Asus Set To Release Desktop Eee PC Variant

the_leander writes "The Register has pictures of the desktop version of Asus's Eee PC, reportedly called the 'Ebox.' It will be released early next month after it has been unveiled publicly at Computex in Taipei on June 3. It'll come equipped with the same Xandros Linux distribution as the Eee, though it's likely that Windows XP will be available also. But given the probable choice for CPU, Atom, ithe Ebox is unlikely to allow for the use of Vista, unless you're something of a masochist. It's expected to retail for $200-$300."

Comments

Why's it so... flash?

[ChowRiit]

Is it just me, or does it seem somewhat odd to make a low budget PC quite so flash and stylish? Surely, if you're trying to get sales by having THE cheapest machine on the market, then perhaps people might not care how it looks so much as how much it costs?

I would have thought you could shave at least $50 off the price if you built it in a really boring, plain case, without silly stands or LED buttons...

Re:Makes no sense

[Technician]

I don't see how any of this matters in a desktop.

The RV folks like a battery friendly PC. As a marine map display for boat use, or a topo map unit, these would make fantastic GPS map display units and double as an entertainment server for movies and music. Battery life with a 300 watt PC sucks. A sub 60 watt unit is more along the lines of usable in the evenings on battery power.

Latest cheap thing vs Older good thing

[zakezuke]

Before I go into monologue mode, it looks like Dell already has something in the ultra slim ultra cheap arena. Dell EPP Inspiron 530S starts under $400, ok not as cheap as the Asus solution, but still.

I do see a need for an Asus EEE laptop. Something ultra cheap that you can kick around, get some work done on it, but not be too worried if it gets lost or stolen. I see slightly less of a need for an Asus EEE desktop. The market is pretty flooded with desktops, so much so that getting something in the Socket A to 939 class for $200-$300 on closeout is very possible. While duel core is all the rage, the last time I checked new egg a 4000+ single core 939 was well under $50, and that is nothing to sneeze at. A 2000mhz socket A system does the job for most people IMHO.

So the real question is this... do I want a trimmed down might as well be a laptop desktop, or do I want an older machine that might out perform it. There are no facts or specs to backup this assertion, it's just been my experience that new ultra cheap has often been outclassed by 3 year old goods.

Re:Redundant department of redundancy...

[ozmanjusri]

Exactly, I wondered the same thing, its just trolling

Ohhh, did the nasty reviewer man disrespect poor widdle Microsoft?

Seriously, what's with this petulant Crokeresque "Leave Vista Alooonnnee" meme over the past few months?

I mean, give me a break. This is the company the _invented_ FUD. For years we've been hearing "Linux is hard to install", "Linux has poor hardware support", "Command line everything" "No games", etc, etc, etc.

Now it's your turn and you're whining like whipped bitches. Well suck it up. There's plenty more to come.

Re:Makes no sense

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

You can get a year old regular desktop for the same price and run an operating system of your choice,

You can get a big, noisy, ugly, year old desktop, high power-consuming, requiring an O/S reinstall, along with hunting down all the applications (a no-no for the masses), with god-only-knows-what sort of hardware problems.

Or you can get one of these things - and have all common workflows (skype, office, google, music) working out of the box.