Posted 12/02/08 at 10:05:44 AM by Paul Lilly

Forgetting for a moment what's underneath the hood, Asus has officially introduced its redesigned Eee PC 1002HA, a gorgeous looking netbook that first appeared on the web back in October. The sleek new chassis owes its good looks to a brushed black (er, 'Agent Grey') aluminum LCD cover and palm rest in an attempt to bring "a touch of elegance to every day computing" in a lightweight package weighing just 2.6 pounds and measuring 1-inch thick.

On the inside, the familiar Intel Atom N270 processor makes an appearance, along with 1GB of DDR memory and a 160GB hard drive. Storage duties are complimented with another 10GB of hosted online space through Asus' Eee Storage service, free for the first 18 months.

Asus says you can expect up to five hours of unplugged computing time on its custom-made two-cell 4200mAh polymer battery. 

The Eee PC 10002HA is available now through the usual outlets with an MSRP set at $499. 

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mobile, asus, eee PC, netbook, 1002ha

Posted 11/21/08 at 03:19:27 PM by Andy Salisbury

Just this week Asus announced their brand new Eee Top desktop computer, which is meant to directly complete with Apple’s juggernaut, the iMac.

The Eee Top is a fancy take on desktop computing, that features a 15.6-inch touch screen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB DDR RAM, a 160GB 5,400RPM hard drive (boo!), a 1.3-megapixel webcam, and built-in WiFi. The price point is set at about $580 USD, but sadly the machine is only available in Taiwan. The rest of us will have to wait!

Though, the wait will be worthwhile, because if 15.6 inches sounds like it’ll be to small for you, Asus has a 20 and 22-inch version slated for release in June.

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apple, asus, hardware, consumer electronics, eee PC, iMac, eee top

Posted 11/08/08 at 03:59:37 PM by Justin Kerr

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?

Hit the jump and let us know.

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windows, asus, hardware, consumer electronics, build a pc, eee PC, touch panel, eee top

Posted 11/05/08 at 03:07:45 PM by Andy Salisbury

While Apple may not be offering anything new this holiday season, there’s a good chance that Asus might. According to notebook component vendors, Asus may be planning to introduce a 12-inch notebook, similar to the high-end Eee PC S101.

Claims have been reported that the S101 was originally designed for Asus’ ZX series, but Asus decided to ultimately add it to the netbook line as the demand for a high-end Eee PC grew. The rumored 12-inch ZX is supposed to have similar functionality to the Eee, but with bonus screen real estate, packing a respectable 16:10 aspect ratio.

The rumored notebook is supposed to be launched by the end of 2008, with a price point lower than $1,000. So keep your eyes open in the coming weeks, the holiday season is just around the corner.

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Posted 10/31/08 at 01:00:28 PM by Paul Lilly

Asus company president Jerry Shen expects his company's notebook growth in 2009 to outpace the industry's average of 10 to 20 percent, while also grabbing nearly a third of the netbook market next year with shipments in the 6 to 7.5 million unit range.

According to DigiTimes, part of Asus' growth in the netbook sector will hinge on a new $200 Eee PC that Shen plans to introduce sometime in 2009. Not much is known about the proposed low-cost PC and whether or not it will be on par with the $300 Eee PC 900A Best Buy began selling earlier this month.

Notebooks have become Asus' bread and butter, with mobile PCs now account for 47 percent of the company's revenues. On the growing netbook side, the company's Eee PC line contributes 22 percent, while motherboards and graphics cards accounting for 19 percent, handheld devices 2 percent, and all other products contributing 10 percent of revenue.

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Posted 10/22/08 at 03:25:43 PM by Paul Lilly

It doesn't matter that most power users would rather use a desktop replacement notebook in place of a lower cost (and much longer lasting, in terms of battery life) netbook, demand is hot and Asus has plans to stoke the coals. Asus Chairman Jonney Shih sees his company shipping 20 million laptops in 2009, which would mean increasing its output by 77 percent.

Should Asus meet its lofty goal, it would become one of the world's top four laptop makers. Not all of the laptops Asus sells are low-cost units or ultraportables, but many of them are and the market for netbooks doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. According to iSupply, the global notebook PC market will grow 20 percent next year, with the netbook segment twice as active with a 55 percent growth rate. That puts Asus in good position, who's Eee PC line can be argued sports a name brand recognition advantage over its competition.

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mobile, notebook, laptop, asus, Asustek, ultraportable, eee PC

Posted 10/18/08 at 04:19:05 PM by Paul Lilly

It may have taken Asus a year to get there, but the ultraportable Eee PC has finally been spotted for an ultra-affordable price tag. For a copper Lincoln shy of $300, Best Buy is currently selling the Eee PC 900A with an Intel Atom N270 processor clocked at 1.6GHz on a 533MHz frontside bus. Other goodies nestled inside the netbook include 1GB of DDR2 memory, a 4GB solid-state drive, 8.9-inch WSVGA widescreen display, integrated graphics, WiFi, and three USB 2.0 ports all running on Linux.

Kudos to Asus for finally offering a model priced in line with its specs, though Asus isn't the only guilty culprit to avoid doing so up to this point. Despite the immense popularity of netbooks in general, many models regardless of vendor have nipped at the heels of traditional laptops in terms of price, which generally offer more power, more storage space, and, well, more of everything. Asus new 900A puts some much needed distance between the two sectors, which is great for anyone looking to pick up a mini-notebook. Then again, no matter what the price, cynics it's still a mini-notebook under the hood.

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mobile, notebook, laptop, asus, ultraportable, eee PC

Posted 10/17/08 at 02:48:57 PM by Pulkit Chandna

We can expect a deluge of touch panel notebooks in the immediate future. Merely a week ago, general manger of the Eee PC division at Asustek, Samson Hu, had said that the company is contemplating touch panel Eee PCs.

Now, Digitimes’ sources have revealed to it that Asus intends to launch other touch panel notebooks, apart from Eee PCs, in the first or second quarter of 2009.

According to the sources, the said touch panel notebooks might take advantage of Windows 7. Asus hasn’t yet finalized the size of its new notebook.

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Software, notebook, laptop, hardware, Asustek, eee PC, windows 7, touch panel