NetbookTech

AVING USA reports that ASUS has officially launched the Eee PC S101 netbook and the Eee PC 1002H netbook in South Korea. Introduced last month, the S101 is ASUS’s thinnest and most expensive Eee PC netbook yet coming in at a mere 25mm thick and weighing around 1 kg. Most of you are already familiar with the S101 so I won’t go into much more details there.

As for the 1002H, the specs include an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, Windows XP Home, a 10 inch display, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, SDHC card reader, and a weight of 1.2 kg.

Make sure to check out AVING USA for many more pictures. (pictures here from AVING USA)

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If you’re looking for another perspective on the ASUS N10 netbook, check out PC World’s hands-on look at the new non-Eee PC netbook from ASUS. The system they checked out had a 3 cell battery, 160GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and of course Windows XP Home. Some highlights from the hands-on include:

“What stood out most about the N10, aside from its stylish casing and hefty price tag, was its larger keyboard, which includes a nice sized trackpad with left and right click buttons at the bottom of the pad.”

“Boot-up time on the N10 was not very good at about 42 seconds for Windows XP, though Asustek plans to install its Linux-embedded OS, Express Gate, on the devices to give them a start-up screen that opens in about 8 seconds”

And.. the verdict:

“Overall, I liked the N10 even more than some of the premium Eee PCs that Asustek markets. It will be a good competitor to premium netbooks that fetch higher prices.”

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It looks like Dell won’t be the only vendor with a 12 inch netbook system. ITProPortal.com is reporting that ASUS is readying a 12 inch system based on a similar chassis design as the Eee PC S101. Known as the ASUS ZX series, the new netbook will feature a 12 inch 16:10 display and will be priced on the high end of the spectrum at £575. Specs aren’t exactly known yet but the site is stating that the ZX series should have an Atom processor inside, 1GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD. While some will claim the ZX series will compete against the MacBook Air, we’d like to think that the real competition here is the new Dell Inspiron Mini 12. Sure the MacBook Air is physically in the same league but let’s face it – the Air uses a far beefier processor that will blow the Atom out of the water so let’s not go there ok?

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ASUS announced that they shipped around 1.7 million Eee PC units during the third quarter and expects to ship roughly 1.8 million units during the fourth quarter thereby hitting their end of year goals for 5 million units for their new product line. The company will attempt to grab 30% of the netbook market in 2009; aiming to ship 6 to 7.5 million units out of the estimated 20 to 25 million unit netbook market.

ASUS CEO, Jerry Shen, also expects to ship a $200 dollar netbook within the U.S. market in 2009. Other interesting tidbits from the ASUS third quarter earnings announcement:

• 70 % of total netbooks shipped come with HDD, while the remainder use SSDs
• Ratio of Windows XP systems to Linux systems are at 7:3 also
• 7 and 8.9 inch Eee PCs are being phased out in favor of 10 inch models
• Eee PC contributes 22 percent of ASUS’s revenues

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ASUS announced that the new Eee PC S101 netbook would be coming to North America starting on November 1st and will be available in two colors – Copper Brown and Graphite. The price for this high end netbook? $699. As a reminder, the features of the S101 include the following:

• Intel Atom N270 processor
• 10.2 inch wide active matrix LED backlit display (1024 x 600 resolution)
• 1.8 cm thin
• 16GB Shockproof SSD
• 30GB internet storage
• Integrated 4-in-1 flash card reader (MMC, SD, Memory Stick, and MS-PRO)
• Super Hybrid Engine (SHE) for energy efficiency
• Wi-Fi 802.11n support
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Windows XP OS
• 10/100 Ethernet
• 1GB RAM
• Measures 264 x 180.5 x 18~25mm
• 1 VGA port, 3 USB 2.0 ports, 2 audio jacks
• 0.3 megapixel webcam
• Multi-touch touchpad
• 5.4 hour battery life

Sorry – model not included with the netbook.

[Check it out via Engadget]

Thanks to LaptopMag’s interview with ASUS CEO Jerry Shen, we now have additional insight into what’s coming down the road from ASUS in terms of netbooks. ASUS recently celebrated the first birthday for the Eee PC – the system that really got the whole netbook trend started. Here are the major tidbits of information from the interview:

• ASUS has sold close to 4 million Eee PCs thus far with a target goal of 5 million by the end of 2008 (this doesn’t include the EeeBox)
• All Eee PC models – from 7 inchers to 10 inch systems are selling well. The company does not plan on releasing anything larger than a 10 inch display b/c it would otherwise be a notebook
• The Eee PC has actually helped promote the ASUS brand – making their overall notebook business better
• Return rates for both Windows and Linux are similar
• No plans to put Vista on Eee PCs though in the second half of next year, expect to see Windows 7 on it
• ASUS is considering both a tablet convertible design and a touch-screen enabled laptop form factor
• Price ranges for future Eee PCs will be from $250 to $700 dollars. New products expected in Q1 and Q2 of next year
• ASUS working on a technology called “ExpressTest” which will improve boot time and battery life

You can read more at LaptopMag.com.

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ASUS looks to continue their Eee PC success in 2009 with new touch-screen based netbooks as well as dual core Atom systems. According to a DigiTimes report, the company plans on launching a touch-screen based Eee PC during the first quarter of next year. Although the details of the new systems have not been worked out as of yet, the new touch Eee’s will be indeed be showcased at CES 2009.

The same article also reports that ASUS is ready to launch dual core Atom processor based Eee’s – as soon as Intel begins shipping such a model. Keep in mind that the current dual core Atom processor that is shipping from Intel is a nettop targeted processor – not for netbooks. The thermal rating is still too high for portable systems. One would assume that Intel is working on readying a dual core Atom with the similar power characteristics as the current Atom.

Finally, ASUS’s president Jerry Shen, also revealed that the company plans on launching a low cost Eee at some point next year at a price less than NT $10,000 (or around $307 dollars).

[Check it out via Wired]

Get ready for some netbook price cuts as we enter the fourth quarter of 2008. DigiTimes is reporting that some netbook manufacturers are planning to cut prices in order to clear out their inventory. ASUS has begun price cuts for their Eee PC in Taiwan with the popular 7 inch model dropping to NT 7,999 or $249.75 U.S. dollars. Other ASUS price cuts are as follows:

• 10 inch Eee PC 1000 with Linux will drop to below NT 17,000 or $528 U.S. dollars
• 10 inch Eee PC 1000H with Windows will see a price drop of around NT 1,000 ($31 U.S. dollars)
• 9 inch Eee PC 901 with Linux will drop from NT 17,000 to NT 15,000 ($466.52 U.S. dollars)

Acer and HP have already dropped their respective netbook models with the Acer Aspire One arguably one of the best deals for netbooks out there right now. But who knows - we might see additional price cuts down the road from these vendors if not others.

However if you’re hoping the MSI Wind will get cheaper - forget about it for now. The company isn’t planning to cut prices for the Wind since it’s been unable to lower their own manufacturing costs for the netbook. Read more about it at DigiTimes.com.

3.75G connectivity is coming to the Eee PC. ASUS announced today that the first system to support 3.75G will be the Eee PC 901 due in October. This notebook will also come with a 6 cell battery which will supposedly extend battery life to 7.5 hours. Specs on the Eee PC 901 with 3.75G are as follows:

• Windows XP Home
• 8.9 inch display
• Intel Atom processor
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity
• Optional Bluetooth support
• 1GB DDR2 memory
• 16GB SSD
• MMC/SD/SDHC
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• HD audio
• Stereo Speakers
• Digital Array Microphone
• 6 cell battery for 7.5 hours of battery life
• Measures 225 x 175.5 x 22.7 - 39mm and weighs 1.1 kg
• Available in Black or White

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