New EeePC will include Intel's Atom processor
Chicago (IL) - Asus’s chief executive officer has revealed juicy details about the upcoming EeePC. Jerry Shen told Laptop Magazine that he prefers Intel’s Diamondville processor over Via’s Isaiah chip. Slowly but surely, the EeePC will get more features, including wireless broadband. And yes, the new EeePCs will be more expensive than the debut model, even if Shen believes that prices will drop quickly.
The EeePC will be shipping with an Atom processor (Diamondville core) in May, according to the executive. Apparently, Asus is not planning with Via’s next mobile processor Isaiah, which Via claims is faster than Atom while consuming about the same power. Shen said that Diamondville is “competitive” in terms of pricing and has the advantage that it is built in 45 nm.
The new 8.9” screen model (1024x600 pixel screen resolution) of the EeePC will be available as a Windows XP version with an 8 GB SSD and 1 GB of main memory as well as Xandros Linux versions that include 12 or 20 GB SSDs. Shen said that the system will be shipping in the U.S. with a suggested retail price of $499, lifting it into the range of mainstream notebooks, which typically offer larger screens, more powerful processors and hard drives with 80 GB+ hard drives. However, he noted that the market will determine pricing, which the executive believes will come down as early as June.
That may be especially the case when Asus will be able to ship more EeePCs. While only 350,000 units were sold in the fourth quarter of last year, Asus estimates the market potential at about 700,000 units per month. So far, production volumes have been substantially lower because of a shortage of batteries, Shen said.
In Q3, the EeePC will see further upgrades, including HSDPA and WiMax wireless broadband.
- MacBook Air sparks terrorist alert in Airport
- 10 things you didn't know about Rahul Sood, CTO of HP Voodoo business unit
- Rockstar working to patch Bully's bugs
- Super Smash Bros Brawl midnight openings cancelled in the US due to stormy weather
- Send your Dorito-y message into space
- Samsung announces new Adidas fitness phone
- Apache regaining traction in global server installations
- Microsoft reportedly in talks with Sony for Blu-ray Xbox
- [Analysis] Atom, Alienware m15x, and the next iPhone: The future of Super Devices
- OCZ's mind-controlled mouse priced at $159
- Virtual character with child-like reasoning abilities enters Second Life
- Editor loses MacBook Air, blames wifey
- Man gets four years in the clink for running pirate DVD racket
- The man who nearly killed Winston Churchill wants to be your friend
- Babes of CeBIT 2008 - Part One
- Review: Super Smash Bros Brawl hits all the right notes
- Firefox 3 Beta 4 reveals difference in design philosophy to IE8
- LAN parties get advice, coordination and swag from Palit
theve made it to expensive, the whole reason people bought the Eeepc is because its cheep and works in third world countrys etc, but now its just as expensive as a low end laptop with a 17" screen, core2..