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Next Generation ASUS Eee PC 900

by ant on March 4, 2008

Do you wish your Eee PC had a larger screen? Higher resolution? More RAM? More storage space?

eee-pc-900.jpg

ASUS has your solution with the next generation Eee PC 900 series. It will feature a 8.9″ screen, running at 1024 x 600 resolution. You’ll be able to store 12GB of data, and will have 1GB of ram to access in a package a bit larger than the Eee PC 701. The cost? $600. Look for it in select countries later this summer.

{ 4 trackbacks }

Eeepc.fr : tirez le meilleur de votre Eeepc ! - L’Eeepc à écran 9″ !
March 5, 2008 at 2:51 am
Asus Eee PC 8.9″ | Asus EEE How To?
March 5, 2008 at 3:04 am
Mika Hynnä » Blog Archive » Asus Eee PC 4G (701)
March 11, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Next Generation ASUS Eee PC 900 [ EeeUser ]
June 7, 2008 at 3:01 pm

{ 226 comments }

Michael Spencer March 8, 2008 at 2:30 am

Here’s the new Eec PC video. Look at the right shift key.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY2azHo0LAU

Bruno Leite March 8, 2008 at 5:06 am

Why can’t they just put that resolution on the 7″ screen???

The EeePC 701 (4G) with 1024×600 would do fine for me.

Bruno Leite March 8, 2008 at 5:13 am

Or do just like Ruud van Eck said:

Ruud van Eck Says:
March 6th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
good to see Asus expanding it’s EEEpc range.

I own a 4G surf myself and it’s great, for the price I paid (I bought it in the US for the 349 + tax, which converts to 260 euro – I’m from The Netherlands we don’t even have the current EEEpc officially!!).

I like it’s compactness and sturdy built quality, quick booting and excellent standard software. Things I like less are the cumbersome Linux (allthough the wiki here is great help, for a Linux novice like me, it’s difficult), the scrolling from left to right in websites and the lack of bluetooth.

For the next gen EEEpc device I’d like to see:

- same dimensions as my current 4G
- Recessed USB port for (optional) “plug and forget” bluetooth USB dongle
- totally fanless
- 8″ screen (should fit inside the top part of current) with 1024 x 600-something resolution

that’s all, don’t add anything more, that’ll only bump the price.

Iceboie March 8, 2008 at 8:40 am

This chick says the battery life is around two(2) hours:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fySayLZmArU

Petri March 8, 2008 at 1:05 pm

Me too: Want one. Not at that price.

What I’d really like is a 4g surf with an 8.9 screen. For that I’d gladly pay $400-$450. But for $600-$630… I’ll wait to see what the new HP looks like. Sorry to be depressing, but I really wanted to buy a 4g surf as soon as the tax money came in. Now I want the 9″ screen. But >$600 is not the sweetspot.

Stuart Anderton March 8, 2008 at 3:37 pm

Claimed battery life at CeBIT was 3.5 hours.

Aaron March 8, 2008 at 7:24 pm

When will it be out in ohio cincinnati???

Matt March 8, 2008 at 9:11 pm

If it comes with Xp. THEN MAYBE. Thats a very big maybe, as long as it still weights 2.x pounds, then hell yes. But there pushing it now with that 600 dollar price tag. Really pushing it.

foo March 8, 2008 at 9:22 pm

It totally depends on the design – internal soldered SSD and NO WAY it is worth even $500. But, if it comes with interchangeable SSD then it might be worth $600 or more.

Michael Spencer March 8, 2008 at 9:38 pm

It’s nice to see the new gen in finished form. Now just mass produce the damn thing already. I want a black one, and I wanted it yesterday.

Michael Spencer March 8, 2008 at 10:58 pm

What price will they drop the current 4G down to, $99 lol. Will they even still sell those things anymore.

Ian March 8, 2008 at 11:45 pm

I’d be very interested to see if this next generation of Eee PC’s actually includes SplashTop. (or whatever ASUS is calling their re-badged version of it that’s on some of their newer mobo’s)

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/09/asus-eeepc-spotted-running-splashtop-instant-on-os/

I’ve been holding out for a bigger screen, but if SplashTop isn’t included and the price is up in that $600 USD range, that’s one more strike against it. I’d probably be more likely to shop around for an off-lease Thinkpad x30-series notebook at that point. (which currently seem to be going for ~$400-500 USD)

Michael Spencer March 9, 2008 at 12:55 am

Personally, I’m anxious to see the HP mini laptop released.

That will be one hot fuckin machine.

Jeff Z March 9, 2008 at 10:52 am

The small-and-cheap PC landscape is going to look very interesting come June-July.

Petri March 9, 2008 at 9:58 pm

News at http://eeesite.net/2008/03/asus-ceo-jerry-shen-talks-eee-pc-900.html quotes Shen that the first day price will be $499 with perhaps 12G. Now that’s sweet!

Michael Spencer March 9, 2008 at 11:26 pm

So all the price whiners here actually accomplished something haha.

Let’s complain about the price some more. ;)

Kenny March 10, 2008 at 1:11 am

Nice price, it looks like I’ll be buying one for myself and another for my wife.

David Russell March 10, 2008 at 4:41 am

It’s nice to see Asus expanding the line, but to be honest this bigger version defeats the point of having an Eee, at least the way I use it. In my opinion the whole reason for having an Eee is that it’s small. Make a 10 inch one and you’re not that far off the size of the smaller ‘full’ notebooks (MacBook etc.)

Kenny March 10, 2008 at 4:55 am

Davis, here’s the amazing thing, the screen went up from 7″ to 9″, BUT the physical size of the latop case only increase by 1mm. So the new laptop is still the same size except with bigger screen. They made more efficient use of the screen area on the new version.

Look at the screen of the 7″ laptop. Half of it is filled with plastic borders yuck yuck yuck. It could have easily filled up the entire area with screen but you instead get to see too much plastic.

new version gets 2″ more screen but stay the same size. That spells winner.

DTEG March 10, 2008 at 6:09 am

Kenny, it’s also a little deeper (i.e. front to back) – and more than a millimetre. But it’s still only a tiny bit, and has allowed for a better track-pad, so overall I’d say I’m in favour.

Ronald March 10, 2008 at 6:34 am

And it is a little thicker. Viewing the pictures that show both EeePCs side by side, I would estimate the 900 to be 5 mm wider, 5 mm thicker and 15 mm deeper (0.2, 0.2 and 0.6 inch):
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/7-inch-eee-pc-vs-9-inch-eee-pc-ready-fight/

Mark March 10, 2008 at 10:34 am

So… let me try to understand why this costs more than my generic $500 laptop. Smaller, cheaper screen, less memory, smaller battery, slower, cheaper processor, high volume production… and this costs more?

Gromulus March 10, 2008 at 11:32 am

Yes, yo are paying for the ultraportability. If this is not important to you then stick with your $500 (probably 15.4″ screen) laptop. You are not the intended market for the Eee.

Peter March 10, 2008 at 12:18 pm

The best thing about the new model is that your old model will carry on working exactly like it did before….

Victor Munoz March 10, 2008 at 3:32 pm

I have to agree with David Russell. Ultraportability, while still retaining a usable keyboard, was the main attraction of the EeePC for me. (And that it ran Linux natively, but that can always get fixed at my end…) A bigger screen, more storage, upgradability, etc —are all nice, but if it puts on weight and creeps up in size to accommodate those things, I don’t see that as an advance.

How about keeping the 701 physical dimensions, but halving the weight and using more of the lid for screen (but not by making the lid bigger)? For that I would pay more… sort of a Mac Air, but EeePc size.

Milen March 10, 2008 at 7:04 pm

MacBook Air vs. Asus EeePC Fake Ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_kfW-IetTI
:)

Steve March 10, 2008 at 7:09 pm

the macbook air is so thin, looks like a piece of paper wow

vmunoz March 10, 2008 at 11:29 pm

Now this MacBook Air beats the EeePC in the portability department:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKQPpq2Mo8g&feature=related

Yves March 11, 2008 at 1:47 am

This is over-priced as I am not tempted to upgrade from my 701.

gyoza March 11, 2008 at 7:39 am

Anyone owns the eee has same problem with TSA for the SSD in macbook air?

:-)

http://www.michaelnygard.com/blog/2008/03/steve_jobs_made_me_miss_my_fli.html

JJJonesy March 11, 2008 at 7:51 am

Hey – they need to update the information. A new interview came out from Asus. This unit will be $500 in the US – not $600. Adding new Intel processor. They’re pushing changes fast – sounds like they’re afraid of the new HP offering.

Just a toy March 11, 2008 at 8:42 am

I’m with Mark on this. The EEE is nothing but a TOY! Your paying more for an eee then a generic $500 laptop. The only thing an eee has going for it is that’s it’s “ultra portable”.

I have no problem sliding my laptop into my bookbag, swinging it over my shoulder, and going out the door. Are people that lazy these days? They don’t even think a laptop is portable? I mean come on! The bottomline is this…the EEE PC is an overpriced, hyped up toy computer. That’s my opinion, suck it!

Seymour Skinner March 11, 2008 at 8:50 am

Why do I get the impression that “Just a toy” is ‘Mark’ hiding behind a different name?

Hmmm, let’s do the math. Typical laptop: 6 pounds. eee: 2 pounds. My eee gets used than my 15″ laptop precisely because it IS lighter and smaller. Lazy…? Or just not interested in lugging around the extra weight when the eee does the job just fine?

Fender March 11, 2008 at 9:26 am

NOT WINDOWS PREINSTALED!!
NOT WINDOWS PREINSTALED!!!
NOT WINDOWS PREINSTALED!!!

PLEASE LINUX (ANY DISTRO)

WHY I MUS TO PAY XP OP SYS?
WHY CUT MY LIBERTY?
WHY I MUST TO DECLINE TO MICRO$OFT ($ SIGN IS NOT AN ERROR)

NOT WINDOWS,

WAKE UP PEOPLE!! DO NOT ACCEPT OVERPRICES BY PAYING PRIVATIVE OPERATING SYSTEMS.

CHOOSE FREE OF ELECCTION.

I RETHINK IF THE EEPC IS GOOD FOR ME.

Luka March 11, 2008 at 10:42 am

Step by step we’ll come to 12,1″ which is alredy available.

Ronald March 11, 2008 at 10:50 am

I do not know why Fender gets so exited. All the announcements indicate that the EeePC 900 will be available in both Windows XP and Xandros preinstalled versions. You will have the choice.

Just a toy March 11, 2008 at 11:06 am

No I’m not Mark. I owned the 4g Asus Eee, but I returned it. The screen not only was small but the resolution was terrible. I’m a web designer/programmer so it doesn’t work for my needs. The Asus PC 900 might work with it’s better resolution, we’ll see…

Billy Beck March 11, 2008 at 11:26 am

“The EEE is nothing but a TOY!”

Maybe to *you*. I’m running AutoCAD and Sony’s Vegas video editor on mine and it’s doing great.

“I have no problem sliding my laptop into my bookbag, swinging it over my shoulder, and going out the door. Are people that lazy these days?”

{hah!} Whaddya, saunter over to the community college in five minutes on the bus? Listen, kid: get back to me when you’ve made your way from JFK to Jakarta and every mile in between and you’re hip to the fact that, for some people, every ounce counts.

G March 11, 2008 at 3:03 pm

when i will be out dammit i want new eee so badly :D

jscott14 March 11, 2008 at 3:15 pm

“The EEE is nothing but a TOY!”

Call it what you will, but for SOME people, it’s just perfect. I’m one of those people. After spending 2 years with a ~$500 HP laptop (which weighed over 7 pounds), the EEE is a gift from heaven. My wife and I are both very busy. For us, the laptop gets 80% of its use when we go to bed at night. Some people read a book. Some watch TV. We catch up on e-mail and surf. For us, EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, a 2 lb. laptop beats the crap out of a 7 lb laptop.

With 1GB of RAM, it boots much faster than our old 2.8 Ghz laptop (due to the EEE’s SSD), and I simply can’t tell a difference in browsing speed, despite the EEE’s slower processor. Are we really lazy? Well, again, call it what you will. You obviously like to use negative terms such as “toy” and “lazy”. I’d prefer to use descriptive terms such as “targeted” (to the ultraportable market) and “convenient”.

DDD March 11, 2008 at 5:01 pm

@Billy Beck
Which version of AutoCAD?

Billy Beck March 11, 2008 at 6:08 pm

DDD — 2002.

I design rock-tour light shows and “corporate theater” (product rollouts, sales rah-rahs, etc.) lights and stage sets. Been doing it since about 1991. This thing (4G, 1gb RAM) is throwing around big-time rigs in 3-D with authority.

To my mind, there are three elements in all this that have to be kept integrated, at least when it comes to my own evaluation: performance, size, and price. I understood what I was getting into with, for instance, the display or keyboard when I bought it. However, to gripe about any of that is to explode the whole context of the evaluation.

All in all, this machine is really working out for me.

oldhand March 11, 2008 at 8:16 pm

I agree with jscott14. ASUS has made a good product even better. When you carry around even a 2 to 3 kg laptop from place to place, you really begin to appreciate the value of the Eee PC’s diminutive size and weight. Unless you do a lot of gaming, for most users the little Eee PC has more than enough processing power to do most common tasks like surfing the web, watching standard definition videos, listening to MP3s, and word processing. I can’t wait to retire my old Acer Travelmate. I didn’t buy the first generation Eee PC because I didn’t want to scroll sideways to surf some websites because of the limited 800×480 resolution.

Regarding other matter like the OS, I like the fact the Eee PC has Linux as a default operating system. It’s nice to have a version of linux that works out of the box with it. This comes from my experience getting sound and wireless to work with Ubuntu on my Acer Travelmate. The same argument above applies to using the default Linux OS, Xandros. Since the Eee PC’s target market isn’t gamers, Xandros provides enough functionality for the average user to most tasks. I just wish they would use Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, Mandrake, or even Debian because the apps and games for these distros are more up-to-date.

David Worth March 11, 2008 at 9:08 pm

(Sigh) Oh dear, yet another manufacturer misses the point. Look, the reason a lot of us purchased the eee PC was that it was getting towards the perfect device. We wanted a small, lightweight computer with some sort of decent keyboard, for a low price, that had a decent battery life, that we could carry around with us all day long. We weren’t looking for something that would run XP or Vista, we were just happy to be able to buy a device that let us take notes and knock out a document or two (in an easily readable format), let us check our gmail accounts, catch up on our favourite web-sites, and play Solitiaire. All of this this first gen eee PC allowed us to do. The new generation of eee PC just seems to want to be a standard laptop, albeit with a few more features. If Asus wanted to make a revolutionary device they could have given us a device with all the features of the current model but with say a 10 hour battery life, a reduced weight, and a quicker boot-up time. There is a significant proportion of eee PC users that are just looking for a more modern version of something like a TRS-80 Model 100, with added web access. Roll on that Elonex thing.

Ronald March 12, 2008 at 5:21 am

Again, I do not understand all the complaining. The 900 is only marginally bigger than the 701 models, without seeing them side by side one will hardly notice the difference. Also, the 900 models are not going to replace the 701 models, so who prefers the smaller one can still have it. Windows XP will be an option, who prefers Xandros pre-installed can still have it. And there are developments announced for later this year with new (Intel Atom) processors and new batteries that could extend battery life to more than 8 hours.
http://blog.laptopmag.com/eee-pc-to-get-intels-diamondville-hard-drives-and-fashion-forward-style

Alee March 12, 2008 at 5:24 am

Agree, 12G at $599, not so much. I heard that some manufactory have release 10-inches screen small laptop computer (20G HD), price least than 299USD.

Ronald March 12, 2008 at 5:44 am

Asus CEO Jerry Shen mentioned an initial price in the US of $499 (not $599) in his interview. That does not necessarily contradict the announced price of 400 Euro in Europe, prices in the US are often lower than prices in Europe. (And, by law, consumer prices in European Union always include VAT, which would account for the about 20 percent price difference with the price announced at CeBIT 2008 in Germany.)

Also, judging from the interview, Jerry Shen is very much aware of the importance of keeping the machine small and portable. Follow the link I posted above.

Nancy March 12, 2008 at 8:41 am

Ronald, a lot of the complainers are the owners of the soon to be outdated 700 model with the inferior screen resolution. It’s easy to see why they would be so mad. :)

dvdivx March 12, 2008 at 8:45 am

I was complaining about the 701s resolution from day one. I look forward to getting a 900 with linux (no windows tax for me) when they come out. The first gen ones wont have Atom which is good because the first Atom chips will be pretty poor performers from what I’ve seen.

Nancy March 12, 2008 at 8:46 am

Personally, as I don’t need a 3rd laptop at this point in time, I’ll be waiting til they release the 3rd generation model which would probably be around Christmas time. I’ll pick one up then.

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