I got a chance to spend a few minutes with the new designer netbook from Asus. The Eee PC 1008P Karim Rashid Edition is pretty much a standard Pine Trail netbook for the most part, but it’s one of the first designer edition netbooks I’ve seen that has a pattern that not only incorporates the lid and keyboard area, but also the base of the computer.

And eagle-eyed Joanna Stern from Engadget noticed something that I missed: The designer edition has a removable 3 cell battery. Up until now, all Asus Eee PC 1008-series netbooks had built in batteries that could not easily be removed by users, which makes the batteries a pain to upgrade or replace.

You can check out a video of the new battery at Engadget. And there are more shots from the news conference as well as some promotional shots after the break.

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The Asus Eee PC 1008P is basically an updated version of the Asus Eee PC 1008HA with an Atom N450 processor replacing the older Atom N280 CPU. Cosmetically the only real difference is that the new model has a chiclet style keyboard with space between the keys. But there’s also a limited edition version of the Eee PC 1008P that features a distinctive cover design.

The folks at NetbookLive got their hands on the Eee PC 1008P Karim Rashid Collection Edition. While the specs are pretty much identical to any other version of this netbook, the laptop comes with a leather case with a magnetic lock. And it features a distinctive pattern that covers the lid and base of the laptop. The Karim Rashid edition netbook is available in black, white, pink, and brown.

You can check out more pictures of the brown version at Netbook Live.

edit: astute readers might remember that Lee mentioned this one back in December

Sure, it’s what’s on the inside that really counts. But if you’r the superficial type that likes to judge a netbook by its cover, Packard Bell’s got a real looker for you. Notebook Italia dug up some photos of a new Packard Bell Valentino Rossi edition of the company’s dot notebook.

Rossi, in case you don’t follow Italian motorcycle racing, is… an Italian motorcycle racer. The design’s pretty slick, and succeeds at making this one of the few designer edition notebooks I’ve seen that actually could have some unisex appeal.

Unfortunately there are pretty much no details on the specs. The notebook does look like a dressed-up version of the Packard Bell Dot M/U, which in turn is a rebranded version of the Acer Aspire 1410. So I’m guessing you get an Intel CULV processor, GMA 4500MHD graphics, and a reasonable amount of memory and hard drive space as well as a 11.6″ display. But that’s just a guess.

Hit up Notebook Italia for more images.

via NewGadgets.de

Designer netbooks are all the rage, apparently. Today’s new model is designed by Karim Rashid, and it’s all kinds of glossy, crocodile skin sexy.

Available in both chocolate brown and hot pink tones, the Asus Eee PC 1008P’s shell is painted up like a crocodile handbag straight out of Neiman Marcus. It’s essentially an upmarket version of the 1008HA.

Apart from its enhanced looks, the 1008P also sports a chiclet style keyboard and a slick slide-out battery (which you can check out in the pictures after the break).

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Over the past few days, the folks at SammyNetbook have spotted two different designer edition netbooks from Samsung. A few days ago, Samsung launched the Agnes B. Edition NC10 netbook in France. This model is basically just a standard NC10 with a stylish lid signed by the designer, and featuring a lizard.

Now it looks like UK retailer John Lewis is selling another version of the Samsung NC10 with a floral pattern on the lid.

Like any other Samsung NC10, both netbooks feature a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive. The netbook, which is being phased out in the US in favor of the newer Samsung N110, also has a decent keyboard and gets excellent battery life.