News Updates About the Eee PC Announcement
October 16th, 2007 by antIt seems as though for now the majority of coverage of the Taiwan ASUS Eee PC announcement has been mostly confined to websites in Chinese.
- Engadget Chinese has an update where they verify what we already know but do announce immediate availability.
- Jeremy has a summary of his twitter posts from during the announcement in Taiwan. (translations via google translate are rough)
One English-based source that picked up on the announcement was Reuters. In their article, they state:
- T$7,999 to T$13,888 (USD $245 - $426)
- 200,000 units this year (because of late arrival)
- over 3,000,000 units next year
- most notably: will offer version with windows at a discounted price (T$1000 or ~$30 usd?)
Basically, while it looks like most of the rumors are true, not much new information is out yet. However, with immediate availability, we assume official word should soon begin to spread.
October 16th, 2007 at 11:51 am
they will offer version with windows for T$1000 more, not at a discount…
October 16th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Discounted from the usual T$2000 to T$3000.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Don’t mention that its Windows ME for $30. hehehe jk, couldn’t resist.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Windows wants to earn the fat buck.
AGAIN ASUS HAS MADE A PRANK.
I don’t see the prices anounced, damn it!! When will something finally an information iceberg move in the Arctic of official anouncments of price and availability.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I am worried about newegg and bestbuy getting people eeePCs before I get my preorder… I would be extremely angry.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Hasn’t Asus already pissed you off with the ehm… steady information concerning this product?
October 16th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Yes. I am very impatient. It feels like a eternity that I have had the carrot dangling before me.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
That is one of the many reasons why I did not even consider ‘pre-ordering’. Lets hope the Eee comes to market this time. If its not in stores by November 6th I will buy something else. Thats my last day to wait. At this point I need a laptop. So maybe I will buy an Eee too when it FINALLY comes out.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
The problem with pre-ordering was that you had to give no-money-back 150 bucks - now they can ask any price they want (of course that would ruin their rep, but still..) and if you won’t pay then, as the Russians would say, “Pigu”. But that would have been quite impossible.
Ahh anyway I just want to wait a bit till the prices get steady and snatch one!
Well, let’s hope it’s out soon and not for too overblown prices.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
LayZ, if they do raise the price you can still ‘opt out’ of the $150 deposit here is an excerpt from Jerry Stagliano’s form letter…
“Remember that deposits are non-refundable unless this item is discontinued and you don’t receive one or if the price changes and you do not accept the new price (neither of which we anticipate happening). If you have moved, are moving, have a new phone number or a new card expiration date, please let us know.”
October 16th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Well, so much for the conspiracy theory! =]
My paranoia will now search for pray somwhere else. =]
October 16th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
You know they have to already made a large number of these units and haven’t announced or shipped them yet. I am sure they know every spec and software in it already. Why they can’t just tell us…I have no clue.
October 16th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Those “translated” twitter posts are amusing. Machine translation still has a long way to go.
October 16th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Cool how the final specs are posted, but Asus hasn’t been linking to this changed page. http://eeepc.asus.com/en/product.htm
October 16th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
I wonder what OS would be the better choice here?
I think the Linux based one looks nice, but I’m not knowledgeable at all about Linux. Seems like it would do most of what I want. I have Open Office on my WinXP box, and it’s pretty good.
I also worry with Windows, if the the 480 vertical resolution would be a big problem? Because I notice that many Windows programs want more than that. So would teh Eeee PC even work well with Windows?
The one nice thing about Windows is you can run any program you want. Otherwise, it’s not so great.
October 16th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
just someone: The only non Microsoft product I would want is Photoshop. I have gone only Linux for a year now and that is the only program I have missed because there are alternatives for everything else. Gimp is a program like Photoshop on Linux, but no where near as good.
However, I plan on removing the default distro that comes with the eee and replacing it with a different one.
October 16th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Thanks Urban.
I have been wanting to try Linux for a long time, so I think I will get the Linux Eee PC as my introduction to Linux.
Photoshop is great, I like photography but I’m not a pro, so I can get along without it.
I want the 8G version of the Eee PC - I hope the price stays below $400. I think $399 would be a great price point for it.
Too bad there isn’t a version with a 9″ screen and more resolution. The 7″ 800×480 isn’t much… but maybe it will help conserve battery life I guess.
October 16th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
I wave been watching the eee pc for a while now, and have put up with (what seems like) endless delays, and as a student have always been attracted by its low price. I’m just happy to see that its becoming a reality and not just a mirage, like i was fearing for a while (e.g. foleo). The moment they arrive at either store, Best Buy or Newegg, I will order one (probably the 4G) but untill then, i wait with my fingers crossed.
October 16th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
For those talking about Linux and Photoshop… The EEE is definitely NOT going to run photoshop at a good level anyway. Linux is not at all difficult to use, and the interface as seen in the reviews is actually easier to use than Windows. Give it a try! Besides that, the Linux that comes with the EEE is designed to wear less the flash memory of the “hard drive” of the EEE; with Windows the wear would be much more (in other words: with windows in the EEE the hard drive will last a lot less)
October 16th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
That product page on the earlier post is down. Guess we might get some more info with the shelving tommorow?
October 17th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Juan Camilo,
You make some excellent points there!
Linux version all the way!
October 17th, 2007 at 12:13 am
I live in Taichung City Taiwan. I’ve just spent the last hour checking out the Asus EEE which has been in Taiwan stores since yesterday. I’ve been following all of they hype on the ASUS USER site and I’ve gotta say, now that I’ve actually seen and messed around with it for a while…. it is definitely worth the wait. The 4Gig 701 was being sold for 11,900 NT dollars. Most of the ASUS reps thought that it would be more like 13,000 NT. The guy I talked to said that they will come out with the 8 gig / 1meg RAM version before the end of the year. Hopefully in Black.
October 17th, 2007 at 1:32 am
I have to admit to being extremely envious of “Asus EEE in Taiwan” who already has the units available to them. Hmmmm…
Plan Flight to Taiwan: $900
Meals: $300
Lodging: $450
Asus Eee bought in Taiwan: 11,900 NT dollars or whatever that translates into US dollars.
Having the Eee before anyone in the US: PRICELESS!
October 17th, 2007 at 1:40 am
Product page is back up with no apparent changes.
October 17th, 2007 at 3:24 am
Lee - You should buy Vaio instead of flying around a world
October 17th, 2007 at 3:43 am
I think he was being sarcastic. Tell ya what mate… I’ll put you up and feed you so you can cut those expenses out of your list.
October 17th, 2007 at 3:55 am
I come from Taiwan and bought a Eee PC last night. It is better and faster than we thought before!
Asus give you system backup in SSD and DVD.It used more than 1GB HD space of Eee PC. The Driver of Windows XP SP2 is in DVD too.
I can not speak English well, so I can’t write too much news about my Eee PC. It’s a good machine, very good!
October 17th, 2007 at 4:02 am
If you want to back up all system in Eee PC and install Windows XP, you need:
1.Windows XP SP2:It needs a USB bootable edition Windows.
2.USB DVDRom:Install Windows and drivers.
3.1GB SD Card:Back up the system and software, only 1GB or more! ASUS waste more than 1GB space to system backup disk and cache……
October 17th, 2007 at 5:32 am
Naah windows on that thing isn’t a godd idea in my point of view - if you want a proper antivirus it will be slow as hell. No need for windows, at least i think so.
That little PC is meant for simple use and not hardcore gaming, photo editing ‘n’ stuff - it’s just for MS Word alike things and internet, nothing else.
My thoughts - no use to install Bill’s product since it is meant for tehnically more advanced stuff that has a bigger screen.
October 17th, 2007 at 6:40 am
“Figu” not “pigu”
I’m from russia. Can i ask one question: how much will cost the cheapest 245$ model in russia? I think if i buy it, i’ll pay near 300$
It’s expensive for this little power of cpu
October 17th, 2007 at 6:59 am
Well yeah it is a bit expensive but it’s mega portable.
About the prices in Russia - depends - if you buy from newegg or some non-Russian shop the delivery just makes the difference, but if you’ll wait till the triple e is sold in Russia i bet they won’t bump the prices any higher than ~260$, but heck knows - Asus likes to make tricks.
Oh and about that “figu” thing - I’m not Russian (I’m Latvian), but it seemed to me that it spells as “pigu” but, oh well, not gonna’ try to argue with an aborigenee
October 17th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Guess we just got fucked- lowest version at $299- check engadget!
October 17th, 2007 at 9:21 am
Didn’t find it… Post a link to what you’re talking about Engadget!
October 17th, 2007 at 9:21 am
Fuck, fuckidy, fuck, fuck, fuck.
That was veeeery evil of them.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:22 am
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/17/asus-eee-pc-priced-299-to-399/
October 17th, 2007 at 9:26 am
Well, I just read it, but they don’t say where they get those prices from… Plus, if its $399 for the 8G version, it’s not bad as we were assuming $399 for 4G… Anyway I don’t see they mention where they got those prices from, so I still think that we’re probably not going to really know prices until Best Buy/Newegg start to sell them…
October 17th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Now, 299 would be expensive for the simple version, but again, 399 for 8G, heck, that was what we originally expected the 4G 512 and camera to cost (at least according to preorders)
October 17th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Yup, no bad without good.
Buuut as you just said their unknown source of info doesn’t prove anything.
Let’s rub our hands and hope for the best.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Yup. Probably $299 is the 4G surf:
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9798450-1.html
October 17th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Ka-ching!
Hell more than we expected! Excellent.
Now just have to wait a bit until it’s finally released.
October 17th, 2007 at 10:13 am
In Taiwan eee PC priced $245~425 UD(2GB-SSD 256MB-RAM ~~ 8GB 1GB)
From the press, E would be available in America in late Oct.
Nov. in Europe.
We only can get the 4GB 512MB model with camera $340 UD right now in Taiwan. Others would be availabe in Taiwan in Nov.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I hope BestBuy doesn’t run out of stock fast
did anyone email them?
October 17th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Aaand the point?
Hey chaps, do you have any triple e’s left?!
Ridicilous.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Well if the prices keep going up you don’t have to worry too much about running out of stock.
Bottom line I have predicted the $300 price point for the lowest model from the beginning in many of my posts on this forum so this obvious ‘bait and switch’ tactic doesn’t surprise me one bit. Nothing is confirmed yet, but regardless we are all still on the path to buy it.
I doubt we are going to see any iPhone like lines outside the stores, but it wouldn’t hurt to be the first one at the store at 8am when it opens….
October 17th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Now there’s real competition for the eeePC — the Nokia N810 UMPC is announced today.
http://www.nseries.com/index.html#l=home
less than $500, too
October 17th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
dannygee,
I don’t consider the Nokia N810 as competition in this case, because it’s such a different form factor. It’s more of a competitor to PocketPC’s and other tiny UMPC’s.
EeePC is a more traditional product, and IMO more appealing as a small “workhorse” type computer. What I mean is, I can see myself using the EeePC to actually write letters and memos on, and to do real work on.
Having said that, the Nokia 810 looks really awesome.
It’s just no what I want at this time, but if I was rich, I’d get all the cool gadgets there are!
October 17th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Yeah that Nokia is not something I’d look forward to editing or creating any Office files on.
October 17th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
well, according to the http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9798450-1.html article, the $299 price point is for the 4G version with no camera. the real question is whether a .3 MP camera and the slightly better battery is worth whatever price difference ~$50-$60
October 17th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Have U seen the new web layout, quite a Lift
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=24&l2=0&l3=0&l4=0&model=1907&modelmenu=1
My 19in CRT in 800×600 barely fits the website in the screen @ max (double click title bar method).
.Imagine
October 17th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
I hope I can get one when they go on sell in the US they are selling fast http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138540/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws
October 17th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
If you want to use your CRT with Eee PC, you can change it to 1600X1200. If you want to bring and use Eee PC in bus, it’s another question.
The battery of Eee PC is better than I guest, more than 4 hours! But it also use more than 4 hours to charge it……
Now, I want to find someway to install some program like realplayer. It is not so easy to install programs in Eee PC/Linux.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Actually it is… You won’t get Real Player because there is not a Real Player for Linux, but you can install VLC which plays pretty much any format. Just go to the “Package Manager”, search for VLC and install it. Getting used to a “Package Manager” takes a little when you come from Windows, but once you understand the basics it’s actually easier than installing in Windows since you look for whatever program you want in one place. I’m not sure about where the Package Manager is in the default GUI of the EEE, but in the Advanced mode just look for a program called “Synaptic”, and with that you can search and install programs for linux.
October 17th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
the nokia can use an external bluetooth keyboard so you can type as well as on the eeepc. and this is version 3 of the product, not a v1 like the eeepc. check out the product page — includes video skype too.
http://www.nseries.com/index.html#l=home
and also type n810 into google and you’ll see more than you’ll need to know from
a variety of viewpoints. enjoy.
October 17th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
check out the specs below on the n810. btw, contains GPS with spoken voice directions and does bluetooth headset connection too,
Today Nokia announced the latest Internet Tablet, the N810. Smaller than its predecessor, the N800, the N810 measures 128mm x 72mm x 14mm (5″ x 3″ x .55″) and weighs 226g (8oz). The N810 Internet Tablet also features a 4.13″ touchscreen with 800×480 pixel resolution and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It also comes equipped with a VGA-resolution camera for video calling, as well as a light sensor to automatically adjust the screen and keyboard backlights.
Since the N810 is not a phone, but an Internet Tablet, it does not have a cellular radio of any sort. However, it does sport several connectivity options, including WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0. A GPS module is also built-in and will use Wayfinder’s navigation software, which has turn-by-turn voice directions available as an optional upgrade. Internal storage on the N810 Internet Tablet is a generous 2GB, with a miniSD card slot supporting capacities up to 8GB. The processor on the N810 is the same TI OMAP2420 used on the N800, only it’s clocked at 400Mhz, an upgrade from the N800’s 330Mhz.
October 17th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Nokia n810 is not really on the same league as the EEE. The EEE is a laptop,it actually runs an OS into which you can install new software, and in which you can update the OS and that in this particular case, you have access to thousands of programs already made for that OS (Linux). You have access to a complete Office suite (be it Open Office or Microsoft Office if you go for the Windows Version)… The nokia is nice and all, but it’s not quite on the same category… the EEE is an ultralight and ultrasmall laptop, the other one is just a HandHeld on steroids
October 17th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
see what the “hands on” opinions are:
http://www.umpcportal.com/livelinks.html?id=138
October 17th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Oh, and the Nokia n810 (which in my opinion is somewhat limited if thought of as a laptop) is expected to be over $400 (http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/17/nokia-n810-gets-official/)
October 17th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Anyway, if you prefer to buy the n810 then maybe I can get my hands on the EEE you’re not buying
October 17th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
hey, i’m not buying anything yet! but my guess it that the eeepc will be underpowered unless you want to pony up at least $400. time will tell. when? Hah! that’s a good question. they can’t even post prices with specs.
October 18th, 2007 at 12:13 am
RealPlayer for Linux:
http://www.real.com/linux/
I download it and open terminal to try to install it, but I can’t use “chmod”……
Linux for Eee PC is lacking some module……
October 18th, 2007 at 12:16 am
dasha: Try to go into the advanced mode (not the regular super user friendly gui) and search for Synaptic (it should be there since Xandros is Debian Based), and search for VLC. VLC should play real media files with no problem.
October 18th, 2007 at 12:20 am
dannygee: I understand your point, but the thing is that the EEE is designed to be underpowered, cause it’s not supposed to be a desktop replacement. It’s supposed just to be used for things like writing mails, surfing the net, writing letters and spreadsheets, instant messaging and calling over skype; that’s it, it’s not meant to run Photoshop or to play Quake in multiplayer mode at max resolution… And for the $400 of the higher version I think it’s actually cheap, you can’t even get a 12 inch laptop for that, and this is designed to be carried around everywhere…
October 18th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Juan: experience is the best teacher, not the FUD that asus has been sending. lets you and i go to the store and play with it, touch it, type on it, see for ourselves and make up our minds the old fashioned way!
November 23rd, 2007 at 2:18 am
I have a Sharp palmtop PC, PC 3100, which is very handy, a 10XT with 1Meg onbaord RAM and a 1 Meg expansion & dos3.3.
It only has serial and parallel but runs forever on AA batteries. Every now and then when I need a serial port checked, out it comes. The form factor is close to the EEE. I’ll be retiring the Sharp for the EEE.
A small plamtop is excellent for travelling with.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:45 am
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