Asus’s Eee PCs Get A 10-Inch Screen

Asus has updated its popular Eee low-powered, low-cost notebook PC, offering a screen sizes up to 10 inches and nearly 8 hours of battery life.

On the verge of the Computex 2008 trade show in Taipei, Asus has announced the Asus Eee PC 901, an update to its surprisingly popular low-powered, low-priced, and very portable notebook computer. The Eee 901 will be available in two models—the 1000 and 1000(H)—and feature screen sizes up to 10 inches and Asus’s Super Hybrid Engine technology that, combined, can offer a whopping 7.8 hours of battery life.

“With constant innovations and implementation of the latest technologies in the new Eee PC range, we have since expanded the original 3 ‘E’s into Easy, Excellent, and Exciting,” said Asus CEO Jerry Shen, in a statement. “Easy will still encompass the core value of Easy to learn, work, and play, Excellent will highlight the Eee PC’s role as an excellent mobile Internet device, and Exciting entails utilizing the Eee PC for exciting multimedia enjoyment.”

The new models will still offer SSD storage, Asus isn’t saying whether they’ll bump up the capacities from earlier models—although Asus is touting 20 GB of Internet-based storage for data backups.. The 901s will still offer an integrated 1.3 megapixel Webcam for video conferencing and chat applications, along with a new keyboard that’s 92 percent the size of keyboards on traditional notebook PCs, making it more familiar to experienced notebook users. The new Eee PCs will also feature “trendy and colorful” case patterns.

Otherwise, Asus is being stingy on the specifications for the 901s: the company hasn’t yet revealed processor specs—although it’s been widely reported the 901’s will use Intel’s new Atom CPUs—memory, connectivity options (other than to note a 3.5G “concept sample” will be on display at Computex), or Bluetooth capability. There’s also no official word on when the 901s may be available or what they’ll cost, although the top-specced model (with the 10-inch screen and Windows, presumably) is expected to cost about $650.

Update 03-June-2008: Asus has now offered specs for three new Eee PC models:

The Eee PC 901 will weight in at 1.1 kg (about 2.42 pounds), sport an 8.9-inch display, and be available with either Windows XP Home or GNU Linux pre-installed; the Windows version will ship with a 12 GB SSD while the Linux version will come with a 20 GB SSD. The 901 will sport 1 GB of RAM and a 6 cell battery offering up to 7.8 hours of usage on a single charge.

The Eee PC 1000 will offer a 10- or 10.2-inch display, ship with a 40 GB SSD drive, and come with up to 2 GB of RAM. It will be available with GNU Linux.

The Eee PC 1000H will sport a 10- or 10.2-inch display, an 80 GB hard disk drive, and up to 2 GB of RAM. The 1000H will be available with either Windows XP or GNU LInux.

All three models feature Intel Atom processors, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking, stereo speakers, and a 1.3 megapixel Webcam. The Eee units will be available in a range of colors, including Sakura, Sweet Pea, Urban Metropolis, White Peony, Pearl White, and Fine Ebony. Still no official word on pricing or availability.