The Asus Eee PC 1000HD is a strange little netbook. It looks almost exactly like an Eee PC 1000H, but instead of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, the 1000HD has a 900MHz Intel Celeron M 353 CPU.

But it does have a 10.2 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1.3MP webcam,  3 USB ports, 1Gb of RAM, and 802.11b/g WiFi. It weighs 3.2 pounds and measures 10.5″ x 7.5″ x 1.5″. And right now MWave is selling the Eee PC 1000HD for just $260.

According to the product description the model for sale is a refurbished 1000HD with a 120Gb hard drive and a 4 cell battery. I’m pretty sure that last bit is a typo because I don’t think Asus offers a 4 cell battery for the Eee PC 1000HD, just a 6 cell battery. It’s also not entirely clear from the product description whether this model comes with Bluetooth or 802.11n. But other versions of this laptop do have thos features. if you absolutely need Bluetooth and blazing fast WiFi then you might want to contact MWave before placing an order. But at $260, there’s no way that this isn’t a bargain.

It looks like I missed something when perusing J&R’s pre-Black Friday sales list today. In addition to the $270 Eee Box nettop computer, the New York based retailer is selling an Asus Eee PC 1000HD for $329.99. That’s about $30 lower than the price J&R usually charges for this netbook.

The Asus Eee PC 1000HD has a 10.2 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, a 900MHz Intel Celeron CPU, an 80GB HDD, and 1GB of RAM. It also has 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 1.3MP Webcam. It weighs 3.2 pounds and runs Xandros Linux. And tomorrow it will cost about $360 from J&R.

via Liliputing Forums

Back in July Asus announced plans to launch 2 more models in the company’s neverending Eee PC lineup: The 904HD and the 1000HD. Basically, they were to be virtually identical to the Eee PC 1000H and the Eee PC 901, except that both would have a 900MHz Intel Celeron processor instead of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom chip, and the 904HD would have an 80GB hard drive instead of a solid state disk.

Flash forward a few months, and the 904HD is already available. And it looks like Asus is preparing to ship the 1000HD, because there’s a product page for the netbook on Amazon. But if you look at the product description, you’ll notice that the 1000HD has an Atom processor, not a Celeron. This could be a typo on a pre-release order page. But it could also be an indication that the Atom shortage is drawing to an end. One of the only reasons Asus was reportedly sticking the Celeron chip into new computers was because there weren’t enough Atom processors to go around. If Intel has managed to address the supply problem, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Asus show the Celeron the door.

If the Amazon page is accurate, th eonly thing setting the Asus Eee PC 1000HD apart from the 1000H is the fact that the 1000HD runs Linux while the 1000H runs Windows XP. If you don’t want or need Windows, it looks like you can save $50 and go with the 1000HD. If you’re nto a fan of the Xandros Linux operating system that ships with it, it’s easy to install Ubuntu Eee or another operating system on your own.

thanks capriskye!

Update: Hmm… it’s looking more and more like this netbook won’t necessarily have an Atom CPU, but rather that Amazon messed up the product description.

Well, this is interesting. PC World and InfoWorld are both running articles by Dan Nystedt at IDG News Service today. Both reports are likely based on the same source article, but they seem to have two very different angles. InfoWorld says Asustek turns to Celerons amid Atom shortage, while PC World says Asustek Aims New Eee PCs at Emerging Markets.

In other words, Asus chose to use the 4-year old Intel Celeron M 353 chip in the upcoming Eee PC 904HD and 1000HD either because:

1. There’s a shortage of Intel Atom chips, so if the company wants to keep pumping out new laptops, it has to resort to older processors
2. Intel wants to keep the prices of some units low by using older, cheaper processors which should help boost sales in emerging markets like India.

Both sound plausible. But for some reason the emerging markets article suggests that while the 904HD costs the equivalent of just $477 in India, it will cost $650 in the US. That’s not low cost – it’s $100 more than the company is selling the Eee PC 901 for! Granted, Asus dropped the price of the 901 recently to compete with the MSI Wind and similar laptops, but at $650, the 904HD ain’t exactly a bargain, especially when you consider the fact that it’s got a slower, more power-hungry CPU than the 901. An PC World says the 1000HD could cost as much as $750 in the US.

I’m hoping someone simply fed IDG or PC World the wrong numbers. I have yet to see an official US price for either unit.

Asus has decided to throw its naming conventions to the wind and launch two new Eee PC models with rather nonsensical names. The Eee PC 1000HD is pretty much just like the Eee PC 1000H, but instead of an Intel Atom CPU, it features an Intel Pentium M Dothan CPU running at 900MHz.

In other words, you get a 10 inch screen, 80GB hard drive, 1.3MB camera, 6 cell battery, and Pentium processor. I suppose it’s possible that the H stands for hard drive, since the Eee PC also has one of those, and that the D could stand for Dothan.

But then Asus goes and names another new model the Eee PC 904HD. And while that model has a 9 inch display and a hard drive, as you’d expect from the name, it features a 900MHz Intel Celeron CPU. I’m so confused!

In all other respects, the Eee PC 904HD looks like a cross between the Eee PC 901 and the Eee PC 1000HD. It has the case stylings of the 901, but has an 80GB hard drive, 0.3MP camera, and a 6 cell battery.

For anyone keeping track, that brings the Asus model number lineup to 10. If you can’t quite recall the differences between the 701 2G Surf, 701 4G, 701 4G Surf, 701 8G, 900, 901, 904HD, 1000, 1000H, and 1000HD, you can find each item listed on the official Asus products page.

[via Eee PC.net and Mobile Stylus]