With Windows 7 set to launch in just a week, we’re about to see a whole lot of netbooks, notebooks, and other computers get a spec bump. And the Asus Eee PC lineup is hardly exempt. At an event in Germany, Asus officials outlined some of the company’s plans for the next generation of the Asus Eee PC Seashell line, including the Eee PC 1005HA, 1008HA, and 1101HA.

For the most part, the info is in keeping with a leaked product roadmap from earlier this year. But here’s the interesting part. Most of the netbooks will ship with Windows 7 Starter Edition, while the Eee PC 1101HA with an 11.6 inch display, 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 260GB hard drive will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium.

The Asus Eee PC 1005HA will be available in two different versions. Both will have 1GB of RAM, 250G hard drives, and Intel Atom N270 processors. The 1005HA-H will have Bluetooth and a 10.5 hour battery, while the 1005HA-M will lack Bluetooth and include an 8.5 hour battery.

The Eee PC 1008HA will have 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, an Atom N280 processor and a 6 hour battery.

via NewGadgets.de

fnac

Italian retailer fnac has started taking pre-orders for three Asus Eee PC models with Windows 7. The interesting thing is that while some of the models run the stripped-down Windows 7 Starter Edition, all three models get spec bumps. This is likely due to the fact that Microsoft has changed its hardware restrictions for cheap Windows licenses. To qualify for a low cost Windows XP license, netbooks need to have no more than 1GB of RAM and 160GB of storage. To qualify for Windows 7 Starter Edition, a netbook can have a hard drive with up to 250GB of storage.

Keep in mind, Asus often makes different configurations available in different parts of the globe, but here are the three models up for pre-order in Italy:

• Eee PC 1005HA: Windows 7 Starter Edition, 1GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, 1.66GHz Atom N280, 10.1″ 1024 x 600 pixel screen for 299 Euros or $442 US
• Eee PC 1008HA: Windows 7 Starter Edition, 1GB of RAM, 250Gb hard drive, 1.66GHz Atom N280, 10.1″ 1024 x 600 pixel screen for 399 Euros or $590 US
• Eee PC 1101HA: Windows 7 Home Premium, 2Gb of RAM, 250GB hard drive, 1.33GHz Atom Z520, 11.6″ 1366 x 768 pixel screen for 399 Euros or $590 US

The US prices are converted from Euros. It’s likely that these computer will be cheaper when they hit the states.

Another interesting thing is that all three models come with 500GB of web-based storage. That’s 50x more than the 10GB Asus provides for online storage and backup now.

via Eee PC.it

Update: Now you can read my detailed review of the Eee PC 1005HA.

You know that Asus Eee PC 1005HA I told you about the other day? Yeah, it looks like it’s real. Blogeee reports that Asus is running with the new thin and light form factor it first introduced with the Eee PC 1008HA Shell netbook by introducing a few extra products that look virtually identical. First up is the Eee PC 1005HA-M, which has a 10 inch display, Intel Atom N270 CPU, and a removable battery (unlike the Eee PC 1008HA). It will sell for about €299 in France.

Asus also has another version in the works, known as the Eee PC 1005HA-H. This model will have a €349 price tag, and sport a faster Intel Atom N280 CPU and a battery which Blogee says could run for up to 10.5 hours, although I think there might be something missing in translation, because the site also says it will be a 2800mAh battery. By comparison, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, which runs for 7 to 9 hours on a charge, has an 8700mAh battery.

While both the Eee PC 1005HA-H and 1005HA-M will look a lot like the Eee PC 1008HA, there are a few differences. The 1005 series netbooks will measure 1.4″ thick, while the 1008HA is just 1″ thick at its thickest point. All three netbooks are the same width and length: 10.3″ x  7″.  Blogee uploaded a handy comparison chart showing more of the similarities and differences to Flickr.