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Asus Confirms Specs, Price of Eee PC 904 and 1000

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the of-course-it's-in-pounds dept.

Ken E. writes "Asus seems to have completed its Eee PC laptop line-up, at least for the time being. The Taiwanese manufacturer has now confirmed both specifications and UK pricing of the Eee PC 904 and Eee PC 1000 — its two latest models. The Eee PC 904 is essentially an Eee PC 900 in an Eee PC 1000 chassis (big keyboard, 8.9in screen, Celeron-M 900MHz, Windows XP) and will cost £269 inc VAT. The Eee PC 1000 will cost £349 inc VAT for an Intel Atom (1.6GHz) chip, 10in screen, 80Gb HDD and Windows XP. Looks like those early Eee PC 900 adopters (£329 inc VAT, initially) have been stiffed. Still, that's progress, I guess ..."

41 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. Where's my $200 laptop by CastrTroy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They keep on bringing up the price and specs on these laptops. When they initially announced the EEE, they said it was going to be a $200 laptop. I still have yet to see one for $200, and with the way they keep on upping the specs, I don't think they will ever get to the $200 price point.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    1. Re:Where's my $200 laptop by Hatta · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I have to agree. I can spend $200 on a used laptop and it has more than fast enough to do anything I want. But it's not small, and its battery will suck.

      If they'd just make a $200 laptop, I'd buy it. I don't care how slow it is. I did real work on P100s 10 years ago, and I'd be happy to do the same today.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    2. Re:Where's my $200 laptop by Adlopa · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I suspect that the margins are so low on a $200 'netbook' (which is how these devices are being pitched) that the temptation is to slip in a few more features and nudge up the price in order to make a little more money. It's not quite quite the boiling frog analogy, but it's not far off -- 7" screen too small? Why for only $50 more you can get 8.9"! And there's even a bigger keyboard for just another $30! Before you know it we'll be at the Eee PC 1200 netbook with a 12.1in screen for $700 - or a 'laptop', as such things are more commonly known...

    3. Re:Where's my $200 laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The value of the dollar has turned to shit since they said that.

    4. Re:Where's my $200 laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree with the "used" approach.

      I spent $100 on a deal for two used Compaq Armada M300 machines (PIII) and a docking station. They're small (barely bigger than an Eee PC in one dimension, because the screen is 4:3 aspect), light (magnesium shell), 1024x768 12" displays, run various version of Linux and PCMCIA wifi with no problems, and even run Windows 2000 fine (I haven't tried XP). What more do I really need for web browsing and e-mail? These things aren't for gaming or heavy-duty stuff anyway. The only downside has been the battery life and the cost of it: ~$100 more for replacement batteries that give only ~2.5hrs, because the batteries that came with the units were dead. Still, 2 laptops for the price of one EeePC ain't bad, and the form factor is fairly similar. Oh, and the wifi sticking out of the PCMCIA slot looks a bit ugly, but so what.

    5. Re:Where's my $200 laptop by coolsnowmen · · Score: 5, Insightful

      the world does not revolve around the US dollar.

      Maybe not revolve, but if the world is certainly not independent of it. If the US went into a true depression, do you think europe, japan, china, and the middle east would be completely immune?

      If so you better quote-a-source or flash-an-econ-degree because everything I see has every major foreign market tied in multiple ways to the US's.

      Or did you really just want to claim that all Americans are pompous?

    6. Re:Where's my $200 laptop by hattig · · Score: 3, Informative

      How about the Elonex Onet+ then ...

      It's Linux only because it runs on a 400MHz non-x86 CPU.
      7" display. 2GB storage. SD. WiFi. 3 USB2 ports. VGA out. 3hr battery. 625g.

      http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/07/09/elonex_unveils_second_scc/

  2. Stiffed? Wow. by Madball · · Score: 5, Funny

    Looks like those early Eee PC 900 adopters (£329 inc VAT, initially) have been stiffed.

    An early adopter "stiffed"? A technology buyer getting more stuff for less money if they just wait? No way!

    Next, you'll claim that man has gone to the moon, or that Linux >> Windows, or Bush is disliked. You so craaazy.

  3. Enough with the "I got ripped off!" whining by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Looks like those early Eee PC 900 adopters (£329 inc VAT, initially) have been stiffed. Still, that's progress, I guess.

    No. They got a nice working computer for a price they found reasonable. Something better will come out for less money next year, and again the year after that.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    1. Re:Enough with the "I got ripped off!" whining by Corf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I have a 701. It cost me $399, and I received it on November 2 of last year.

      For the last six months, since I static-zapped my desktop, it's been my only personal computer.

      I'm typing this on it right now, from a plaza in Silver Spring, Maryland. It's a gorgeous day, the fountains are running.

      I am super happy with it.

      I don't feel "stiffed," I feel like I got in on something awesome before it was trendy.

      --
      The pain was excruciating and the scarring is likely permanent, but that just means it's working.
    2. Re:Enough with the "I got ripped off!" whining by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      I have a 17" LCD that sits, alone, on my desk... plugs nicely right into the 701, and poof, 1280x1024. :)

    3. Re:Enough with the "I got ripped off!" whining by RulerOf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I needed a new computer after using the one my parents bought me a decade ago. So I bought a laptop. I promptly put it on my desk, plugged in a mouse, and have never moved it since!

      It was an excellent purchasing decision on my part, seeing as how, for $2000, I got a monstrous 15 inch screen, a 2 GHz Dual Core processor, and 2 gigs of ram!

      Nothing more than that is really necessary, even though for $2000 I could be sitting in front of dual 24" monitors, a quad core chip, 4 GB of RAM and terabytes of storage. Or maybe something with similar specifications, in a desktop form factor, and a much heavier wallet.

      You have no idea how many times I hear the same idiotic story and the bullshit excuses that go along with it. I don't understand people justifying their moronic purchases by using the wrong tool for the wrong job, and I never will.

      Let me see if I can put it in perspective for you. If you owned a box truck and a subcompact smart car, and were faced with the task of moving a house full of furniture, using that EEE every day in a fixed location is like strapping a couch to the top of your smart car after lugging it past the open rear door of your box truck.

      Now, I have to ask, because maybe there's just "something" I don't get: What the fuck is that EEE doing on your desk, serving as your main computer, when a nonportable PC (like your Mac) is much more appropriate and functional? Is there ANY reason, other than "Zomg, It's so cute and portable," to pass up a much more functional, and frankly better in every way given the task, device for something so horribly inappropriate?

      To quote Chris Rock:

      You can drive a car with your feet if you want to; it don't mean its a good fucking idea!

      On a side note, my friend sold his laptop and bought the first EEE because he said the enhanced portability would allow him to use it better and more often that what he had currently, even though I told him it was a waste of money.

      Two months ago, he bought a 15-inch Compaq laptop that was on sale for the same price he got the EEE for. It's a much more appropriate machine.

      --
      Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
    4. Re:Enough with the "I got ripped off!" whining by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't understand people justifying their moronic purchases by using the wrong tool for the wrong job, and I never will.

      Neither do I. Those people drive me nuts. For me, the Eee turned out to be perfect for my needs and it was the Mac that was the wrong tool for the job.

      using that EEE every day in a fixed location is like strapping a couch to the top of your smart car after lugging it past the open rear door of your box truck.

      Very true - if I used it from a fixed location. Which I don't.

      Now, I have to ask, because maybe there's just "something" I don't get: What the fuck is that EEE doing on your desk, serving as your main computer, when a nonportable PC (like your Mac) is much more appropriate and functional?

      I think you're hearing voices, because I never said anything like that. The Eee is my main computer now, and I use it from the living room, bedroom, kitchen table, and pool in the backyard (wanna try floating with an eMac in your lap?).

      Two months ago, he bought a 15-inch Compaq laptop that was on sale for the same price he got the EEE for. It's a much more appropriate machine.

      So your friend miscalculated his needs and found something that better fit his actual situation. Good for him! On the other hand, I always thought I wanted/needed a full-size desktop computer, and it turns out that I really wanted/needed a tiny little laptop that can float around the house without hassle.

      What I don't get is people who get so worked up about other people having different needs than themselves. I'm not cursing at you for using a desktop, and don't really understand why you're cursing at me for using an UMPC.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    5. Re:Enough with the "I got ripped off!" whining by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 3, Informative

      I do understand what you mean. I feel kind of the same way about iPhones: they're a cool toy, but 99% of the people who think they need one really don't. Still, that doesn't change the fact that some really do, and in the case of the Eee and other UMPCs, I'm finding that I'm in that 1%. I'm not going to trot out my resume to prove my geek cred, but suffice it to say that I know a bit about computing and that the Eee hits the sweet spot for me.

      If nothing else, a tiny little SSH terminal that also supports apt-get is a sysadmin's dream come true. It's almost as portable (for me) as the series of Palms that I'd previously run through, has a much larger keyboard than any phone I've seen, and has a huge Free software library on tap. Those aren't big advantages for the general public, but dang, I like it.

      I think there is a huge market for a device that sits somewhere between a fully functional (but small) laptop and a cell phone, but I guarantee that said device will boast the form factor of neither.

      I'm not so sure. PDAs were neat, but generally too small to get serious work done. While I wouldn't want to use the Eee as my primary programming machine (and that's the main reason I mentioned for my once-a-month eMac usage), I've needed to use it that way for short periods. Maybe I'm just not creative enough, but I can't imagine something as generally useful fitting in a package too much smaller.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  4. The world is full of idiots. by Lord+Ender · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you buy electronics, the price WILL GO DOWN in the future. This is not being "stiffed." This is reality. Stop whining. The fact that internet whiners got lucky ONE TIME with the iPhone is a freak occurrence. Do not expect your whining to every pay off for any of the millions of other electronic devices sold every day.

    --
    A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    1. Re:The world is full of idiots. by Firehed · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A very valid point, though even by technology pricing standards, the iPhone's price drop (33% off after two months) was pretty unusual.

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
    2. Re:The world is full of idiots. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I also own a 701. And for me, it has been a wonderful gateway into the World of Linux.
      Just over a week ago I installed my *brand* new PC as Ubuntu. My old PC has now been turned into a 2.25TB RAID5 FreeNAS server. With the 701 as my little screen in the living-room, or for when I go away.

      10yrs I stuck with Windows. Through thick & thin. I remembered trying Linux in the late 90s, and commented on how it would be the future. I still have my 'old' PC inside a VM. But, it doesn't get much use now.

      All of the above is thanks to the 'eee'.

  5. Perfect by InlawBiker · · Score: 5, Funny

    Every possible combination of screen size, chip, storage and memory have been packaged and named almost identically. Asus' plan to thoroughly confuse customers is complete.

    1. Re:Perfect by spudnic · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm sure the 40Gb SSD is much more expensive than the 80Gb HDD.

      SSD is a premium. No sound, less heat, faster boots, longer battery life.

      --
      load "linux",8,1
    2. Re:Perfect by djikster · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Currently, the price of the 40Gb SSD exceeds the price of the laptop :)

    3. Re:Perfect by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Is it true that the SSD drives are soldered in? It's not just the capacity for upgrading - as someone who's rescued a few unbootable laptops, I'd like to know I can pop the drive into some form of USB box to get the data off.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    4. Re:Perfect by bfree · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't believe they use a 40GB SSD though, more like an 8GB SSD and a 32GB usb stick (I picked one of those up for STG70 a couple of months ago).

      --

      Never underestimate the dark side of the Source

  6. This is not a good thing by fprintf · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is not a good thing for Linux adoption. Earlier articles today pointed to the increased adoption of Linux among housewives, attributed to sales of eeePCs and other cheap laptops. Now that these ones have XP on them, this can't be a good thing for the trend continuing.

    --
    This post brought to you by your friendly neighborhood MBA.
  7. Stiffed by imidan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Looks like those early Eee PC 900 adopters (£329 inc VAT, initially) have been stiffed. Still, that's progress, I guess...

    <rant> I never understand this point of view. Especially with computer/tech hardware. Every one of us, when buying a new video card, or a new processor, or whatever, knows that within a few months, the price will come down on the thing we just bought, and a newer, better thing will be out. And I never see people bitching about that. But make it some shiny, all-in-one thing like an iPhone or this Eee PC, and suddenly there's this group of people who are outraged about it. What gives? It's life, you know? You can sit on all of your money and never buy anything, for fear that you could get a better deal tomorrow, or you can buy stuff today and enjoy it. </rant>

    Not that the OP sounded all that bitter about it. It just reminded me of people who do.

  8. Re:Progress? Conspiracy! by jabuzz · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think that will have been 256KB of RAM, otherwise it would have cost a *LOT* more than $2500

  9. Re:erm, who actually wants one? by Westley · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Someone who wants a small form factor. Like me.

    I take two laptops to work every day - my company one, and my Eee (which I'm using to write this post). I don't want to use my company one on the train for various reasons, hence the need for a second one. So, space and weight is at a premium.

    Given that most of my time on the train is spent browsing or blogging rather than doing anything *hugely* taxing, I don't mind having a lower power machine.

    My current Eee is a 701G, but I may well treat myself to a 1000 some time next year, mostly for the larger screen but also for the improved battery life and more power when I want it.

  10. arms race. by apodyopsis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have always decided to stay out of the arms race attended by PC HW and SW firms.

    Most of my HW is quite old, 7+ years apart from my early adoption of an Asus EEE. was I stiffed on the price? hell no - had it over half a year and makes a good wifi web station.

    I understand the commercial reasons behind the rapid depreciation in HW and SW - but as far as I'm concerned my PC hardware is a tool, like my car. I'm upgrade only when there is a compelling reason or something breaks. Is the arms race a good or bad thing? well it promotes innovation and new technologies so I cannot really argue against it.

    As long as I can still run an up to date distro on my hardware I'm a happy camper. An old PC will let me write SW, surf and do office tasks as well as a new one, and be just as net safe if I keep to a regular upgrade cycle.

  11. Re:erm, who actually wants one? by danzona · · Score: 4, Informative

    There are low-end but fully-fledged laptops (i.e. 10s of gigs, 512MB-1GB, 13"+ screen) of the OEM-unbranded type in this price range selling all over the Web in the UK. For 50 quid more, you get an Acer. And they all come with 12 month warranties, often extensible. Who actually wants the eepc?

    I think the niche that Eee PC is trying to fill is for people who don't want the size and weight associated with the 13" screen. The Eee PC models have screens that range from 7" to 10", in weights from 2 - 3 pounds.

    There are other options for palmtops and ultraportables, but they all seem to be quite a bit more expensive than the Eee PC models. I'm sure the competitors are justified in what they are charging - perhaps Eee PC has found the sweet spot of price and performance.

  12. Re:Stiffed? Wow. by maxume · · Score: 3, Funny

    Quick, buy technology product before it goes up in price!

    --
    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  13. Re:Stiffed? Wow. by __aalruu9610 · · Score: 4, Funny

    So wait...I realize your last comment was sarcastic. At least I know Bush is disliked... If I take a bitwise right shift of Linux, I'll end up with Windows? Holy crap...makes me want to try a left bit shift...

  14. Re:Progress? Conspiracy! by camperdave · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well, the 80386 had a 4GB address space, so having a mere 5MB is easy. The 8086 only had a 1MB address space, so squeezing 256MB onto it would be a feat.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  15. Re:How much do those MS Windows licences cost? by Toreo+asesino · · Score: 5, Funny

    You dropped this - http://www.instantrimshot.com/

    --
    throw new NoSignatureException();
  16. In US dollars by metamechanical · · Score: 5, Informative

    For those of us on the other side of the pond, that's about $529.66 and $687.18 respectively, using yesterday's exchange rate (i.e., the first one I found)

    --
    If I had a nickel for every time I had a nickel, I'd be richcursive!
  17. Re:erm, who actually wants one? by Znork · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Personally I find those low-end fully fledged laptops completely worthless. They have little storage, almost no memory, no expansion capability, a pitiful screen, a barely useful graphics card and a painfully slow CPU.

    They're simply not a useful replacement for a desktop. And on top of that they're just not that portable; you dont quickly throw them in your bag, purse or coat pocket and go.

    Still, I have a need for something to take notes, run presentations and look stuff up on when not at the desk. And while I find the low-end laptop unsuitable for the task due to it's desktop-replacement complex, the EEE segment is extremely suitable for the purpose (the £1000+ micro laptop segment is also suitable, but, eh, I'm buying a glorified pencil+paper, not some form of jewelry or fashion statement).

  18. DVI-I instead by D4C5CE · · Score: 5, Informative

    Drop VGA output and replace with HDMI output

    No, with DVI-I. While it's bulkier (and more sturdy), thanks to carrying the VGA signal as well it doesn't have HDMI's (sometimes show-stopping) disadvantage of being unable to drive the still most common projectors with analog inputs.

  19. Still no touchscreen - what were they thinking? by D4C5CE · · Score: 3, Interesting

    With iPhones around and people desperately clinging to the clamshells of their ancient Psions and fixing the Eee's missing features by eerily advanced DIY, when will Asus et al. finally look/listen/learn?

  20. Re:erm, who actually wants one? by vidarh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Have you tried to LIFT one of the cheap high spec'ed laptops? Most of the cheap laptops weigh in at 3.5kg-4kg. Personally I refuse to buy a laptop about the 2.5kg range. My wife ended up buying a Vaio last year because she got an 11" one at around 1.2kg, but it was 2.5 times the price of an EEE - for what she needs it for an EEE is sufficient, and the small form factor is a huge bonus.

  21. Re:Stiffed? Wow. by mhall119 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, it's shifting the bits to the right rather than left.

    Oops, my mistake.

    If we assume that the Linux OS disk image is a single unsigned integer of magnitude around 8^(5e8), then shift that number right by a similarly sized Windows integer, then we always get a final result of zero. (Which would make the original statement False.)

    I don't understand why we're not getting modded 'Funny' like the GP.

    --
    http://www.mhall119.com
  22. You're missing the point by StarKruzr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Which is portability. Then people get that portability and decide they want better specs. The price goes up.

    There's nothing wrong with this.

    --

    +++ATH0
  23. This is off topic, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I hate it when people put half of their post in the title! I start reading what they have to say, but then realize that their sentence fragment makes no sense whatsoever...oh, I have to read that bit up there too in order to piece together your post. brilliant.

  24. Re:Isn't it hypocrtical by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    Firstly: No, it's hypocritical.

    Secondly: I think he was being ironical.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."