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NCIX Preorder Specs and Prices on Eee PC: ETA September

by ant on August 21, 2007

[edit: Looks like NCIX took down the pages...]
[edit2: Looks like they put back up the pages but without the $257 model.... oh dear]
[edit3: Looks like they have the $257 model back up... jeez]
[edit4: Now listed as "embargo"]

NCIX “Canada’s Premier Computer Store” has several models of the Eee PC 701 online for preorder with an ETA of “Late September 2007.” While I don’t usually post information about preorders, this is different because they seem to spell out solid specifications and pricing as follows:

  • ASUS Eee PC700 Celeron M 7IN 800X480 WLAN 10/100 DDR2 256MB 2GB LAN Linux Notebook (Eee700/2G/256M) (25881) $257.38 or 284.99CAD
  • ASUS Eee PC700 Celeron M 7IN 800X480 WLAN 10/100 DDR2 256MB 2GB LAN Linux Camera Notebook W/ Bag (Eee700/2G/256M/Camera) (25884) $285.10 or 329.99CAD
  • ASUS Eee PC700 Celeron M 7IN 800X480 WLAN 10/100 DDR2 512MB 4GB LAN Linux Camera Notebook W/ Bag (Eee700/4G/512M/Camera) (25885) $388.05 or 439.99CAD

The question is: are these the final prices for the United States as well, or do they include some sort of Canadian import tax or upcharge?

I’m sure a lot of readers will be upset with the idea that the lowest model Eee PC 701- the $199 ultra-portable notebook- is really $257.38 with no camera, 256mb of ram, and 2GB of disk space.

I’m inclined to believe this is accurate as it includes the sku number (italicized). The deafening silence from Asus as well seems to support the price increase…

[thanks for the heads up, brenny]

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{ 81 comments }

Nikolaos August 23, 2007 at 7:52 am

The 257$ version is now again available….. I must say that it is a big dissappointment because asus had raised great expecations to people with the initial specification and now it appears to be overpriced…. I think that we should wait and see the thing though….

Darkdiablo August 23, 2007 at 10:04 am

We did someone noticed that prices went down??

Niskyspy August 23, 2007 at 10:35 am

I don’t understand NCIX, their Express Coverage adds free shipping (unless I am not understanding something) but when I go to check out there is a shipping charge.

JZ457 August 23, 2007 at 4:11 pm

Dell D400
3.7 lbs
1.4 Ghz Pentium-M
512 Ram
30 GB HD
Wifi Built in
12.1 LCD

Ebay 275

Nuff Said

JZ457 August 23, 2007 at 4:12 pm

Ebay $275 buy it now

JZ457 August 23, 2007 at 4:13 pm

** CD-r or DVD Drive included

lonea August 23, 2007 at 4:19 pm

haha @ dell d400

I just did an order! August 23, 2007 at 8:14 pm

I just ordered this device. I believe that I should support Linux in some small way. This is going to be a fun device! 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB flash, camera, open source!!!

Order yours at ncix.com

I can’t wait to hack it!

not bad... August 24, 2007 at 1:17 am

ofcourse it would’ve been better if it was $199, but I would still like to buy $285 one instead of refurbished ones for the same or lower price because I like the fact that the price is still low with camera, wireless and linux os and also nice design with light weight. For the hardware, you can buy the $285 one and add more ram and buy extra flash drive or something. On the other hand, other laptops, most of them refurbished, with the same price or lower, are usually really old and outdated models with really ugly design. And I don’t think most of them are not even 7in screen or small, light weight laptops, more like 10 in or 12 or something. So let us not be disappointed by the price and just buy the thing and have fun with it. Or we could always wait until price drops.

Nikolaos August 24, 2007 at 4:50 am

Has anyone found any preorder stores in Europe? NCIX does not accept preorders from us europeans……

Richard Talbot August 24, 2007 at 5:41 am

I havent found any Eurp outlets yet but searching!

Christiaan_e August 24, 2007 at 8:31 am

I’m sorry but my English is a bit rusty,

Ward Estoppey (pr Asus) :

For the Netherlands:
“The first shipment will be in November and the price will be between the € 249 and € 299.”

I don’t know which version of eee this will be, its not mentioned in the text

I’m not sure if this information is reliable but here is an link:
http://www.webwereld.nl/ref/rss/47686 (Dutch)

craig August 24, 2007 at 9:24 am

$199 for 2GB and camera would have been great. I can’t justify more than $200, and no camera is a deal breaker. As a self-supported student this is no longer useful for me. ASUS is pulling a bait and switch and is losing future customers for their other products. Someone needs to fill this niche, if not ASUS.

crow August 24, 2007 at 12:23 pm

damn $439 for the 512MB version? For $60 more I can get a brand new 15″ laptop.

Niskyspy August 24, 2007 at 4:32 pm

Everybody should go to the following link to recommend NewEgg to sell EeePC.
https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/FeedBack/ShallWeCarry.asp

spencer August 24, 2007 at 5:28 pm

the price is still less than the next step up of a new laptop (like a regular laptop). and i don’t use my computer for much. just internet and word processing. that’s it.

how would it run with 256mb of ram tho?

Mic August 24, 2007 at 8:20 pm

ASUS is really making a fool of themself and loosing a LOT of goodwill.

At this price/spec, we might as well throw in a little more and get a normal laptop.

Pure idiots at work!

gary August 25, 2007 at 3:13 am

Are they still going to have dial-up and will the du modem’s work w/the linux os? Many modem’s on notebook’s that come with linux pre-installed do not.

Shadow August 25, 2007 at 12:06 pm

I think I will just wait for Black Friday laptop deals if the price stays the way it is.

Miles August 26, 2007 at 6:25 am

Double the price?? HA! Suddenly $200 + $60 = $400 ? I wish my paycheck doubled like that.

It makes all the sense in the world that the lowest end model has less specifications, and if you look at the product codes, all the xx8xx models are 800Mhz, the xx9xx models are the 900Mhz ones.

I don’t see any reason to complain, I am glad to see real-world pricing in effect, and it still beats $500 for a low-end lappy any day.

256MB DDR2 SO-DIMM are everywhere, they ship in new laptops that are instantly upgraded and the old RAM put on ebay, I have one laying on my desk that cost me $12, Figure $37-39 for 4GB SDHC card(why does everyone say USB dongle? It has an SD reader on the Right side!) So $60 to go to 6GB and 512 DDR2?? That isn’t bad at all (I already have the RAM and a 2GB SD card, so that = $0 for me :P ). Since it is Wifi and 10/100 LAN, you can just use NAS for your files anyway, or an online file service.

Miles August 26, 2007 at 6:45 am

Just to clarify, I thought that there was 256MB onboard, and 2 SO-DIMM slots? The 256MB version would have 2 empty slots, and the 512MB version would have 1 empty slot. I have no idea if this is true, just something I read.

If there is only one SO-DIMM slot, I would rather have it empty and add my own (IE cheaper) RAM, removing a smaller RAM module to add a larger one peeves me to no end.

Not to mention that work still gets done (and batteries last longer) by having only 256MB of RAM, this isn’t a Microsoft OS machine you know (As if that even makes a difference, see below).

I agree with you naysayers, don’t buy one, more for me.

If you can’t get XP on 2GB of storage, you don’t deserve to have a PC, there is XP-Lite (which I have never resorted to) that can remove fully many dangerous/useless parts of the OS, such as IE and DirectX (If you don’t game), and Drivers that you will never use, and, and and.

I would just use W2K SP4, it is almost the same core and has been running on my laptop (500Mhz P3 120MB RAM) just fine for the last few months, except the damn thing is heavy and the graphics are Neo-Magic based (Ugh, just Ugh.)

Danny August 26, 2007 at 7:36 pm

Maybe its not what we all think. Maybe Asus is not reneging on the $199 price point promise. MAYBE the prices are higher because they are in Canadian currency! (I sure hope so.) What do you guys think? Possible?

B-Lo August 27, 2007 at 4:01 pm

I think that many here are missing a few important points:

1. “I can buy a more… computer for only… more.” Yes, you can get more power, better features, etc, etc. But once you buy that other laptop, can you make it small, light and portable??? I think not. The EeePC has value in it’s size and usability, not necessarily it’s technical specs.

2. “Only … RAM?” Try to remember, that we’re dealing with Linux here, not Winjunk. I am running a 10 year old Toshiba laptop with a P166 processor and 96MB of RAM to full effect. Granted, I have to run a lightweight GUI, but it works FINE for internet, email and LIGHT work duty. Linux is far more efficient then windows, so works well with lesser specs. The fact that this is a potentially mainstream Linux product should make most of us VERY excited.

3. “I won’t be able to add my favorite… or use my preferred…” No, you may not. With a purpose built machine like this, there will be limited customizing available. This is not supposed to be every answer for every user. It is focused for simple, light and portable. When I need to sink a screw, I use a screwdriver, not a swiss army knife. The screwdriver has far fewer uses than the swiss army knife, but I find that it work MUCH better at its defined task. But I don’t carry the screwdriver around in my pocket all the time, either. If you were planning on hacking XP or Vista, this is not your machine. If you wanted to add your own Linux distro, this is not your machine. If you want a small, light, easy-to-use and ready out of the box email/internet computer, this could still be your machine.

One final comment, the price ‘bait and switch’. You REALLY should have seen that comming. $200 is what a 2GB iPod nano costs. How are these people supposed to put together a functioning WiFi capable computer for that same price, but with better specs, and still make any cash? I didn’t believe for a minute that they could. But I am pleased that they’re bringing this product to market, and THIS YEAR(!) for a very reasonable price.

I’m buying the first one I can get my hands on. $250 isn’t too much for the hottest gadget on the market, and in the worst case turns out to be a $250 Linux powered MP3 player. That I can email from.

And add flash memory to. And doesn’t require iTunes…

Whoopie August 27, 2007 at 10:19 pm

Anyone noticed the info on the NCIX is no longer up anymore…again?

Whoopie August 28, 2007 at 3:14 pm

So does anyone know why these are now being listed as “Embargo” and not displaying any information about their stats?

G August 28, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Whoopie August 28, 2007 at 7:54 pm

Thanks, G.
That cleared it up.

Danny September 2, 2007 at 11:34 am

Toshiba laptop for $349 this week

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8398744&type=product&id=1179877238966&ref=10&loc=01

Will the EeePc be released at $199 like they said? Will they bait and switch?

Why wait to find out when good values are available *today*?

Max September 6, 2007 at 12:01 pm

Be happy!

The eee pc might not be what you hoped for, but it *is* the cheapest of its class. This product will sell, and will encourage other companies to get into the game. A year or two from now, there should be alot of small laptops like these, with better options, and cheaper prices!

Chris361 September 21, 2007 at 4:11 pm

If the US price is $250, then the Canadian price should be right around the same, the Canadian dolor is almost at par, and in the last couple of days has actually surpassed the US dollar (trading at $1.004 or something).

If I have to, I will buy it in the US since I live within 30 mins of the US. I hope the warranty won’t void though, it probably will haha.

puppy October 30, 2007 at 7:35 pm

256 MB RAM should be adequate for mini-Linux distros like Puppy Linux and DSL.

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