Think the $600 Eee PC 901 is a bit pricey? If you’re in Japan, you can apparently pick up an older Eee PC 701 4G for just about 100 yen, or less than $1 US. What’s the catch? You’ve got to sign up wireless data plan which will cost you the equivalent of $30 to $65 per month. That’s still a pretty reasonable price for a data plan, plus a computer and modem to use it with.

Tired of watching Japan get all the cool new gadgets before they’re available in the US and Europe? Well, sometimes we actually get a first crack at new toys in the west. Case in point, the HP Mini-Note has been available in the US for weeks, but it’s just now starting to ship in Japan.

Have I mentioned how much I’m loving this whole race to the bottom thing? The Asus Eee PC has shown that there’s a huge demand for low cost ultraportables, and the latest company to throw their hat in the ring is Japan’s Kohjinsha, which plans to release not just a tiny laptop, but a tiny table PC.

The Register reports that the Kohjinsha SCC (or Small, Cheap Computers) features the following specs:

• 500MHz AMD Geode LX800 CPU
• 512MB RAM
• 80GB hard drive
• Windows XP Home Edition (not Tablet edition)
• 7 inch 800 x 480 displays
• 802.11b/g
• Ethernet
• 2 USB ports
• 3-in-1 memory card reader
• CF reader
• VGA output
• Dimensions: 218 x 163 x 25.4mm
• Weight: 945 grams

The Kohjinsha SCC will come in two models, a ¥59,800 (or about $592 US) version and a ¥79,800 ($780) version that includes Office 2007 personal edition.

[via Eee PC.Net]