Asus Confirms Eee PC 904 HD?
July 1, 2008
If PC Retail is correct, it looks like there will be another official member of the 8.9-inch Asus Eee PC family (in addition to the Eee PC 900 and Eee PC 901).
They are claiming that an Asustek spokesman told them that the Intel Atom-powered Eee PC 904 HD would be launching in the UK “within a matter of weeks” at a price of around £250 ($500 USD).
As mentioned earlier, it differs from others in the 8.9-inch series in that it offers the same chassis and full-size keyboard as the 10.2-inch Eee PC 1000(H).
With the “HD” in its name, it’s clear it’ll be using a conventional hard drive instead of a Solid State Drive (SSD).
Read: PC Retail
(Thanks to Jan for the article link)
ECS: G10IL Sales, European Mobile Connectivity
June 27, 2008
PC World is running a couple of articles about the ECS G10IL, which is the netbook entry from Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS). It’s a 10-inch or 8.2-inch ultraportable notebook powered by an Intel Atom CPU and either Microsoft Windows XP or Linux. They expect to ship one million ECS G10IL units along with Intel Classmate PCs (which they are under contract for). August or September are the earliest some versions of the G10IL will be shipping.
ECS is branching the G10IL into two lines - one is the “G” series that will come with a 3G mobile/wireless module that allows for decent speeds over mobile phone networks. It will have a 6-cell battery, 2GB of RAM, and an 80GB Hard Drive. The G version is going to be distributed through mobile phone providers (they are looking at a September or October timeframe for G10IL’s with 3G options). They are looking at around $500 for the G series, but that may vary - it could be lowered / subsidized depending on contracts signed by mobile phone customers.
The “J” series will offer, in addition to the 10.2-inch version, an 8.2-inch version (that’s not a typo, it’s 8.2 inches), along with smaller hard drives and lower-capacity batteries. It might start out at around $400.
Read:
- ECS Eyes 1M Netbook, Intel ClassMate PC Sales
- ECS Signs Netbook Deals With European Mobile Operators
Eee PC - Asus Expects to Ship 6 Million, Eee PC 901 in UK
June 12, 2008
First up, Register Hardware is reporting that Asus will begin shipping the 8.9-inch Intel Atom-powered Eee PC 901 in the UK starting July 1st, and at a starting price that was cheaper than the original Eee PC 900 (which was originally powered by an Intel Celeron M). The price will be £319, £10 cheaper than the 900’s. The 900 will continue to be sold alongside the 901 for the time being.
Next up, Digitimes is reporting on comments that Asustek’s President, Jerry Shen, made during an investor’s conference yesterday, in regards to Asustek expecting to ship over 5 million Eee PCs (from 7-inch through 8.9-inch and 10-inch). Shen also expects that the battery shortage should ease in July, but that Intel’s Atom CPU shortage will persist through September. Regardless of those two issues, Asustek expects to have a strong year in regards to Eee PC shipments, and that they expect to grab up to 50% of the netbook market.
Read:
- Register Hardware
- DigiTimes
MSI Wind - More Details, Preview (CNET UK)
May 29, 2008
CNET UK and Crave CNET UK have published a hands-on preview with several pictures and a lot of information about the MSI Wind that’s going to be available soon.
Similar to other previews published in the past week, they could not talk about the Intel Atom CPU, but they did mention that it can be overclocked up to around 20% using a dedicated button on the Wind - when it’s connected to an outlet. When it’s running off of battery, the same button switches it into a low-power mode that can extend the battery life. They did say …the Wind’s performance was startling. It felt significantly quicker than other machines in its class.
According to their preview, initial sales of the Wind will focus on the 10-inch version (1024×600 resolution), with an 8.9-inch version to be sold later on. CNET says that they will be using the same chassis/form factor, so like the Asus Eee PC 700 there will be a slightly larger bezel around the display. Keep in mind that this is for the UK version - in the US, it’s been reported that there will only be the 10-inch version for sale.
CNET definitely likes the Wind:
We’ve just had an exclusive hands-on with the MSI Wind, which we liked the look of in March, and by golly it’s good. So good, in fact, that it could take the throne from the Asus Eee PC as the best mini laptop on the planet.
It’s ever so slightly larger than an Eee PC, and slightly heavier at 1.3kg, but don’t let that put you off. It’s still super-portable and once you see the confirmed specs — and the extra tricks up its sleeve — you’ll be craving one, too.
Usability is a huge issue on laptops of this ilk. Most have keyboards designed primarily to hasten the onset of arthritis, but that isn’t the case with the Wind. MSI says the Wind’s keyboard is pretty much identical to those used on some of its larger laptops…… we can tell you that the Wind is very easy and comfortable to type on. It isn’t quite as good as the keyboard on the 2133 Mini-Note — few laptops are — but you certainly won’t produce as many typos as you might with an Eee PC.
Hands-on With Exclusive Photos: Crave.CNET.co.UK
Preview: CNET.co.UK
MSI Wind PC (10-inch) Gets Price in UK
May 9, 2008
Register Hardware is reporting on the pricing for the 10-inch version of the MSI Wind PC.
Expansys, a UK importer has set a price of £320 (around $620 USD) for the Linux version or £350 (around $675 USD) for the Windows XP Home version of the netbook (which, by the way, is one of the first netbooks to ship with Intel Atom CPUs).
Specifications for both models are the same:
- 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU
- 1GB Memory
- 80GB HDD (not SSD)
- Intel graphics
- 802.11b/g and Bluetooth
- 1024×600 widescreen display
- Choice of colors: black, pink, or white
No firm date on shipping, but Expansys is taking pre-orders.
Read: Register Hardware
Dell Vostro 1310 Keyboard Issue (Europe)
May 9, 2008
You may have recently heard about issues with the Dell Vostro 1310 and its keyboard in certain areas of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The Vostro 1310 is a lightweight 13.3-inch widescreen laptop and is oriented towards business users.
To sum up the issues some had: a larger Shift key on the lefthand side was used, which moved that row of keys one position to the right of where they are normally are. This is not good for those of you who are touch typists.
A corrected/updated keyboard has been issued, and Bill Bivin, Dell’s Laptop Liason has posted two options for Vostro 1310 owners that are affected - they can get the keyboard and necessary BIOS update directly from Dell and replace it themselves, or they can ahve a Dell field technician make the swap on the customer’s site.
There will be a video published, but for now if you plan on making the swap yourself, the manual is available to show you how.
Read: Dell’s Small Business Blog
- Dell Vostro 1310 Field Service Manual
