If you thought it was just consumer-oriented computers like the Eee PC, MSI Wind and ECS G10IL that were getting the new Intel Atom processor, think again. CNET Asia found a Classmate PC hanging out that the Intel Atom booth at Computex.

The Classmate PC is built using an Intel reference design, and is basically Intel's answer to the OLPC XO Laptop. The machine is primarily targeted at educational markets and developing nations. The model on display at Computex was manufactured by ECS, the sole Taianese manufacturer, although other companies in other countries will likely introduce the same product with different names.

In the US, CTL sells the Classmate directly to consumers under the CTL 2go PC name with a starting price of $399. Currently the CTL 2go PC ships with a 900MHz Intel Celeron CPU, but hopefully we'll see a version using the power-saving Atom CPU soon.

The Asus Eee PC 900 has only been available for a few weeks, but Asus is already planning to launch its next, next generation Eee PC on June 3rd. DigiTimes reports that's when the company will launch the Eee PC 901, which we caught a first glimpse of just a few days ago.

The Eee PC 901 will replace the 900's Celeron processor with an Intel Atom chip. It will also feature integrated Bluetooth, and a slightly redesigned case. The new case has metal alloy hinges and the touchpad actually has two distinct buttons. The Asus logo is gone, replaced with just the Eee PC logo.

The new computer will be available for under $650 -- which means it will be more expensive than pretty much every other low-cost ultraportable on the market except for the top of the line HP Mini-Note models. Hopefully Asus will offer several versions of the Eee PC 901. Not everyone needs Bluetooth. And the Linux version may cost less than the Windows XP version. But overall, the $399 to $549 Atom-based MSI Wind is looking better and better.

While MSI isn't expected to release their Wind notebook for another month or so, Spanish web site CHW got a chance to check out an early prototype. Probably the most surprising thing is that during their hour-long test the MSI Wind didn't get all that hot. Most notebooks I've used get pretty warm to the touch, and this is doubly true for tiny laptops like the Eee PC and HP Mini-Note, which don't have a lot of room for ventilation. But MSI pretty much blanketed the bottom of the Wind laptop with vents, and apparently it's worked.

There's not a ton of new info in the article, but there are some real world pictures, a shaky video, and a few interesting nuggets:

• The six cell battery does stick out from the back a bit, while the 3 cell battery fits snugly (not that this is a surprise, just something you should be aware of).
• SpeedStep didn't work very well on the demo unit, but since it was using a prototype Intel Atom processor and not a final build this issue might be addressed by the time the laptop officially launches.
• YouTube videos didn't seem to have much impact on the CPU usage.
• The screen looks good.
• The keyboard is larger and easier to use than the Eee PC keyboard.
  

[via jkkmobile]

The world is waiting with baited breath for June, when Intel will launch its low-power, moderate performance Atom processor designed for ultraportable laptops (and by world, I mean Liliputing readers). Unfortunately, demand is going to be so high for these chips that Intel has already said it'd going to have a tough time keeping up. That could cause delays in the launches or upgrades of some next generation ultraportables, or at least fewer units of those computers in circulation than we'd like.

Asus CEO Jerry Shen says he expects the shortage to last through September. Asus will be adding the Atom CPU to its Eee PC 900 line in June, but the company won't discontinue the Celeron version just yet. Intel is expected to prioritize "major vendors" during the shortage, which means you'll be more likely to find the new Atom processor in a PC from a company you've heard of like Asus, or maybe HP, than some company you've never heard of like ECS or MEdion.

Intel's upcoming Atom processor is designed to be an energy efficient CPU that will provide moderate performance and plenty of power savings, allowing low capacity batteries to run a little longer. So it's no wonder many PC makers who plan to launch low-cost ultraportables this summer want to put the Atom CPU in them. But Digitimes reports that Apple Daily, a Chinese language site, vendors say they're not going to be able to meet the demand.

In May, Intel has reportedly only been able to meet 40% of the demand for the chips. Dell, Acer, MSI, and Gigabyte are just some of the companies that plan to use the chips in their computers, and it's not clear if this means some of the companies will delay the introduction of their Eee PC competitors, or if those computers will be made available, but in small quantities.

Meanwhile, companies like Asus and HP that have already released low cost computers without waiting for the next generation chip may benefit by having the market mostly to themselves for a few more months. The HP Mini-Note uses the VIA C7 processor, while the Asus Eee PC currently uses a 900MHz Celeron chip.

[via Electronista]

Just days after announcing the new Eee PC 900 with an 8.9 inch screen, Asus officials are talking about plans for a 10-inch model. PC World reports that the company will release a version with a 10-inch screen later this year. There are no plans to put a screen larger than 10 inches on an Eee PC, since anything larger would basically turn the computer into a traditional laptop.

PC World is also confirming the rumor that Asus plans to introduce a version of the Eee PC running Intel's upcoming Atom processor in June. The atom processor is designed to be more energy efficient than the current Celeron processors used by the Eee PC 701 and 900 series. While it's pretty clear the 900 series will be getting the Atom treatment, I wonder if Asus will use the new chip in the older 701 2G/4G/8G models. Atom is designed to be a low cost chip, after all.

And rounding up the news from PC World, it took just a few hours Asus to sell out of Eee PC 900 models after the Hong Kong launch. That would probably be more impressive if the article didn't say "over 1,000" of the laptops sold almost immediately. Because while I know the Hong Kong release was just the first run, I would have expected the company to have more than a thousand units available at launch. Something tells me there will be a few more to go around by the time the Eee PC 900 hits Europe and the US.

In other news, Asus has been dealing with a battery shortage which has affected some Eee PC shipments. Reuters reports that the company expects these issues to be resolved by June.

And finally, web comic xkcd gives us a new idea for something to do with a low cost, tiny computer.

Both Intel and VIA are set to release new chips this year designed for ultraportable computers like MIDs, UMPCs and low-cost laptops like the Eee PC and HP 2133. While neither the Intel Atom nor the VIA Isaiah processor is expected to be a speed demon, both will use significantly less energy than existing chips while offering decent performance.

Eee PC News.de ran some preliminary benchmarks and fins that an Isaiah outperforms anAtom processor with the same clock speed. This wasn't a comprehensive raft of tests, and until we see both CPUs start to show up in actual production computers it'll be hard to make any real judgements. But it's still fun to look at the pretty little graph, no?

TechRadar is reporting that Asus could swap out that 900MHz Celeron processor in the Eee PC 900 for a shiny new Atom processor before the end of June. Word on the street is that the Atom processor might not be much speedier than the Celeron processors shipping with the current models. But they are designed to be much more energy efficient, which could have a significant impact on battery life. Right now you'll be lucky to get 2 to 2.5 hours from an Eee PC 4-cell battery.

Typically I wouldn't expect to see a company like Asus launch a computer in April/May only to offer a processor upgrade just a month or two later. But I get the feeling that Asus will be able to slap the Atom chip into the current Eee PC 900 (and maybe even Eee PC 701) series computers without making major changes that would require a whole new product design.

[via Eee PC News.de]

Sharp has just announced what is being described as the first computer that will hit the market using Intel's new low-voltage, high-power Atom processor. The Sharp D4 will be out in Japan in June for ¥39,800 or about $395 US. But there's a catch. Users will also have to purchase a 2-year data plan for ¥2,100 per month, more than doubling the price. Engadget reports you can also pick up a D4 with no data plan, but it will set you back ¥128,600 or about $1250 US.

Still, the D4 looks pretty sweet:

• 1.33GHz Atom processor
• 5 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display
  
• 1GB RAM
• 40GB hard drive
• 2 MP camera
• 64-key slide-out keyboard
  
• WiFi and Bluetooth
• Windows Vista Home Premium and Microsoft Office Personal 2007
  
• Dimensions: 192 mm x 26 mm
  
• Weight: 470 grams
• Optional Bluetooth phone handset
• Optional GPS receiver

While the Sharp D4 is the first Atom-based computer to get a release date, it certainly won't be the last. Intel officials say 20 more devices will be ready to ship soon.

If you think there are a lot of low-cost ultraportable computers hitting the market this year, just wait. Intel officials say the company expects low-cost computer shipments to top 100 million between now and 2011. Meanwhile, Asus president Jerry Shen expects to sell 10 million Eee PCs in 2008 and twice as many next year. This all according to a report from DigiTimes.

Now, this could all be a case of counting chickens before they hatch. After all, while the Asus Eee PC is selling like pancakes, all that shows is that the computer is filling a niche. It remains to be seen exactly how large that niche is. Originally low-cost computers like the XO Laptop and the Classmate PC were targeted at educational markets and developing nations. Now we're starting to see similar computers marketed toward consumers in developed nations as well. But does everybody who owns a computer need a low-powered device without an optical drive to compliment their existing desktop or laptop? I mean, I know I do, but I'm a bit crazy like that.

On the other hand, we're starting to see another trend in the liliputing market. While the first few low-cost laptops like the XO, Classmate, and Eee PC all sported flash memory and slow processors, newer models like the HP 2133 come packed with large hard drives and marginally faster processors. And soon Intel and VIA will each release their next generation low-voltage, high(er) performance chips which should give these tiny laptops quite a speed boost, making it possible that we could start to see people picking liliputers up as primary computers, not secondary ones.

There's no doubt that the HP 2133 provides a lot of computer for a relatively low price. The base model is comparable to the Eee PC 700 with 4G of solid state memory, 512MB of RAM, and a tiny package weighing just over two and a half pounds. For $50 more you can get a 120GB hard drive and a faster processor.

But here's the rub, the HP 2133 uses the Via C7-M processor, while the Eee PC uses a more common Intel Celeron chip. Now, Celeron ships have a rightly deserved reputation for being something less than speed demons. But as the Eee PC shows, they can get the job done. Meanwhile, when the Everex Cloudbook, with its low powered Via chip came out, Notebook Review found that it lagged behind the Eee PC in benchmarking tests.

According to CNet, HP went with the Via processor because it offers a "mix of performance and price." But there's another consideration HP was probably making. The company wanted to get a product to market soon. Wait too long and Asus will release the Eee PC 900, which will feature a larger screen and more memory than the Eee PC 700. But if HP can get their new low-cost ultraportable out the door first, a lot of early adopters could decide to go with the 2133. And looking at the current generation of mobile chips, there aren't a lot of cheap and powerful options on the market right now.

In a few months, Intel is expected to come out with its Atom processor, which will be a low-cost, low voltage, but much more powerful chip than the Celeron. Via, in the meantime is working on its next generation chip, which will be called the Isaiah processor. HP expects to update the specs on its 2133 line in about six months, and by that time, it looks like the company will have several powerful, low-priced chips to choose from.