Computex Taipei: Fear, Loathing and the Mini-Laptop War
Fear: Being woken by an earthquake my first night in Taipei. Loathing: New ASUS Eee PCs face a battle royale for low-cost mini-notebook dominance, as does the new Intel Atom chip that powers them.
I spent some time with the just-launched Eee PC 901, 1000 and 1000H on the show floor and at their launch and?now I kind of want one (I'm already having visions of hooking one up to a solar-charging backpack when I go hiking, but that could just be the lack of sleep). The new Eee PCs all boast a power efficient Atom processor, integrated 1.3Mp Webcam, Bluetooth, 802.11n Wi-Fi (a WiMax version is also planned) and six-cell batteries providing up to about 7 hours of battery life.
Solid state hard drives (SSDs) are also an option for those seeking quicker boot-times, maximum battery life and improved shock resistance. (That'd be why ASUS bizarrely strapped a GPS-less Eee PC to a bicycle for models to pose with.) A couple of clever extras: an included 20GB online storage service allows for file encryption, 5GB of downloads per day, and works with both the Windows and Linux flavors. ASUS also intends to bundle a Wii-like Eee Stick wireless gaming controller with the Eee PCs and its desktop Eee Box B202 that?s set to hit the US in July starting at $269.
ASUS hasn't committed to a US launch date for the new Eee PCs, but did say the mini-laptops would be available throughout much of Asia by the end of the month. The 901 has already gone sale here in Taiwan for NT$16,988 (roughly US$560). The Eee PC 1000H will be available here on June 13 for about US$630, followed shortly after by the 1000 at around US$660.
ASUS expects Eee PC sales to double to 10 million units next year, but boy has it got some stiff competition ahead. Major competitors include HP's 2133 Mini-Note (VIA C7-M chip) in addition to the just launched Acer One and MSI Wind (pictured below); both Atom-based mini-laptops start at $399. Not to forget Dell's elusive "Mini Inspiron" or the vast range of yet-to-be-announced mini-laptops that will use competing chip platforms from Nvidia, VIA, Qualcomm, Arm and Texas Instruments. A lot of positioning right now, but this Reservoir Dogs-style stand-off is going to break out into an all-out war anytime now.
Hopefully the competition will be a good thing because I'm definitely going to get a mini-laptop. Here's the new Eee PC breakdown, what would you do?
| Eee PC 901 | Eee PC 1000 | Eee PC 1000H |
| 8.9-inch screen (1024 by 600 pixels) | 10 or 10.2-inch screen (1024 by 600 pixels) | 10 or 10.2-inch screen (1024 by 600 pixels) |
| 2.4lbs | 2.9lbs | 3.1lbs |
| 12GB SSD (Windows); 20GB SSD (Linux) | 40GB SSD hard disk | 80GB regular HDD (the H in 1000H) |
| Up to 1GB DDR2 memory | Up to 2GB DDR2 memory | Up to 2GB DDR2 memory |
| Linux Only | Linux or Windows XP Home | Linux or Windows XP Home |
PC World's Marketplace
PC World's Free Whitepapers
tech news tech blogs community & forums laptop prices software reviews downloads
Ive been wantiing one of these for a while. now that they will be getting better I cant wait. I may even put off saving for a motorcycle to get one. Ill have to see how the competition spans out.
Aww hell ya. i muh get that sexy 10 inch Eee PC 1000H. It has Linux or XP which owns mini laptops. Those other mini laptops are posers. Nice specs for that kind of laptop...