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Filed under: Laptops

It’s not exactly the first company to try to entice customers with the promise of a free or cheap Eee PC (or other netbook), but Orange apparently isn’t about to let a bandwagon pass it by, with it now offering an Eee PC 900 16G as part of its “Internet Everywhere” bundle. That includes the Eee PC, a mobile broadband dongle and, of course, mobile broadband service, which apparently tops out at just 3GB of data per month. At &pound25 (or $46) a month on a two-year contract, it’s also far from a free ride. If it sounds alright to you though, you can sign up in the UK starting tomorrow.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Laptops

After suffering a presumed Jolly Rancher infestation, ASUS is prepped to loose these artificially flavored Eee PCs onto Korea. Available for pre-order now, the limited edition “pink” (hey, that’s what they say) and Jell-O green Eee PC 901 and Eee PC 1000H ship on the 22nd of August for an undetermined price. Hmmm, blood-red snowflakes and glo-stick mistletoe? Feels like Christmas in our very own Eee PC hell.

Gallery: Limited Edition Eee PCs ready to candy-coat Korea

[Via Akihabara News]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Apparently Jerry Shen and the homegirls / boys at ASUS want to get a slice of that sweet cloud pie. According to a report, the computer-maker has launched a service called Eee Storage, which provides 20GB of online storage for Eee PC users, as well as access to downloads of around 3,000 pieces of free software and games. The company hopes to expand the service — which uses a drag and drop interface for file management — into a full blown “store” where users can download music and “various other content.” In the picture above you can see Jerry demonstrating the service to a group of bemused high school reporters.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Laptops

We’ve already seen the S101 Ultimate Eee PC at the top of ASUS’ Eee PC pyramid of implosion. ASUS’ prez, Jerry Shen, already told us to expect the Atom-based netbooks to ship with a 32GB SSD, 10.2-inch, 16:9 aspect LED backlit display and battery life of about 4-5 hours. Today in Taiwan, he personally revealed the 𔒝 (prototype pictured above next to the Eee PC 901), and it’s brown (at least for now) and it’s sporting the Eee logo as you’d expect. Interestingly, ASUS has apparently decided to ditch the Eee branding on the 𔒝 when it goes production in mid-September to keep it distinct from the low-cost ultra-portable branding than name is (or at least was) synonymous with - a move we wholeheartedly support. The 𔒝 will measure in at a tapering 16 ~ 21-mm and weight less than 1KG. Seems Jerry re-enacted the ol’ MacBook Air (4 ~ 19.4-mm thick) trick and pulled the 𔒝 from an envelop to demonstrate it’s thinness. Played carny tricks aside, the 𔒝 features the same 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor and 945GME chipset found in current gen Eees with prices to range from $699 for the 32GB SSD model to $899 for 40GB. Interesting, to say the least.

[Via iTechNews]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

ASUS has hardly been keeping this one a secret, but the company has only just now finally gotten completely official with its Eee Stick gaming controller, and it’s taken the opportunity to drop a few new details about it. That includes word that the device will be “bundled exclusively” with “certain models” of the Eee PC and Eee Box (which doesn’t exactly narrow things down), and that it’ll come with a collection of games that have been designed specifically for it (we′re not getting our hopes up there). Otherwise, ASUS has confirmed that the device operates on the 2.4GHz frequency, which could be interesting depending on what other wireless devices you have nearby, and that each stick will require a pair of AA batteries, which ASUS says will give you three days of continuous use, and no doubt a good deal longer if you want to avoid a trip to the hospital.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Laptops

As a recent VIA promo video would have you believe, the company’s lightweight Nano processor is capable of soundly beating Intel’s competing Atom CPU when it comes to playing HD video. Or is it? Not willing to take VIA’s word at face value, jkkmobile decided to try out the very same 1080p video on an Eee PC with the same Atom processor that VIA used in its test and — surprise, surprise — they found that the video played just fine. Now, it is entirely possible that the Nano can beat the Atom in playing video under certain circumstances (and given the raw benchmark numbers, that even seems likely), but when it comes to basic HD video playback, it seems that the Atom can at least hold its own. Head on past the break to see for yourself.

Continue reading VIA Nano trounces Intel Atom in HD video playback? Not quite.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Laptops

We’re not even going to pretend to know what’s going on with whoever’s in charge of approving Eee models at ASUS, but maybe they just like rubber-stamping things, because that’s really the only thing that explains the Eee 900A. The newest member of the overflowing Eee family, the 900A continues the mix-and-match product development trend — it’s basically a 901 in the case of 900, but with a crappier webcam (.3 megapixels) and no Bluetooth. Yep, same 1.6GHz Atom proc, 1GB of RAM and 8 or 16GB SSD as the 901, just in the case of the 900. Why would anyone want to spend €299 ($465) on this? Totally unclear — just like the entire Eee PC lineup.

[Via jkkmobile]

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Laptops

Even with Express Gate installed, it took ASUS’ Eee Box a good 35 seconds before an application could be used. On this particular Eee PC 1000, it took around half a minute for the entire system to load. The secret? An ultra-speedy 40GB SSD packed within. Hop on past the break for proof of the feat, but don’t blink for an extraordinarily long period of time.

[Thanks, Roman]

Continue reading Video: SSD-infused Eee PC 1000 boots in 30 seconds

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

Whoa, wait a second. Is ASUS about to plop another Eee PC onto the totally numb-to-this-brand public? As confident as we are that ASUS wouldn’t dare hesitate to dilute its once meaningful Eee moniker even further, we’re still taking this with a morsel or two of salt for now. Spotted on French site Blogeee, a host of new images depict the Eee PC 900 (with a design occasionally preferred over the 901) with an “A” bringing up the rear. It doesn’t take an Intel engineer to guess what that might mean, now does it?

[Via thegadgetsite, thanks K.C.]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

Hey, you remember the Eee PC 701, right? The original netbook, before the category even had a name? The machine we all just called the Eee PC before ASUS booted out an insane array of lightly-differentiated models with a somewhat random naming scheme? Yeah, well, it’s still around, even if the 901 has taken over as the Eee of choice, and if those slides from earlier are to be believed, it’s getting a spec bump. Laptop says the new 701SD will get an Atom processor to go along with a minor case redesign, and come in a few flavors (of course): 701, 701SD, 701SD(30GB HD), 701SD-4G. Sadly, there isn’t any info about pricing available, but with cheap netbooks headed toward $299 and below, here’s hoping ASUS gives us a reason to love the 701 once again.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Laptops

Remember the ASUS Eee PC roadmap we peeped a few days back? Right, the one that lists the new Ultimate S-series and Pro Fashion Eee PCs amongst the 23 models. Turns out both categories are planned for a 2008 launch with specs like dual-core Atom processors, 120GBs of hard disk, and 32GB SSDs. This according to ASUS president, Jerry Shen. The first Eee PC with a 32GB SSD (wink wink Buffalo) will launch in late September and feature a 10-inch, 16:9 aspect LED backlit display and battery life of about 4-5 hours. As members of the Exquisite and Extremely slim and light S-series, these Eee(ee) PCs will cost between $700 to $900 with the “high-end market″ in mind. Funny, we didn’t know there was a high-end to the race to the bottom.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Laptops

Engadget Chinese received the slide image above showing ASUS’ Eee PC roadmap. Go ahead count ‘em up, we’ll wait… Right, 23 Eee PCs before they’re done, some of which we’ve already seen. The “extreme slim and light” S101 and S91 models, however, are new and tantalizing Eee PC “Ultimate” series additions. Models we suspect will compete nicely with the Dell E Slim. Really though, 23 models ASUS? Guess we shouldn’t be surprised, after all, this is the same company that offers more than 50 models (not just configurations) of laptops.

Read — Engadget Chinese
Read — ASUS Notebook list

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Those fine folks at Buffalo are working on 32GB and 64GB PCI-E SSDs for the Eee PC 901 (and others, we’re guessing), to be released in September. That’s all well and good, but what’s even more exciting are the price points: 32GB will be retailing for around 16,800 yen (about $157 US) while the 64GB will go for 33,600 yen ($313 US). Sure, a storage device the same price as your computer is never ideal, but with SSD prices continuing to plummet — as evidenced by this nearly-wallet-friendly pair — they should be in striking distance before long.

[Via jkkmobile]

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Laptops

The Kira 100 was a decent Eee PC knockoff, but at just north of $475, there was literally no purpose in picking it over the genuine product. The Jointech JL7100, however, really makes ASUS’ darling look mighty unnecessary. Okay, so maybe the fact that this thing relies on WinCE 5.0 rather than, you know, a bona fide laptop operating system is a bit disappointing, but there are sacrifices to be expected here. As for other specifications, you’ll supposedly find a 7-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, Samsung chipset, 64MB (yes, megabytes) of internal storage, 64MB (yes, megabytes) of RAM, a VGA output and three USB ports. We can hear your stifled laughter from here, but your tune may change upon hearing the $99 (USD?) price tag. Told you so.

[Thanks, Sean]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

Taiwanese industry and rumor site DigiTimes is reporting (without citing a source) that ASUS expects to deliver “whole-day” battery options to its Eee PC range of netbooks. In addition, ASUS also plans to offer some level of Internet storage, apparently beyond the 20GB they already offer to new Eee PC 901 and 1000 owners — a move that we hope will become a trend amongst netbook providers in order to offset the miniscule flash drives found inside the lowest of the low-cost, mini laptops. Both changes are expected before the year is up. Incredibly, ASUS also plans to push out new software and hardware upgrades every month to “fill gaps in the netbook market.” Funny, we didn’t think any gaps remained in this over-saturated niche.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker