in these prices.

Also, since the Eee PC 901 will be the most expensive computer of the bunch, it's possible that Asus won't feel the need to offer any discounts to move the older models. After all, they're already a bargain compared to the newest PC. On the other hand, when you can pick up an Acer Aspire One or an MSI Wind with an Intel Atom CPU and 1024 x 600 display for under $500, Asus might have to do something to stay competitive.

Asus is releasing some more details about the upcoming Eee PC 901, Eee PC 1000, and Eee PC 1000H. When the company unveiled the machines at Computex last week, we got a look at the Taiwanese prices, which ranged from the equivalent of $559 to $658 USD. But it looks like it will cost a few bucks more to pick up an Eee PC in the US or UK.

Laptop Magazine got an official US price for the Eee PC 901, and estimated prices for the Eee PC 1000 Series:

• Eee PC 901: $599
• Eee PC 1000H (Windows XP with an 80GB HDD): $699
• Eee PC 1000 (Windows XP or Linux with a 40GB SSD): $649

There's still no word on when these computers will drop in the US, but we'll probably see at least the Eee PC 901 start showing up by the end of June or beginning of July.

It looks like Asus has already announced a firm release date for the UK: July 1st. PC Advisor reports that the Eee PC will cost £319 in the UK, while pricing hasn't been announced for the Eee PC 1000 series yet.

[via Eee PC News.de]

Sure, Asus may have shipped just 350,000 Eee PC units last year, but Asus president Jerry Shen says he's confident the company will ship 5 million Eee PCs this year. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Asus is slapping the Eee PC name on every product it releases, from desktop computers to television sets. But I'm under the impression that he's still talking about laptops.

Shen says he expects the market for low cost ultraportable computers to hit 10 million this year, which means he thinks Asus will be able to sell 50% of all the netbooks shipped in 2008. While that might sound a bit unrealistic, consider the fact that Asus has had the market practically all to itself for much of 2008. While HP's Mini-Note has been available for a few months, Acer and MSI are just getting ready to release their Eee PC-competitors, and Dell hasn't officially announced its entry into the marketplace yet.

My guess is that Asus might actually be able to claim 50% or more of the market... this year. 2009 might be another story altogether.

I'm starting to suspect that Asus will never release another new product that doesn't bear the Eee PC name. Take the company's new handwriting pad, designed for use with the Eee PC. It looks like the pad is almost the same size as an Eee PC, which sort of defeats the purpose of carrying an ultraportable laptop around. But if you prefer the stylus to the keyboard (and don't want to hack your way to touchscreen nirvana), it looks like Asus has you covered.

The upcoming handwriting pad is compatible with the Eee PC version of Xandros Linux, supports English and Chinese (traditional and simplified) inputs, and plugs into your USB port.

Oh yeah, and can anybody come up with a good reason why this thing looks like a Sega Dreamcast controller?

[via Engadget]

While Asus isn't ready to show off its upcoming all-in-one PC just yet, the company did show a few tantalizing images of the "Eee Monitor" at Computex.

If you think the Eee Monitor looks an awful lot like an iMac, you're not alone. But there's one major difference: The Eee Monitor will have a starting price near $500, which is less than half the price of an iMac. Of course, Asus will only be able to achieve that relatively low price by packing the Eee Monitor with cheaper components, a slower processor, and possibly less RAM and storage.

The Eee Monitor is scheduled for a September release, and will come in 19 and 21 inch models. Some units may have a built-in TV tuner, although I'm guessing you'll have to pay a few bucks extra for that feature. And if history tells us anything, we can probably expect the Eee Monitor to be available in Windows and Linux flavors.

[via Gizmodo]

Still confused about the differences between the Eee PC 901, Eee PC 1000 and Eee PC 1000H? Asus has posted a handy little comparison chart showing how the three models stack up against one another. If the image above is hard to read you can check out the original at the Asus news site.

For the most part, the computers are identical except for size, weight, operating system and the amount and type of storage they use. And of course price. But while Asus has released the initial pricing for Taiwan, I've learned not to pay too much attention to the Taiwanese prices, as Asus tends to have different prices for its computers in different markets. I'm willing to bet these computers will cost a bit more in Europe than in Taiwan, while the US pricing will be similar or lower to the Taiwanese pricing.

Engadget snagged a photo of an Asus Eee PC 701 sitting next to a 901 900, sitting next to a 1000. And as expected, the Eee PC 1000 is larger than its siblings, but not exactly enormous. If you look closely you can see that the Eee PC 901 900 is also a tiny bit larger than the Eee PC 701, but it also has a significantly roomier screen.

Asus has announced that starting today, customers who purchase an Eee PC will get up to 20GB of online storage space for free. It sounds like the amount of storage space you get depends on the model you've purchased. If you have an Eee PC 2G Surf, for example, you get 2GB of online storage, while Eee PC 901 Linux customers will get 20GB. It sounds like 20GB is the max, so don't expect to get 80GB when you go picking up an Eee PC 1000H.

This means you should have enough space to backup your entire computer online, although it's not clear whether Asus will provide backup tools or if the space is primarily meant for storing documents and media files.

The Eee Store will be free for one year. It's not clear if the company will charge for access after that, or how much it will charge.

Asus has finally launched its new line of Eee PC computers. I say finally, because over the past few weeks we've learned so much about the Eee PC 901 and Eee PC 1000 that I didn't think there were many surprises left. But Asus did still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

First, the new computers will come in an assortment of colors, including those you can see above. According to Laptop Magazine, the colors are described as Sakura, Sweet Pea, Urban metropolis, White Peony, Pearl White, and Fine Ebony.

As expected, the Eee PC 901 will be be nearly identical to the Eee PC 900, but features a redesigned case and a shiny new Intel Atom CPU, which Asus says will help the computer achieve 7.5 hours of battery life using a 6600mAh battery. Just like the Eee PC 900, the 901 will come in two varieties. One version will come with Windows XP and a 12GB SSD, while the Linux version will have a roomier 20GB SSD.

The Eee PC 1000 will have a 10 inch display and come in two distinct models, the Eee PC 100 and the Eee PC 1000H. The Eee PC 1000 has a 40GB solid state disk, an Intel Atom CPU, 802.11n, Bluetooth, and up to 2GB of RAM. It also weighs 1.33 kg or about 2.9 pounds, which is a bit heavier than earlier Eee PC models. but it also has a nearly full sized keyboard.

The Eee PC 1000H is the Windows model, which comes with an 80GB hard drive instead of a 40GB solid state disk. It also weighs a bit more than its Linux sibling, at 1.45kg or 3.2 pounds.

Engadget has the Taiwanese prices:

• Eee PC 901: NT$ 16,988 or about $559 US
• Eee PC 1000H: NT$18,988 or about $625 US
• Eee PC 1000: NT$19,998 or about $658 US

It's kind of funny to see the Linux version of the Eee PC 1000 cost more than the Windows version, but those solid state disks don't come cheap. And I'm pretty happy to see that the Eee PC 901 will sell for about the same price as the existing Eee PC 900, despite early rumors to the contrary. There's no word on US pricing yet, but Laptop Magazine reports that the computers should be available in the US in July.

You can find more info in the official Asus press release.

Asus will officially unveil the Eee PC 1000 tomorrow, but French site Blogeee snagged a couple of high resolution images of thew new computer today. And you know what? It looks an awful lot like the Eee PC 901. In fact the two computers are pretty much identical, but the 901 has an 8.9 inch display while the 1000 has a 10 inch screen.

No word on the display resolution, pricing or whether the Eee PC 1000 will sport a hard drive or solid state disk. But all of those questions should be answered tomorrow.

We already knew that the Asus Eee PC 1000 would feature a larger display than the Eee PC 701 or Eee PC 900/901. But Hexus has found evidence that the latest Eee PC model will also sport 80GB of storage space. It's not clear if that means the Eee PC 1000 will use a hard drive instead of solid state memory. My money's on yes, but Hexus speculates that the computer could just be using a higher capacity SSD, which means it will likely cost quite a bit more than the smaller Eee PC models.

The complete specs:

• Disply: 10"/10.2"
• CPU: Intel Atom
• OS: Windows XP/Linux
• Card reader:MMC/SD/SDHC
• RAM: 2GB (double the Eee PC 900/901)
• Communication: Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth
• Camera: 1.3MP
• Battery:3.2 - 5 hours
• Weight: 1.45 kg

[via Electronista]