Ah, the netbook. Back in 1999 or so I remember one of my co-workers spent over $3,000 for a mini Sony Vaio PCG-C1, the kind with the tiny keyboard and woefully underpowered processor. Fast forward a decade and we’ve come full circle with the netbook. These still woefully underpowered laptops still have tiny keyboards but they cost a pittance and, for a certain subset of users, they’re some of the most compelling pieces of hardware to come out ofTaiwan and Japan in years.
Origin Story
The netbook was supposed to save the PC industry. Cast your memory back to 2007. We were just on the edge of the global financial precipice. Desktop sales were flat and laptop sales were soaring. All seemed fine. But there was a problem: the laptop market was considerably different than the desktop market. Desktop PCs sat comfortably in a den and were upgraded over time. Junior wanted to play The Sims so he installed a new graphics card. Sis wanted a scanner – she added an all-in-one. Dad was going through a mid-life crisis so he bought a new case. PCs generated sales in peripherals and, once the PC was maxed out, it was relegated to the basement and a new one purchased. PCs cost a pittance to make and could be sold at a slight profit.
Laptops, on the other hand, were stagnant. You bought a laptop and held onto it. For many it became a main computer, but one you never upgraded. You could add some memory and plug in a printer, but you weren’t purchasing overpriced graphics cards or hard drives.
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The ASUS Eee Keyboard has been sliced open and dissected by Blogeee.net (translated from French). The innards basically consist of laptop parts laid side by side with all the ports facing outwards.
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According to DigiTimes, ASUS is blowing out 7- and 8.9-inch Eee PCs over in Taiwan and China. According to me, those same savings may trickle into US markets too!
Our own beardy Devin Coldewey had quite a tech boner for the Asus Eee Keyboard back at CES. At that time, a company representative made a “confidential estimate” that the device would be released in August. Then someone at Asus apparently got all giddy or something and it was announced that the Eee Keyboard would launch in June. Well, June’s almost over and there’s no Asus Eee Keyboard.
Huh. That’s weird. Well, ASUS and Disney teamed up on a netbook, called the Netpal, designed to “make computing fun.” I thought a regular laptop with parental controls could do the same thing, but apparently you need an 8.9-inch display, Wi-Fi, and a locked down version of XP to really have fun.
The Netpal is selling at Toys ‘r’ Us and Amazon for $349. Would you buy a full-bore netbook for your kids?
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If you’ve been holding out for a convertible touchscreen tablet netbook, your wait may soon be over. Asus has put the Eee PC T91 up on its US website. Still no exact pricing or availability info yet, unfortunately, although it’ll apparently be available to retailers sometime this week.
Newegg.com is selling the Asus Eee PC 900 for just $170 with free shipping. That’s for a new unit, too, not a refurbished one. The specs won’t blow your toupee off your head but, hey, the price is right.
Hot on the heels of their successful advertising campaign to make consumers see a PC running Windows as a better value than a Macintosh, Microsoft is now declaring “It’s Better With Windows“! The new website, aimed at Asus Eee PC users, reminds us that “Windows helps you quickly and easily get online and connect to your devices and services — without dealing with an unfamiliar environment or major compatibility issues“! Oooh, burn! Watchoo gonna do, Linux?
In case you missed the earlier CrunchDeal on an Asus EeePC 900 netbook, here’s your chance to snatch one up again. Woot! now has the 8.9-inch netbook on the main site for $150. Pick between white and black and be on your merry way.
Asus EeePC 900 Netbook [Woot!]
If you’re looking to update your sound card but are thinking of switching brands, Asus would like to talk to you. Chances are that if you bought a sound card over the last 20 years, it was a Creative Soundblaster, Audigy, or X-Fi. They keep making new versions with questionable enhancements, and it seems to me that Asus, accomplished component maker and up-and-coming in other areas, might be a good alternative to sticking with the status quo. Thus: the Xonar line. And this new one sounds pretty sweet.
Ahh, the Eee Keyboard. Who knows whether you will be awesome to actually own, but it was sure fun manhandling you at CES (you too, ladies). And although Asus was shy at the time about release dates (August was their confidential estimate then), they’ve decided they’re going to just come out and say June.
In what appears to be a response to Acer’s impending 11.6-inch netbook that’s due this month, Asus has plans to release an 11.6-inch Eee PC of its own “later this month,” according to DigiTimes.
Windows 7 is a speedy little bastard, even on an Asus Eee PC 1000HA as this video shows. Spoiler: it’s quick but not OMG fast.
Make way for the Eee PC 1004DN, ASUS’ first netbook with a built-in optical drive. Rumors swirled last week, but ASUS made everything official by announcing that the machine will feature a Super-Multi DVD burner, a chiclet-style keyboard, an Express Card slot, multi-touch trackpad, brushed aluminum casing, and almost six hours of battery life.
Not content to watch MSI steal all the thunder with the X-Slim series, ASUS has lobbed a snowball back with the Eee 1008HA – nicknamed “Sea Shell.” It’s basically a nice-looking 10-inch Eee, though, and not the genre-defying 13.3-inch X320 that we’ll see from MSI.
Remember the awesome Eee keyboard we were the first in the world to touch and play with? Well, it wasn’t just a pie-in-the-sky concept; they told me then that they were planning on getting it out in mid-2009, and it looks like they’re on track to do that. The keyboard itself appears to have changed somewhat since CES; it no longer has the MacBook style black-on-aluminum look, opting instead for a silver-on-silver — like, uh, Powerbooks.
Last we saw of this thing, it was also being called the Galaxy 7, but all of the specs were already in place. Well, Asus has finally granted the P835’s wish and made it a real boy. Wait, no — they’ve just made an official announcement.
That upcoming 10-inch ASUS netbook with the fancy Sony/Mac-style chiclet keyboard is waiting for you at Amazon.com if you’re interested. The ship date is listed as two to three weeks but the price is real nice at just $374 for the blue or black model.
In light of MWC next week, Garmin-Asus has made a full announcement about the upcoming nuvifone product line. Which, btw, isn’t nearly as fun as spy shots and rumors, but we’ll take it. The original G60 that we have been hearing about for nearly a year seems like it will finally be released and might be a solid contender judging by the specs. Garmin-Asus is announcing a new player however, in the smallish WinMo 6.1, M20 handheld that naturally runs Garmin’s mapping software which might make a larger splash at MWC than its big brother.
In light of the hubbub surrounding rumors of an up-to-20-percent price increase on ASUS netbooks and notebooks beginning March 1, 2009, ASUS CEO Jerry Shen said the following on a live conference call this morning.
