That these are being touted as "low cost" laptops. $550 for a machine that doesn't even have an optical drive is NOT low-cost; it's much more expensive than the "laptop deal of the week" from Best Buy or Circuit City, which are typically $400-$450 with a much bigger screen and a lot more power.
What makes the Eee and HP's Mini interesting isn't "low price" - it's low weight, and small size. That's worth a premium price- but not a HUGE premium price. I'd spend $500 or maybe even $600, but for me, it will be a fourth computer. I have a big laptop, and a desktop at home and at work.
I'd like to have a little one I can take on trips where I don't need to actually write a lot, but if a 10" display and a larger keyboard drives these up past $600, I won't be THAT interested.
Coming over the IDG newswire this morning is news that Asustek is planning to launch a new version of the Eee PC — this one with a 10-inch screen, according to the company’s CEO.
“The feedback we’ve received from users has been great. Many have asked us for bigger screens and better usability. That’s what made us start developing the Eee PC 900,” said Jerry Shen, CEO of Asustek, during a news conference in Taipei. People are asking for bigger keypads and more software as well, issues the company continues to work on.
The 10-incher could be out later this year, with a still as-yet-undetermined price tag (expect it to be comparatively more pricey than the 8.9-incher). It will be the biggest screen an Eee PC will ever get, Shen said. Understandably, the company defines anything with a 12-inch screen or larger as a classic notebook PC — not an “Eee.”
The new Eee PC 900 with the 8.9-inch screen is expected to account for 50 percent of overall Eee PC shipments by June, and 60 percent or more of shipments sometime in the second half of the year, according to the article.
Which brings this back to you, dear readers: our last post about Dell and HP’s forays into the tiny notebook market really got you conversing, and the Eee PC is one of the most popular recent products on ZDNet. Do you think this new Eee has the best of both worlds? Tell us in TalkBack.
