More News on Asus? new Eee PC 701

It would appear that there is a lot of interest on the net about Asus’s and Intel’s new collaboration in creating a super-portable, affordable laptop for students since Asus’s press release. Not only has the news hit Engadget but a host of other news sites as well, all of which are showing a good degree of interest in the new product and what it may mean for the excising super-portable market.

I for one must first comment on the simple beauty in this product, the aesthetics of which one would normally attribute to such companies as Nintendo or Apple. Also its extreme portability is another very attractive feature because as you can see from the above photo it fits right into your hand much like a palm pilot however with much more functionality. Asus assert in their press release that most people use their laptops today for mostly internet based activities such as researching, checking email, messaging friends and general recreation and that is why they have created the EEE PC 701. Those three E’s initially bring up connections with the Nintendo’ Wii, although however intentional that is, it is nice to see a company trying to simplify computing for the young and old with their authoring of the three E’s being:

• Easy to learn, work, play
• Excellent Internet experience
• Excellent mobile computing experience.

Upon their own confession Asus are aiming the EEE PC at multiple markets both at the working professional and the working student, whom demand an excellent internet experience on the go. Although I can see this having a huge benefit for both professionals working in an office and for students, its low price tag definitely makes me believe that it’s targeted more towards the school student whom would use the device to “aid” them with their studies while on campus and to and from school. The lower price range also brings it within an affordable limit for the poorer families in the developed world whose children might not have access to computers at home and to whom such a device might prove advantageous.

Within the press release Asus noted that the EEE PC would have the following specifications:

• 7″ Display
• CPU & Chipset: Intel mobile CPU & chipset
• OS: Linux/ Microsoft Windows XP compatible
• Communication: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet; 56K modem
• WLAN: WiFi 802.11b/g
• Graphic: Intel UMA
• Memory: 512MB, DDR2-400
• Storage: 4/ 8/ 16GB Flash
• Webcam: 300K pixel video camera
• Audio: Hi-Definition Audio CODEC; Built-in stereo speaker; Built-in microphone
• Battery Life: 3hrs (4 cells: 5200mAh, 2S2P)
• Dimension & Weight: 22.5 x 16.5 x 2.1~3.5cm, 0.89kg

What is disappointing to note is that it will only have a 7″ display however that is the only disappointing feature I can pick out I am sure that for $200 you wont be getting the 16GB flash version, however with internet storage being cheap, or even free given the rise of google applications and online operating systems I can’t see a user requiring a device with much more than 4GB of storage especially an ultra portable which is designed for primarily internet based work; that is unless you wish to carry about your entire music library with you (isn’t that what ipod where made for?)

Three hours of battery life isn’t something that would make you get up and think wow. I am sure they will improve upon that and apparently you get longer life when you use the built in cut down operating system, I do wonder if you will get the full three hours of life running Windows XP on it.

I look forward to seeing these come out, which is said to be sometime during the last quarter of this year to the first quarter of next year. It would be interesting to see if these take off considering they are affordable for pretty much any teenager I know with a part time job. It will also be interesting to see what the hacking scene produce considering it is a pretty portable piece of kit and thus is sure to be personalised by a vast number of users, much in the same way you used to draw on your books while at school. Also for $200 I am more than likely to pick one up and find a use for it, even if I can’t really quantify wanting one right now.