According to reports, ASUS is getting ready to begin shipping its new very low cost EEE PC notebook in September. The starting price is $199 although in the US it'll be available for $369. What are its specs:
7" LCD Display (800x480)
900MHz Celeron-M ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) 353
Intel 910 Chipset
512MB DDR2-400 RAM
4, 8, or 16GB solid-state storage
Dimensions: 225 x 165 x 21-35mm
Weight: Approximately 2 lbs
Colors: Available in black or white
OS: Xandros-based Linux OS
Is there anyone else out there that thinks UMPC when they see specs such as these? I do. Add in a digitizer to the display and you're basically there. Take away the keyboard if you want.
Of course, the price is much different than what we see in the UMPC market. I'm assuming this is because ASUS is predicting they will sell many more EEEs. The article linked to above reports that ASUS is estimating 500,000 in the first year.
Of course, XP is probably the best you can do Windows wise on a device like this. A 4GB solid state drive isn't going to be able to hold Vista. The drive would be too small.
I hope the UMPC OEMs are learning a thing or two about the responses these low-cost devices are getting.
One thing I'd like to see in these solid state PCs is the option of buying them driveless. Let me find a drive that's the size I'm looking for--just make the hardware compatible with a variety of drives please. This would help to keep the cost down and is closer to how many people actually use these devices anyway. Isn't the first thing we usually do when purchasing equipment putting in our own memory and drives? Yep. Since that's so, why not sell them without them. Just my two cents worth.


Incremental Blogger