Asus Eee Top ET1610PT all-in-one PC to sport Pine Trail power

Asus is apparently preparing to launch its first all-in-one PC with Intel Atom Pine Trail processors. The company has been putting out desktop computer-in-a-display systems under the Eee Top brand for a year or two. But the Eee Top ET1610PT will be the first to come with a single core Intel Atom D410 Pine Trail processor and integrated GMA 3150 graphics.

The PC will feature a 15.6 inch, 1600 x 900 pixel touchscreen display, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Windows XP. That’s right, Windows XP, not Windows 7. At least that’s how the computer is expected to ship in Italy, where Netbook Italia reports it will sell for 400 Euros.

No word on whether we’ll see a dual core model or a version with higher performance graphics anytime soon.

Monday, February 8th, 2010, 8:38 am by Brad | Tags: , ,

NVIDIA ION 2 could just be an NVIDIA GeForce G310 graphics card

NVIDIA is expected to launch the next-generation of its ION platform within the next few months. The original NVIDIA ION chipset took an Intel Atom N270 or N280 processor and scrapped the normal integrated GMA 950 graphics to replace it with higher performance GeForce 9400M graphics. But since Intel’s new Pine Trail platform bundles the Atom processor and graphics core onto a single chip, there’s no way to simply replace the integrated graphics. Instead, NVIDIA is expected to offer a discrete graphics chip that can easily and cheaply be paired with a Pine Trail CPU. And French site Blogeee has a pretty good idea of which discrete graphics chip NVIDIA plans to use.

The folks at Blogeee got their hands on a promotional sheet for an upcoming all-in-one desktop from Asus. The specifications mention an Intel Atom D510 dual core processor and “NVIDIA GeForce 310 ION 2 graphics.”

As others have pointed out, the NVIDIA GeForce 310 is basically just a renumbered version of the GeForce 210 card that’s been available for a while. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, at least when it comes to netbooks and nettops. The GeForce 310 has a 589MHz graphics clock speed, 512MB of dedicated video memory, 16 CUDA cores, DirectX 10.1 support, and support for display resolutions up to 2560 x 1600.

It also supports hardware decoding of standard and high definition H.264, VC-1, WMV, DivX, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 videos.

It’s too soon to say whether NVIDIA will make any chances to the platform before launching it as ION 2, or even if the information obtained from Blogeee is correct. But I suspect we’ll know for certain within a few months.

Thursday, January 14th, 2010, 4:49 pm by Brad | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Windows 7 all-in-one PCs now shipping

Many of those new Windows 7 powered netbooks and notebooks I told you about the other day are now shipping from Amazon, HP.com, Dell.com, and other locations. But it’s not just new portable computers that are hitting the streets today. A number of relatively low cost all-in-one desktops we’ve been seeing over the past few months are now available with Windows 7 as well. Here are just a few of the ones I found today:

All-in-One PCs

  • ASUS Eee Top ET2002-B0017 – 20 inch, 1600 x 900 pixel PC w/Win7 Home premium, 1.6GHz dual core Intel Atom 330 CPU, NVIDIA ION, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD for $581
  • ASUS Eee Top ET2203-B0017 – 21.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel PC w/Win7 Home Premium, 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 CPU, ATI Radeon 4570, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD for $899
  • HP Pavilion Ms214 – 18.5 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel PC w/Win7 Home Premium, 1.5GHz dual Core AMD Athlon X2 3250e CPU, ATI Radeon HD 3200, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD for $599.99
  • MSI AE2010-32SUS – 20 inch, 1600 x 900 pixel PC w/Win7 Home Premium, 1.5GHz AMD Athlon X2 dual-core 3250e CPU, ATI Radeon HD 3200, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD for $599.99
  • MSI AE2220-03SUS – 21.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel PC w/Win7 Home Premium, 2.4GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core T4300 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce 9300, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD for $659.99

I had been planning on putting together a list of Windows 7 nettops as well, but I can’t seem to find any just yet. I suspect we’ll begin seeing nettops with Windows 7 Starter and Home Premium coming from Acer, Asus, Lenovo, MSI, and other companies in the coming weeks.

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009, 2:20 pm by Brad | Tags: , , , ,

Asus confirms Windows 7 netbook, notebook lineup

Update: You can find a list of other Windows 7 netbooks and notebooks here.

Asus has officially announced its Windows 7 lineup, and that includes an updated version of practically every Eee Family product launched during the second half of 2009 as well as the company’s new thin and light UL-series notebooks.

Here’s a brief rundown of computers that are available with Windows 7 starting today:

Eee PC netbooks, notebooks:

  • Eee PC 1005HA – 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD
  • Eee PC 1005HR – 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD
  • Eee PC 1008HA – 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1-2GB RAM, 250-320GB HDD
  • Eee PC T91MT – 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel multitouch display, convertible tablet, 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB SSD
  • Eee PC 1101HA – 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor, 1GB RAM
  • Eee PC 1201HA – 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.3GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD
  • Eee PC 1201N – 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330 dual core CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, up to 3GB RAM, 320GB HDD

Eee Box nettops:

  • Eee Box EB1501 – Atom 330 dual core CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, 2GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, DVD burner
  • Eee Box EB1502 – ?

Eee Top all-in-one PCs:

  • Eee Top ET2002 – 20 inch, 1600 x 900 pixel display, 1.6GHz dual core Atom 330 CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD
  • Eee Top ET2002T – same as above, but with a touchscreen display
  • Eee Top ET2203 – 21.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 1.6GHz dual core Atom 330 CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD
  • Eee top ET2203T – same as above, but with a touchscreen display

UL-series thin and light laptops:

  • Asus UL20 – 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 7.5 hour battery
  • Asus UL30A – 13.3 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 10 hour battery

The Asus UL50A/UL50Ag/UL50Vg/UL50Vt/UL80V models and other larger laptops have also been updated.

In related news, Asus has posted the user manual for the Eee PC 1201 online, and as netbooked points out, it mentions a third, previously announced model called the Eee PC 1201T. The Eee PC 1201T doesn’t have an HDMI port, which would seem to indicate that it might not have ION graphics. There’s no word on what else might set it apart from the 1201HA and 1201N.

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009, 10:03 am by Brad | Tags: , , , ,

Asus Eee Top ET2002 review

angle offThe Asus Eee Top ET2002 is an all-in-one desktop with the computer components and display sharing a single case. The computer has a large 20 inch, 1600 x 900 pixel display and packs a 1.6GHz Dual Core Atom 330 processor.

It’s also one of the first all-in-one computers from Asus to feature NVIDIA ION graphics, so while the ET2002’s basic components aren’t that different from those found in a typical netbook, the computer can handle HD video and some other high performance graphics tasks.

Unlike some all-in-one desktops from Asus and other computer vendors, the ET2002 doesn’t have a touchscreen display. But if you plan to use this computer in your office instead of your living room or kitchen, you probably won’t miss it.

The unit Asus sent me to review has 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a DVD-RW burner, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Ethernet, 6 USB ports, an HDMI input and comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, October 8th, 2009, 5:01 pm by Brad | Tags: , , , , ,

Closer look at the Asus Eee Top ET2002T – Video

et2002t

I got a chance to check out the new Asus Eee Top ET2002T this week, and it looks like the company’s Eee Top line has come a long way since I reviewed the ET1602 this summer. For starters, while the ET1602 had a 15.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel touchscreen display, the latest model has a 20 inch, 1600 900 pixel display.

Asus has also dropped the touchscreen, which makes sense because the ET2002T isn’t really meant for use as a kitchen PC, but rather as a multimedia machine. It includes a slot-loading DVD player and NVIDIA ION graphics fro handling 1080p video playback and even some video gaming duties.

The machine also has 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive and a dual core Intel Atom 330 processor. The computer also has 802.11b/g/n WiFi built in. It runs Windows Vista Home Premium right now, but should be available with Windows 7 soon.

The Asus Eee Top ET2002T has a list price of $599, but you can pick it up for $581 from Amazon. I shot a short video of the ET2002T in action with Asus spokesperson Josh Norem the other night. You can check it out after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday, September 19th, 2009, 2:26 pm by Brad | Tags: , , , , ,

Asus Eee Top ET2022 does voice commands – Video

et2022 voice

The Asus Eee Top ET2022 is the first all-in-one desktop from Asus with a dual core Intel Atom 330 CPU and NVIDIA ION graphics. It also has a touchscreen, and as Sascha from Netbook News discovered, it also has voice control features.

The version he got to check out in the Asus headquarters in Taiwan was running Windows 7 and included a number of sidebar widgets for checking the weather, converting currency, or performing other actions. For instance, you can say “check Germany, Berlin,” and the Eee Top will show you the weather in Berlin. Or you can say “Euro to US dollars” to open the currency converter.

As you can see in the video below, the voice control feature can be a little finnicky, but Sascha and the computer both have a bit of an accent… and a potty mouth.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009, 11:15 am by Brad | Tags: , , ,

Asus to bring NVIDIA ION-powered all-in-ones stateside

et2203 and friendsAsus has announced plans to bring the 20 inch Eee Top all-in-one computer with NVIDIA graphics spotted in France last week to the US. But wait, there’s more! If you act now, you can also get a 22 inch model.

The Asus Eee Top ET2002 will come in two models, both with 20 inch displays. The ET2002 will hae a standard display, while the ET2002T will have a touchscreen. Both models will have dual core Intel Atom 330 processors and NVIDIA ION graphics as well as 2GB of RAM, 320GB hard drives and Super Multi disc burners. They’ll include 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and a whole slew of I/O ports including HDMI input and a total of 6 USB ports.

The Asus ET2203T will feature a 22 inch widescreen, touchscreen display, an Intel Core Duo processor and ATI Radeon HD 4570 graphics. This model seems more like the company’s answer to the HP TouchSmart series of high-end all-in-one media center machines than a typical nettop. The ET2203T will also have a Blu-Ray drive.

You can read more about all three models in the official product announcement.

via SlashGear

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009, 2:17 pm by Brad | Tags: , , , , ,

Asus multimedia lineup: Eee Keyboard, ION-powered Eee Box coming son

Hot on the heels of the introduction of the Asus Eee Top ET2002T all-in-one PC with NVIDIA ION graphics, Asus could be ready to ship two more multimedia-centric devices soon. First up is the Eee Keyboard, which the company first introduced in January. But according to DigiTimes, this PC-in-a-keyboard could hit the streets as soon as October.

The Eee Keyboard features an Intel Atom processor, a solid state disk, a 5 inch, 800 x 480 pixel touchscreen display, and wireless HDMI. It’s designed to make it easy to access PC and internet content on a TV.

Asus is also launching the first member of the Eee Box nettop family to sport NVIDIA ION graphics. The EB1012 is a small, low power desktop PC with a dual core Atom 330 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 802.11bg/n WiFi, 6 USB ports, an eSATA port, and VGA, and HDMI outputs.

The EB1012 isn’t the first Eee Box to shun Intel’s integrated graphics solutions. Other models ship with ATI Radeon graphics. But this is the first model to sport NVIDIA ION, which is designed specifically for low power devices.

Friday, August 21st, 2009, 8:56 am by Brad | Tags: , , , , ,

Asus launches 20 inch Eee Top ET2002T w/NVIDIA graphics in France

et2002t

The Asus Eee Top ET2002T is an all-in-one desktop PC with a 20 inch, 1600 x 900 pixel display. But as I discovered when reviewing the 15.6 inch Eee Top ET1602 with its 1366 x 768 pixel display, high resolution displays and Intel Atom processors don’t always play well together. On the one hand, web pages and static images looked awesome. On the other hand, video (especially Flash) had trouble keeping up. I can only imagine things would be worse on the ET2002T with its even higher resolution display.

Fortunately, the ET2002T has two things the ET1602 doesn’t: A dual core Atom 330 CPU and NVIDIA ION graphics. Those might not be enough to make Hulu look good in full screen, but it should help the computer handle downloaded HD videos. There’s also a built in DVD burner if you want to watch movies from these old fashioned things called optical discs.

The computer has 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and an HDMI input which lets you use the Eee Top as a display for a different computer. Blogeee reports that the ET2002T will be available in Europe within the next few weeks for about €598 or $846 US. So you have to wonder: Are people ready to pay that kind of money for any computer with an Intel Atom processor? Even one with a 20 inch touchscreen and NVIDIA ION?

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009, 6:49 pm by Brad | Tags: , , , ,