Taiwanese computer maker Asus has formally joined the competition to produce low-cost, small form-factor notebook computers aimed at education and developing markets with its new Eee PC. The lightweight notebook computers sport Intel processors, a 7-inch LCD display, and both Ethernet and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi networking. The company initially plans to offer four difference configurations of the Eee PC, offering from 256 to 1 GB of RAM and 2 GB to 8 GB of flash-based storage. The high-end 4 GB and 8 GB units will also offer and integrated camera, and while the systems will all be available with Linux, Asus also plans to offer versions with Windows XP by the end of 2007.
Asus’ Eee PC is positioned to compete with the OLPC Xo and Intel’s Classmate PC in education and emerging markets, and offers a lightweight, ruggedized solution with a simplified interface and flash-based storage. Asus is also positioning the Eee PC as a low-cost solution for mobile professionals who need solid email, Web, and connectivity options without the big price tag (and weight) of a traditional notebook computer.
The Linux version of the Eee Pc sport more than 40 applications, including a word processor, a Skype client, and the Firefox Web browser, and support for Google Documents and other online services. The WIndows XP version demonstrated by Asus featured the Microsoft Office 2003 productivity suite, although there’s no official information on any application bundle which may ship with XP-equipped Eees.
Asus is already offering one configuration of its Eee PC in Taiwan for BT$11,100 (about $345 US), and plans to offer another three configurations by the end of November, with the low-end 2G “Surf” model with 256 MB of RAM expected to retail for NT$7,999 (about $245 US). As yet, Asus has not officially announced plans to offer the Eee PC in the North American market, but the systems are expected to be available in standard retail channels shortly. Asus claims it has an order from an unnamed government for 1 million units to be deployed throughout the country’s educational system.
