9" Eee PC is Getting Real

Earlier today, Engadget posted photos of the next Eee PC... the previously rumored 9" model. Asus is still being vague about the release date... 1st half of 2008... so anytime between now and June. I'm hoping the competing models from Acer and Gigabyte beat Asus to the punch. Maybe it'll help lower the price. It's still not bad at the projected $600. It costs more than a Celeron laptop, but if you factor in the portability, it's a great price. Remember, this system is for a mobile user that needs to be able to do the basics... it's not a gaming machine like the Dell XPS 13" laptop. It's not as powerful as the Macbook Air, but it's also not $3,000+!

It's amazing when I look through the years and remember all of the different devices that came out that tried to be an ultraportable PC... there were the palmtops, tablets, super PDAs, OQO and UMPCs. None of these ever became a standard due to some missing feature or high price tag. That's how sensitive the market is. I think the Eee PC will be successful though. It has the right combination of features to attract the neeeds of most people. It's small enough to encourage carrying around. It comes standard with flash memory for quick startup and durability. Because it's a full-fledged computer, it's a lot more powerful than a PDA and doesn't cost much more than the top of the line ones. Price is the biggest factor with their entry-level Surf models starting at $299.

Related Links: 7-inch Eee PC vs 9-inch Eee PC, Asus Eee PC, Hands-on with the 9-inch Eee PC