This past week, pictures and information have come out about the white and black Eee PC 901– the Intel Atom based Eee PC.
Blogeee.net has numerous photos of the white 901:
The photos also show that the 901 is not branded as an ASUS, but rather as an “Eee.” This appears to confirm earlier talk of ASUS spinning off the Eee brand.
Blogeee.net also has photos of the 901 in black:
Digitimes also has more information on the 901. The specifications will be almost the same as the Eee PC 900, but it will feature bluetooth, metallic parts, a slightly different design, and of course the Intel Atom processor. While this sounds great, the price is going to come in at a whopping $650– far away from the intended price of the original Eee PC. With that said, it does have many more features than the original. It will be launched June 3 (though the article doesn’t say it, it’s probably going to be at Computex 2008 in Taiwan.)
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$650!!
What are they smoking? I can get a way better spec laptop for the same price.
Donald, I don’t know but I want some. I just ordered the 900 because the 901 is not worth it. I’ve had the 701 for about a month now and really want the larger screen.
$650+tax is a very pricey even if it has more “features.” If the 901 had a touch screen I’d think it would be worth the $650 but it does not. The 901 isn’t worth it in my opinion.
You can get a full laptop, even a 13″ laptop for around $599+tax (and up) these days. I could get a Dell 1310 for under $650 dollars with bluetooth, fingerprint reader, around 4.5 lbs., battery lasting 4 1/2 hrs., AND Windows XP for under $600+tax.
But the eeePC does cater to a niche market so whoever wants to put out the cash for a small notebook I’d say go for it. I’m going to stick with my 7″ eeePC.
i am just curious, which part of the eee pc is equal or more expensive than the dell’s cheapest vastro?
i dont understand why this thing could cost 650$$$
jd: r&d? ssd? that’s my guesses
I’m tired of hearing people say it’s “too expensive for $650 friggin dollars!!!”. If you look at subnotebooks and UMPC’s which is in the same market at the ASUS it’s a HUGE bargain. THAT is what it’s competing with. Look at a 12 inch Thinkpad and it will set you back about $2,000, a 12-inch Sony will cost you $3,000. Plus the ASUS weighs much, much lighter compared to your $600 15-inch BRICK laptops.
In Paraguay(Ciuidad del Este) only 580 dollars, jejeje http://www.master10.com/home/mostra_produto.php?cod_produto=71024
I buy in that store my eee 701 in January for 400 dollars, actually cost 360 dollars
I can get a 17″ laptop that will outperform the 901 in every way, and it’s also cheaper at only $500!
But a 17″ $500 laptop isn’t quite as portable as an eee.
Hopefully there will be a pricing war as the other UMPC’s hit the shelves.
Keep your money and wait for a short time.
I used to agree with those who ridiculed the chalk/cheese comparisons, but increasingly I am having to concur that Asus are losing (but not necessarily quite lost, yet) the plot. The original Eee ticked all the right boxes apart from screen size. Now with the 90x series, Asus are becoming simply another competitor.
My god, $650! I think I’ll get myself rather a 900, than a 901. Or maybe a 13″? Hm, hm …
In the UK the prices converted to US Dollars at the moment are:
A 2GB Eee costs $395
A 4GB Eee costs $434
A 20GB Eee 900 costs $651
So i would hate to imagine what the price of the 901 in going to be in the UK.
for a CPU that probably costs less than 15$ to fabricate, Asus can take their ATOM EEE and shove it…
what is the difference in speeds between the atom processor and the old celeron m?
I agree with the 901 being too expensive and think hanging on until the competitors come on stream, roll on the MSI Wind.
I’m struggling to find the Dell 1310 for the prices mentioned here though.
Their web site is quoting $750 for the base spec of the base model that doesnt even have a web cam. How much does it cost to stick one of those in a screen bezel?
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/vostronb_1310?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~tab=bundlestab
I assuming you get to add Dells massive delivery charges to those prices as well.
Ben:
The Atom will probably go from being a bit faster, but not much, to quite a bit faster depending on clock speed. The other point to consider is it should use less power than the old Celeron M.
Even if I could find a Dell XPS 1310 for $599 (which I would buy in a heartbeat if it existed), I would still keep my Eee. Those who continue to compare the Eee (and it’s competitors) to a full-size laptop just don’t get it and probably have no real need for an ultraportable computer.
Apples and oranges my friends.
Vostro 1310 NOT XPS.
I will be waiting for the comparison reviews of the Atom-based EEE 901 and the much cheaper Atom-based MSI Wind. With the Linux version of the 10″ screen MSI Wind at $399 (with 80GB HD) I am more likely to chose the MSI subnotebook.
yup, I guess for the Atom fans (remember, we still do not have any accurate data on its performance and power comsumption in a release product) the choice is rather obvious and it’s called Wind… I personally incline myself towards Celery based 900 for a time being, but I’m certainly waiting for MSI to deliver their baby on the market and then I’ll see.
and the 901 is definitely not winning the beauty contest, I’d say. No chrome, please…
All the people who make the full size notebook comparison to the Eee are the same people who literally get blown away and want to buy one when pull my Eee out at starbucks. Stop trying to explain it to them because words will never work. This isa show and tell game baby.
I just purchased the Eee 900 in Canada. At $550 it is at the upper limit of what I would pay for something small and portable. While bluetooth and more battery life are nice to haves, I would not pay extra for them (I can add a very tiny button sized bluetooth dongle inexpensively)
I got this for my kids to take to university. My kids already have regular PCs for serious typing and more demanding applications (and games). I already have a regular laptop at home with a full sized keyboard which can be used anywhere in the house.
The main reason I went for the Eee is the small size, light weight and the solid state drives (which hopefully translates to a more durable and portable mini-notebook) all within an affordable for me package. This is something I think the kids will prefer while they are on the run to classes. But it was, and still is, being carefully weighed against the benefits of a regular laptop at the same price point.
I have to weigh Eee portability/durability/faster power up vs full sized laptop performance (keyboard, screen size, disk space, RAM, processing power). At $100 more the scale tips towards the regular laptop for me.
I just hope they ditch the eee writing on the back, it looks so cheesy
While it doesn’t seem to me that the extra $100 gets you enough to justify the 901 over the 900, I don’t understand all the fuss. Isn’t the main selling point of the eee it’s size and portability? We’ve all seen the hacks and mods and know that it’s a solid machine. Go and try to find something of comparable size and weight…if you’re within $1000 I’ll crap!
Nice to see the ATOM based eeepc coming out. I will wait on price though. $650 isn’t bad, but it could be less than that. I hope factors like the prices on SSD tech., stronger demand and competition from say the MSI Wind will make it go below $500. I do like the prices on the MSI Wind, but the 80 gig HD is vulnerable to damage. That’s why I like Asus EEE pc concept better using SSD and more resistant to drops.
Richard K,
Where in Canada did you get the 900?
LOL! $650.00
I can get most of these laptops with a free printer for that price or less….
http://www.salescircular.com/ca/computer/laptpp.shtml
ASUS is getting out of touch with what makes the EEE-PC appealing… the low price.
$500 for a laptop?!?!?! For that money, I could get a desktop (WITH MONITOR) that will run rings around it!!!
(Do I need a smiley? Was that too subtle? How about…
PEOPLE OF EARTH! The eee pc is not a toy, repeat, not a toy. It is an ULTRA MOBILE pc! We know some of you are confused because it is priced much cheaper than any other umpc, but it is a umpc, not a toy, repeat, not a toy.)
[Note to marketing... Release the more expensive model first, then the scaled down version. If the 901 could have come first followed by the 701, Asus would own the world.]
That said, the 900 is the sweet spot for me.
I’m also a little disappointed in the $650 price tag, since what I wanted was a faster CPU, better GPU, more RAM, bigger SSD, and a larger, higher-res screen all for the same $400 my first Eee cost.
Yeah… I think I was living in a dream world.
For those of you just as disappointed as me, please bear a few things in mind.
1) The cheaper models aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
2) Asus is merely “filling out” their product line with these newer models.
3) All of the Eee models are still selling like hotcakes.
4) Nobody is stopping you from buying a larger, inexpensive laptop.
5) Asus has already stated that the price of the 900 series “can drop down” once supply catches up with demand.
With laptops, you have three important things: price, portability, and power. You can usually get one or two of those things, but never all three. Pick your two. You want a good compromise between price and portability, go with an Eee. You want any other combo, and you’re looking in the wrong place.
I already have a desktop, laptop, HTPC and home server, so I’m not looking for power. My Eee lives in my purse, so I can check e-mail and browse the web on the go. With many smartphones and PDA’s costing upwards of $400 these days, I don’t consider $650 for the 901 completely unrealistic.
All that said, and I think I’ll be holding onto my good old 701 for a little while longer. We’ll see how much the 901 costs in a few months. Those of you who had been “holding out” for this new model have a harder decision to make!
From what I read, the 901 will be priced “under $650.” I hope that means $575 or abouts there. Thanks, Economic Stimulus Package!
Suddenly, the idea of modding a 9″ screen into a 701 doesn’t sound so absurd anymore…
I totally agreed with the points made about the price being on a basis of what you wanted out of a laptop i.e. small portability versus beefy hardware. But I still had hopes of getting my 1st UMPC under 500. I thought this would come true once the Atom based EEE came out seeing as its supposed to be cheaper to make and allow longer battery life as a bonus. I guess with the way things are looking I’m gonna have to get my self a regular laptop and wait a few more years till something like when the EEE 1st started $299 comes along.I was really looking foward to the 8.9″ screen too ho hum T_T. Well I’m gonna cross my fingers and hope they release a stripped down version without the shiny stuff and BT for around a nice price range. Well atleast we’re heading in the right direction; the OQO, Sony UX , along with a few others are the 1st UMPCs and those fuggers are worth 3Gs.
Terry: ncix in vancouver had quite a few of both the linux and windows versions (probably over 10 of each) which sold out within a day or two. Now I think it goes on backorder.
BriAnn: I agree. The 900 has the functionality I need at a price I was willing to pay as well.
homestyle: I agree. The eee is all about size and portability. The 901 offers no improvement in size or portability over the 900 but an increase in cost. One might argue that we could get away with lighter batteries (like the 4400 mah ones the Europeans are all getting), but I don’t think that weight difference is all that significant.
The only real problem I can see with my 701 is the small screen resolution. I though I’d be tempted to upgrade when the newer models came out, but so far I can’t help but feel like I made the right decision and plan to stick with it. I can’t understand what Asus is thinking?
I bought my 4G (701) in March because my Macbook was being repaired. I was concerned that I would regret my purchase when the 900 came out. Now that I see the prices going up and up I think I got a real bargain. Well-tuned and with an 8G SD chip, I have lots of room.
sheesh, fellas! why is there all this poop and nonsense about “it’s too expensive!”?
i think that this laptop is for certain types of people who want something that performs decently yet is easy to travel around with. i think that it is good for the price. i’ve seen other ultr-mobiles going for thousands, and you guys whine about a measly 650?
I am going to buy the 901 anyways because looking around at other computer manufacturers, I cannot find any other laptops in the same price range that have the same weight and as fast boot-up times.
It is terrible the bloody Chinese are marking up the price of these laptops again. At $550 it is ok, but at $650, it is out of my league as a starving university student.
Um… Asus is Taiwanese? Just more money I need to save I guess. Or take a hard look at the MSI and a ssd replacement drive.
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I JUST CHECKED OUT MY LOCAL CRAIGSLIST
AND FOUND A USED WHITE MACBOOK 13″ (A YEAR OLD) FOR $650.
if it’s just an addition to the line and not a sole replacement, then it’s no big deal. I do think that $650 is well in the range of defeating the original purpose. but as long as the others are still offered, hey, whatever.
In the above discussion no-one has mentioned one important factor which should be considered in the purchase of a UMPC – the quality of construction. If the Eee 901 were better made, had thicker plastic, a more rigid chassis, a better screen, etc., then it really would justify a higher price.
Basically the selling price is only one of the factors to be considered in a purchase decision, not the only one !
Lucky me I got myself an eee 900 Linux 20 Gb for $513, at first I thought maybe waiting for atom would be a better option but the price justified my decision
I’m taking a pass no the NONE MOBILE eee pc and waiting for the better looking HSDPA ECS G10IL http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?Manufacturer=ECS&Item=ECSG10IL(PRE-ORDER)&Product=ACF88A2E-FE24-40BA-953A-D06FB4B37407&Category=03222E2A-4C22-4A14-B631-30922A91A1E0
Asus need to wake and smell the coffee. The eee pc is NOT mobile (unless you have no life outside of an internet cafe and your own home wifi). HSDPA (and EDGE) is just about everywhere, even in the woods lol).
eee pc = not mobile…. all looks (which are being killed by the ugly 901) and no flash…..
Why should the price matter? Because it’s supposed to be a low-cost, ultra-lite, *secondary* PC, one marketed to students, &c.
I just purchased my 701, and it won out over the Mini-note for two reasons, but the biggest one was the $349 price tag vs. the $600. If my only options for small computers were ones over $600, I probably wouldn’t buy one.
Hopefully, demand will drop as soon as the whinners figure out what they really want and get off this board. Personally, I want to throw a small SSD into my bicycle bag and peddle off to do genealogy research. Read Clayton Christensen’s “The Innovator’s Dilemma” and come back with something meaningful to add here.
Matthew, my 701 is very mobile when I pair it with my mobile phone.
i’m sorry………… but that is around the price point for me to just buy a macbook.
i have the 4G model which is the price point i was looking at for the eee but $650 is outta the park for me to consider……… sorry asus.
this has moved into a cult novelty arena now at this price point.
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