In case you couldn’t tell from the flurry of news this morning, CeBIT 2010 started this morning. And Asus has a number of new and updated products on hand at the trade show in Germany. This morning the company introduced a new kid-friendly netbook model, and the new Asus Eee PC 1016P and 1018P are expected to make an appearance soon. But Asus has a few non-netbook products to show off as well:

EeeMedia EM0501

Asus describes this the EM0501 as a “High Definition Entertainment Center.” Basically it’s a small box about the size of an Eee Box nettop. On the inside, it’s got an 800MHz ARM-based Samsung processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 2.5″ hard drive slot. It features 802.11b/g/n WiFi and a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet jack and comes with an IR remote control.

The media center can handle 1080p HD video playback in a variety of formats including MPEG1/4, H.264, WMV, VC-1, DivX, Xvid, VOB, and MKV as well as most common audio and image formats.

Overall, it looks like a souped up version of the Asus O!Play media streamer with a more powerful processor and better connectivity options. No word on a price or release date, or what the user interface looks like.

Eee Box EB1501U

This appears to be a slightly updated version of the Eee Box EB1501. The primary difference is that the Eee Box EB1501U has 2 USB 3.0 ports on th efront of the box.

The rest of the specs are the same, including a dual core 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330 CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, 2GB of RAM, up to 320G hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, HDMI output, and Windows 7 Home Premium.

The Asus Eee Box EB1501 is a small form factor desktop computer, or nettop. And when I say small, I mean, if you pick one up, there’s a good chance your friends will confuse it with a Nintendo Wii. But Asus still manages to pack a DVD drive, NVDIA ION graphics, and a fairly sizable fan inside.

If you want to upgrade the RAM, wireless module, hard drive, or other components, you’ll want to know what the insides look like though. And that’s where Peter from Netbooked can help. He’s been testing an EB1501 for the last few days and he’s posted a video showing how to take the cover off the nettop.

The process looks pretty simple. You just remove a few screws and the faceplate covering the ports and then you can slide a portion of the case off. While it looks like it should be pretty easy to upgrade the RAM or hard drive, there’s not a heck of a lot of room for additional internal components. But that’s what USB ports are for, right?

Video after the break.

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The Asus Eee Box EB1501 is a tiny desktop computer that sports a dual core Atom 330 processor, NVIDIA ION graphics and a slot-loading disc drive. It’s the first Eee Box nettop to feature a disc drive, although it’s hardly the first small form factor PC or even NVIDIA ION-powered nettop with one.

Peter at Netbooked managed to get his hands on an EB1501 and he’s posted an unboxing video. The nettop has 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 6 USB ports, HDMI, eSATA, and S/PDIF ports. The disc drive is a DVD burner. Some versions of the nettop are expected to ship with a Blu-Ray drive, but Peter’s model only supports old fashioned DVDs.

The computer also comes with a wireless mouse, keyboard, and remote control For more details, and a better look at the PC, check out the video after the break.

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The Asus Eee Box EB1501 was already one of the most powerful nettops in the Asus family thanks to a dual core Atom 330 processor, NVIDIA ION graphics, and a built-in DVD drive. But now it looks like there’s a Blu-Ray option as well, at least for European customers. Swiss retailer web site Toppreise.ch has listings for a Blu-Ray version of the nettop with Windows 7 Home Premium and 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive for about 426 Euros or $617 US.

Of course, for that kind of money you could get a much more powerful machine if you don’t care so much about size and low power consumption. But the EB1501 is one of the smallest Blu-Ray players you’re likely to find. The nettop is roughly the same size as a Nintendo Wii, which is to say, it’s not that much larger than the Blu-Ray discs it can read.

Toppreise.ch says the EB1501 with Blu-Ray will begin shipping on January 19th.

via Netbook Italia

The Eee Box EB1501 is a pretty slick looking new nettop from Asus that includes NVIDIA ION graphics, a dual core Intel Atom 330 CPU, and a DVD burner. Asus has put together a video that highlights these features as well as the EB1501’s small size and low power consumption.

But you know what would make this nettop even more attractive? Releasing it in the US.It’s available for pre-order in parts of Europe, but I haven’t seen a single US retailer with a listing for the Asus Eee Box EB1501 yet.

You can check out the demo video after the break.

via Eee PC.it

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A few items we’ve been tracking for a while are now shipping or available for order for the first time:

• Asus Eee PC T91MT 8.9″ touchscreen tablet with Atom Z520 CPU, Win 7 Home Premium for $532 – Amazon
• Asus Eee Box EB1501 nettop with NVIDIA ION, Atom 330, DVD burner for £339 – Amazon UK
• HP Pavilion DM1 11.6″ laptop with dual core Intel Celeron SU2300 CPU for £469.99 (Pre-order) – Amazon UK

The Eee PC T91MT is an updated version of the Eee PC T91 I reviewed this summer. The new version adds multitouch support and Windows 7 Home Premium. It’s been available for pre-order for a few days, but it began shipping this weekend.

The Eee Box EB1501 is the first Eee Box nettop to feature a dual core processor, NVIDIA ION graphics, and a DVD burner. It’s now available for order in the UK. No word on a US release date yet.

The HP Pavilion DM1 is the first 11.6 inch laptop from HP with a CULV processor. It won’t begin shipping for another few weeks, but you can now pre-order this laptop in the UK. We’re still waiting for a US launch.

The Asus Eee Box EB1501 is an upcoming nettop from Asus with a dual core 1.6GHz Atom 330 CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, and a slot-loading DVD burner. It’s probably the most powerful and versatile member of the Eee Box family to date. Unfortunately there’s still no news on the price or a US release date. But Asus has uploaded the user manual for the Eee Box EB1501 to its support site, which means those are just about the only two surprises.

The nettop will ship with a stand, optional remote control and IR adapter, and a Mini jack to S/PDIF adapter. There’s also an optional VESA mount, HDMI-DVI adapter, and HDMI cable. The Eee Box EB1501 has a 2 USB ports and a card reader on the front, as well as a disc drive, power button, and audio jacks. On the back you’ll find the VGA and HDMI outputs, 4 more USB ports, an Ethernet jack, and an eSATA port.There’s also a wireless antenna to help boost the range of the 802.11b/g/n WiFi.

The manual is available in a number of languages including Chinese, English, Dutch, Finish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Hungarian, Spanish, and Thai. In other words, it seems like the EB1501 will be available worldwide.

Update: The EB1501 is already available for order in the UK.

Asus has posted an official product page for that Eee Box EB1501 nettop I told you about yesterday. The specs are pretty much was expected, but there are a handful of new pictures, including a few that confirm that this is the first Eee Box nettop to sport a built-in slot-loading DVD burner. The computer is also a little less boxy looking than previous Eee Box models thanks to some rounded edges.

Here’s the skinny:

• CPU: Dual Core Intel Atom 330
• Graphics: NVIDIA ION
• RAM: 2GB DDR2-800 (supports up to 4GB)
• Storage: 250GB 2.5″ SATA hard drive
• OS: Windows 7 Home premium
• ODD: Slot-in Super Multi DVD-RW
• Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Ethernet,
• I/O: 6 USB ports, card reader, HDMI output, eSATA port, S/PDIF, D-Sub, mic, headphone
• Dimensions: 7.6″ x 7.6″ x 1.5″
• Weight: 2.6 pounds

There’s also a VESA mount kit for affixing the computer to the back of a monitor and an optional remote control and/or wired or wireless mouse and keyboard options. No word on pricing, but given that the computer will ship with Windows 7, I’m guessing it won’t be available until the operating system is released on October 22nd.

Update: Asus UK has posted a series of hands-on photos of the new nettop on Flickr.

via SlashGear which is reporting that the price will start at  €399 in Europe, but prices have a way of changing by the time products hit the US

Asus has a reputation for launching a new netbook model every other week for the past two years. While the pace seems to have slowed recently, the company is keeping the tradition alive with its Eee Box nettop computers. I’ve kind of lost count of how many Eee Box models are out there, but with the B201, B202, B204, B206, B208, EB1006, EB1012, there are at least 7 different configurations out there. And I hope you’re ready for one more, because Eee PC.it has picked up some details about a new EB1501 moel.

The main thing that sets the new model apart from the crowd is the inclusion of a slot-loading DVD burner. Eee PC.it can’t say for certain whether it will actually be built into the nettop or if Asus will be shipping the desktop with a USB disc drive.

But the EB1501 also has a few other features that make it a bit more attractive than your typical Intel Atom powered nettop. It sports a dual core Atom 330 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card and will come with Windows 7 Home Premium. It will have 6 USB ports, 2G of RAM, and a 260GB hard drive.

Update: Photo courtesy of NyTeknik via Engadget