ASUS Stops Taking Orders For Eee PC 900
May 29th, 2008 by antDigiTimes is reporting that ASUS has essentially paused the recently launched Eee PC 900 in anticipation for the launch of the Eee PC 901:
The Eee PC 900 was unveiled for the Asia Pacific market during late April and for the US market on May 12. But Asustek is said to have stopped taking any more Eee PC 900 orders as the Eee PC 901 is set to launch on June 3, the sources said.
It’s not really specified whether or not production will resume or if the device will be discontinued.
What will happen to users who are still on a backorder list for the device? What about the battery situation? It appears as though the 900 was simply a 1-2 month transitional device in the eyes of ASUS. What do you think about this?
[edit: originally stated discontinued, but perhaps it's just a pause in production]
May 29th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
What a BIG mess!
May 29th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Now seriously, big move from Asus to keep income flowing while the new atom processor is not yet out. We are puppets in their hands.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Such a shame. They really should have just waited and released the 900 when they had the atom processors.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
The 900’s motherboard was pretty much a straight adaption of the 701’s, so it was very easy to bring up. It’s not bad… just not an Atom. (I have a 701 and decided to wait for the 901… and the Wind… before upgrading)
May 29th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I feel screwed over so now Asus can shove their eee up their a*s. From now of I’ll wait for a more decent company to join the marked.
May 29th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I’d buy a 900 in black for $550(US), but not a 901 at $600+. When the 701 came out, I got one and had a lot of respect for Asus. The way things are going now, my new UMPC is likely to be something other that an eeepc and Asus will have gone from being a major chapter in the history of the UMPC to a sidebar.
May 29th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Well Newegg just listed the 900 back in stock so the must still be shipping some. I somehow doubt Asus would discontinue the 900. I mean, they didn’t discontinue the 2G Surf when the 8G became available right?I think they should stick to their well tiered product line.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Well, its highly probable Asus wanted to price the 901 at the same price point, or lower as the 900, which would make no sense to continue producing it.
In fact, customers who on the backlogs for the 900 could possibly receive the 901 instead as an option instead of a refund.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I’m pleased with my 900. The 901 never really interested me, and having never owned a 700, I didn’t notice the small step-up. Asus are being ridiculous, and need to sort themselves out…I don’t think the 901 will be as much of a winner as the 900 could be!
May 29th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
not a problem whatsoever for me, as I’ve gotten my own eee 900, 901 is much2x more expensive. I don’t have any regrets buying eee 900. Too bad that asus has to discontinue this product just so that they may be able to sell 901. I’m sure that most would choose the 900, if 900 were around when 901 hits the market.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
When will we see some benchmarks on the 901?!?!
Until then the 901 seems like a waste of money.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:02 am
I know it sound disappointing, however the atom eeepc will be more expensive and it is a different product, if you don’t like your eeepc 900 just sell it and get the new one. Imagine how miserable can be the ones that got a UMPC with a via processor and watching new devices with better performance and cheaper.
The bottom line is that Asus is launching a whole line of UMPC giving the public whatever they need you just have to pick which is the best for you. If you are ok with the celeron performance at 630 Mhz or 900Mhz stay with it or if you just feel that isn’t enough go for the new one just remember than nowadays all technology is mostly outdated a few weeks after presented.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Although I’ve got the 900 model for SGD5XX (sorry not disclosing further), yet I felt like being “cheated” in a way. Considering that the 900 launch is NOT too long ago and now they’re releasing the atom model with bluetooth… In fact, the atom model shouldn’t be called EeePC anymore if the price tag is way too high. I might as well get a full functionality laptop instead. L@@king at HP mininote now.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:29 am
I had a 701 and swapped it for a 900, 901 is not interesting for me, atom chips are budget ultraslow crap, maybe celeron m 353 is not a rocket anyway but is faster than atom and takes almost the same power (as reported at intel website), but atom is cheaper to produce and that means more profit. I’m with eee900, it’s would be a shame they discontinue them.
May 30th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Well, this just feels like a big distribution fuck up as well as Asus keeping giving people less than promised (or at least what they’ve let people believe).
May 30th, 2008 at 5:59 am
‘nothing will be discontinued’, huh?
Well, now we will have head-to-head fight between Wind and 901 it seems. And even if rumours about lifted price tags for MSI’s product are true, it’s still cheaper and looks better.
May 30th, 2008 at 6:06 am
I too upgraded from a 4G 701 to a 900. I’m very happy with it and without hearing about the 901 I wouldn’t have even considered any kind of upgrade for quite some time. Benchmark comparison results will be interesting but the 901 will have to be considerably better and roughly the same price for me to upgrade so soon. Besides which, my girlfriend would hit the frikin’ roof if I told her that I’m upgrading again. She still doesn’t understand why I had to get the 900 model!
Perhaps I should give her the number of the ASUS marketing department and let them explain?
May 30th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Hmm this could be a smart move I agree with the statements made above. The fact that Asus pushed the 900 to keep the funds flowing for the small period of time we had to wait for the 901 and possibly the 901 is replacing the 900 in price ( I can dream can’t I?). The MSI wind is taking the spot light right now check it out http://crave.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39029450,49297131,00.htm
So its possible that Asus is gonna shank the price in order to compete. I’m not entirely sure of the HD type ( dunno if its SSD) but the Wind is apparently offering similar specs as the 901 but with more HD space for windows and just an 1″ bigger with a much cheaper price can anyone varify that I have no idea about conversions
May 30th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Ok I looked abit more into it and apparently the Wind uses a regular HD
May 30th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I think that with a regular HD it is a completely different line of products.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Agh. This is coming at a time when I’ve been ogling the earlier, little 4G and 8G Eees for a while, finally decided to go for the 900/Linux and now there’s this Atom 901 business? Without benchmarks and real hands-on reviews of the 901 and everything, it’s just hard to decide whether to go ahead and buy the 900 I have my eye on!
And I really do need something now; my old iBook is a freakin’ doorstop at this point and I’m leaving for a month and a half-long trip and totally need something but don’t feel like making the commitment to buy the killer “real” laptop I’ve been knowing I need (my desktop machine’s on shaky legs too!), because we’re about to buy a house and I’d rather spend half (less really) than I’d spend on the bigger machine at this point.
Good grief. I’m still kind of leaning toward going ahead for the 900, but the timing of all of this is making me kind of nuts. Thanks for all your comments about stuff here - it’s sort of helping inform my dorked up decision making process…
May 30th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
To Bummer it doesn’t make it a completely line of product its still a UMPC it just an alternative IMO, there are those around that don’t want to pay the 600 mark for the 901. Sure the SSD is a great thing faster boot up and more resistant to shock.But I’m just comparing the competition.
May 30th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
There is no official info at main asus website, so I can’t believe that they are going to change that quickly as that without official notice. Had anyone contacted an store or Asus to confirm all this? anyone can post scams all over the web so… If you like the 900 get it before it runs out of stock again
peace
May 30th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
My original 700 cost £169 and that was the point. A cheap fun device, ASUS are now just following the money. The 900 costs £330, at that price they can take a running jump especially a little while later they bring out the 901, have they been taking lessons from Apple?
May 31st, 2008 at 9:54 am
I will buy the ancient 701, the 900, and the 901 HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
June 1st, 2008 at 11:39 am
I got myself an eee900 and never regretted it :/
But seriously, I think Asus is going for the wrong target now… all the competition in the market is sidetracking Asus from making the EEE as successfully as it originally was.
I think what Asus can do is to make a special version of the EEE enhanced for modding (with dedicated power/signal points at convienient locations onboard to toy with at your own risk).
Linksys used to be very successful with their highly customisable WRT54G/GS/GL routers although that was just mainly tinkering with the firmware. Maybe Asus can try to aim for this modding niche in a market that’s doomed to be oversaturated?
June 1st, 2008 at 1:43 pm
That’s a good point. With big name companies HP already on board, and Dell set to jump into the mix soon, in addition to a crapload of small companies unleashing their own, these sub-laptops are doomed to be the next trendy electro gadget to have, like the IPOD/mp3 player. There’s already 10 or so different companies that already released these laps or will be within the next few months.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:44 am
The categorical denial of Asus reads: “The news published by DigiTimes is not true. Eee PC 900 and 901 have characteristics and different target sales. Eee PC 900 weighs less than 1Kg; Eee PC 901 will have a battery capable of reaching 7 hours of autonomy. Both models coexist to meet the needs of different categories of users. ” According to Asus, orders for Eee PC 900 will continue throughout July, until autumn, when they will introduce the 901 model in Italy.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&u=http://notebookitalia.it/asus-smentisce-non-smetteremo-di-distribuire-eee-pc-900-2435.html
I read somewhere that there would be a pricedrop for older models after the introduction of the 901. Can’t remember where.
June 4th, 2008 at 11:22 am
asdfsdfa
June 4th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I could see the 900 replacing the 701 at a 701ish price point once the 901 came out. Putting a hold on the 900 for now would allow them to clear the inventory of 701 specific parts to prepare for this. But that is just a wild guess.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
any release date on the 901 for the us market
June 4th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
And no wonder too, considering the problems it has.
June 4th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
My 900 just arrived after much research and deliberation and I am 100% satisfied. Ok, that’s not true. I’m much more that 100% satisfied. My sense is that when the 901 arrives on the scene, it will most likely be at a price point that would have just pushed it out of my (ok, my wife’s) range. Folks get wrapped around the axle on these matters. For me, it boils down to purchasing something for a certain price and being happy with it. …And as I said, I’m more than happy with it! Done.
June 4th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
any news on the 901? it was slated for release on june 3rd..
June 4th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
june 3rd for taiwan market
June 8th, 2008 at 3:47 am
The new eee pc 901 logo is very ugly, looks so cheap, i’ll rather get 900 not 901! they should fire designer inchief if they have one!
June 11th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
anyone else’s eee 900 get really hot, and is the fan louder than the 701?
June 11th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
My eee PC 900 came with a bad spacebar… I had to remove the keyboard and squeeze the spacebar till it popped into place…. Also the SDHC card reader has horrible problems, unless you run eeeCTL and set the voltage to HIGH…. They call it an SDHC card reader, which is a STANDARD, however they dont display the SDHC logo, which means they aren’t compliant…. hence 99% of the SDHC cards out there don’t work…..
It works ok with eeeCTL set to high voltage, but the battery life suffers and I’ve still had at least one write error with it set that way….
Now that i’ve got it setup, put some scotch double stick tape under the keyboard to make it more solid (it used to make a loose sound as the metal on the back of the keyboard slapped against the shielding over the motherboard) fixed the spacebar, and run eeectl, it’s a pretty cool laptop. I also got the PDPair case and it’s sweet. I also have the HP 2133 which has a better keyboard and better speakers, and the Fuji u810 which is soooo small…. but I like the PC 900 the best out of the 3…..
June 13th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I love my ASUS Eee PC 900 (Linux) but it appears that ASUS has removed ksmserver and kicker from their download site so I can’t enable the “advanced” mode. Has anyone else run into this?
June 19th, 2008 at 5:22 am
I run the linux 900. I am not entirely happy with it. The novelty has work off and the reality set in. Dual boots Xandros and win XP but the win XP on the second drive is sooooo slow. Shame. Thought I could do more wiwth it. Xandros is real fast and if the repos stay there and the community survives then it’ll be okay.
Glider_Guider I do have copies of the kmserver and kicker. There’s loads of the m out there!
June 19th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I bought the 900 first week of June 08 and was as happy as a clam , til I brought it along at the airport. Anticipating a long flight I made sure I had it full charged - and lo and behold, the sucker died in less than hours. I thought this was just its way of gettin into gear, perhaps 2nd and 3rd charge would get its juice running… but then ..kaput! 2 freaking hours for an ultraportable - plug it in one of my buddy with a 701 advised. Its a freakin portable thats why i bought it in the first place. There was a BIOS upgrade that says its supposed to give the 900 more battery life, I updated but have yet to find out if there was any significant changes?? anybody got those 3rd party monstrous humped 10800mah batteries? how long do those really last? I thought SSD’s main point is its solid state - therefore less power needed?
July 4th, 2008 at 11:45 am
i see toysrus are knockin out the 900 in white, black, xp and linux flavours for £269….
plus have stock
July 16th, 2008 at 11:27 am
In North America the 900 comes with a $100 rebate from ASUS during the month of July as they try to clear out the stock to make way for the 901.
I already have a 900 with XP at home and the only major complaint is the small keyboard. My daughter really wants to be able to type notes during class.
Trying to decide whether to get my two kids (new university students starting in the fall) a 900 at the more attractive $550 with $100 rebate price or wait until the fall and get them each a Wind (which has a larger keyboard, battery and Atom processor).
I do like the reliability aspects of a SDD over a hard drive. But the Wind runs cooler than the 900 (which gets a little warm). Tough choices.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I bought a eee 900 for 369 euros. A white one, because the vendor didn’t have black. It was a impulse buy, probably caused by the fact I was very happy 11 years ago with the Toshiba Libretto. When it dawned that I had the 4400 versus 5800 battery, I was disappointed by Asus. Always built systems with their hardware - thick pcb boards - and advised other people to do the same.
Now I have a light weight notebook with a lousy battery, hence paperweight. Working in the IT sector for the government I will advise people to stay away from Asus and Gigabyte (owned by Asus). I’m in Europe and Asus did not even offer a replacement battery…
I think this was a fatal move made by Asus Inc and a waste of my money.