Asus Reveals the Eee Top, an iMac Style PC for the Masses.
Asus Reveals the Eee Top, an iMac Style PC for the Masses.
Posted 11/08/2008 at 1:59pm
| by Justin Kerr
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A small group of Maximum PC readers (and editors) tend to glaze over at the mere mention of the Eee PC. For those of you that fall into this category, I’ll do my best to keep it interesting and you’ll be glad to know, this isn’t an ordinary netbook announcement. The now household name that spawned a generation of inexpensive PC’s have unveiled a new form factor that brings the Eee product line closer to being a desktop solution than ever before. First impressions of the product are obvious, it is clearly intended to appeal to the budget conscious crowd who can’t afford an iMac, or simply don’t care to pay the Apple tax. Asus isn’t the first to take on the iMac, but the Eee brand name, and touch screen interface gives it an interesting advantage over its competitors.
The Eee Top will come in two variations, the ET1602 and the ET1603. Both models feature a 15.6” touch screen display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of Ram, and a 160GB Hard Drive. Other less critical features include 802.11n networking as well as a built in card reader and web cam. The two models are almost completely identical with the one exception being the ET1603’s inclusion of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD3450 for graphics. The ET1602 by comparison will only sport Intel integrated. No pricing has yet been announced for either model, and both systems will feature Windows XP Home with a custom touch screen GUI.
So, is this the form factor of Eee PC you were waiting for?
(Image Credit asus.com)
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Shalbatana
November 10, 2008 at 8:56am
I agree with you guys. It's rather ugly, would be great for that kitchen PC "they" so badly want me to have, and will only sell if it's cheap.
Incedentally, It occurs to me that with netbooks and eepc's etc. they're just selling us the relevant of usability of a computer from 12 years ago, only with usb and a smaller form factor. So perhaps that old machine you kept in your basement for years, then tossed after you couldn't sell it at your garage sale might have had a use after all.
_______________________________
"There's no time like the future."
damicatz
November 09, 2008 at 7:56pm
I'll give it about two months before the inevitable lawsuit from Apple.
Remember what happened when Gateway released a computer modeled that even bore slight resembelence to the original iMac.
Keith E. Whisman
November 09, 2008 at 10:15am
if it's only a few hundred dollars I'll get one. Plug in an external hard drive and use it for bittorrent chores. err like sharing indi music and movies yeah..
Bender2000
November 08, 2008 at 10:47pm
That keyboard looks like an Apple wireless, it has no number pad. Is this really the new Mac Mini in disguise? Looks like this will sell like hotcakes, its got enough for everyone but hardcore, Max PC gamers. Less is more they say. Touchscreen will wow them, built in wireless makes set up easy. The all in one design saves counter space. If this thing doesn't fall on its face, it will have a lot of iMac owners angry.
Perfect for the education market?
Caboose
November 08, 2008 at 9:13pm
I've been going over in my head, what I'd like for my future living room (when I get a house) and one of the things that I'd really like, is a touch-screen PC to control my music, and provide internet access in a central location. This, I think, is what I've been looking for. Let's see how it looks once the price is released. Maybe it'll get more appealing, maybe it'll get less. Only time will tell!
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
ghot
November 08, 2008 at 7:45pm
make a "touch" keyboard mouse combo rather than the screen ^^
Who cares if THAT gets dirty :) I also think its way past time to make the keyboard/mouse combo of a laptop..."crumb proof" Now that would be make someone rich!
Not to mention that the idea of spending a few hours with my arms up in the air (for a touch SCREEN)is just so thrilling :/
band geek
November 08, 2008 at 7:24pm
If Asus can manage to get this under $600, they'll have a home-run seller on their hands. The design looks really great, and the touch screen sounds awesome. I can only hope for a dual-core Atom.
FOX72
November 08, 2008 at 7:03pm
This may be a better solution than the HP TouchSmart for a kitchen counter PC. Maybe my wife will give me my laptop back.
forumdude123
November 08, 2008 at 5:15pm
For a minute I thought that was an imac until i read the title!!
PCIV
November 08, 2008 at 3:07pm
3450? To take the load off the CPU when doing H264, right? Cuz Atom and gaming?...
One question. Where's the dual-core Atom?
Eternal Visitor
November 08, 2008 at 4:35pm
I bet it has more get-up-and-go than my current PC does, and it games just fine, can't handle anything less than a few years old, but capable all the same.
"gaming" doesn't just mean "games released this week" you know.
dankers
November 08, 2008 at 3:05pm
We have touch screens at work, I like it but the screen gets funky
anonuser
November 08, 2008 at 5:06pm
We have touchscreens at my school and they work fine. Maybe it is because we have the new toshiba hp and gateway tablets. Eitherway, the newer the touchscreen the better they will get.
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