Asus to release new eee PC models with larger keyboards?

Woke up this morning to the news that Asus will soon be pushing out two more Eee PC models. Word on the street (and by street, I mean DigiTimes and Blogeee) is that the new units will feature larger keyboards.

According to DigiTimes, the new computers will be called the Eee PC 904 and 905, and will feature an 8.9 inch display in the same chassis currently used by the company’s 10.2 inch model. In other words, you get a larger keyboard, but you also get a large bezel around the screen. The idea is that Asus will be able to sell the Eee PC 904 and 905 for about the same price as the exisitng Eee PC 901, but you get an easier to use keyboard for your money.

If this is true, what you’d get is a computer with an 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, 12GB to 20GB of solid state storage, Windows XP or Linux, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, and a big bezel around the screen. Meanwhile, the MSI Wind will pack the same features, plus an 80GB hard drive and a larger screen (with the same resolution) into a case that’s about the same size. And MSI will charge about $150 less.

DigiTimes suggests that Asus is also considering giving the 901 and 900 a price cut or dropping them altogether when the new models hit the streets.

French site Blogeee has posted some images of one of the new models. Apparently the site got its hands on two sets of pictures, because one photoset is labeled Eee PC 903 while the other says Eee PC 904. The 903 looks a lot like existing models, but the 904 is quite clearly a new unit with a larger bezel around the display. No word on what under the hood changes might exist in the 903, or what differentiates the 905 from the 904.

ASUS Eee PC 904

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Posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008, 7:06 am by Brad Linder

http://www.omegamusic.com.au Matt

ack… i’m still waiting for the 901 to be released… these guys are getting rather loopy
http://www.mymobileclips.com Brandon

Asus is really mixing up the lineup. I wish they would fix the layout of the keyboard , mainly the right shift key, before slapping it on every EEE they plan to release. And to top it off, they are still pushing it at the same price? New products are nice, but it seems like they are cannibalizing the EEE line.
Dean

This makes no sense to me. It seemed that with the 900, it was a huge step forward. The largest complaining point with the 701 was the bezel/screen, and now they’re aiming to do the same thing again? and timing wise I’m totally lost. They have already 2 announced models that are still largely unreleased, and yet they’re looking to push out another?

I think this has to do with a lot of reviewers complaining about the keyboard. I honestly have never used it, but i’ve heard a lot of people saying that it really isn’t that bad. I’m sure journalists and people who type an exorbatent amount won’t like it, but that’s not the use. It’s supposed to be small and portable. They are really muddying the waters by the growing size of the EEE. I think they need to focus on whats here now, the 901 and 1000, and give the 701 a refresh. Make it so the 7 inch screen has no bezel, I think that would be a really powerful idea. Mix that with an Atom, a 200-300 price tag, and then they’d be back on top. and really cut back the pricing of the 901 and 1000, it’s a bit ridiculous, especially when compared to the competition (aka the Wind)..

On the eeeuser.com forums today I was looking around and people have started putting hard drives into their 901s. Since it already has a ZIF connector, a user is able to drop an iPod hard drive (or equivalent) straight in. Unfortuantely this disables the larger flash card (8 or 16GB) leaving only the 4 and the hard drive. It’s still a pretty good option, seeing as these are fairly low power hard drives and hold up to movement pretty well.
Dean

This makes no sense to me. It seemed that with the 900, it was a huge step forward. The largest complaining point with the 701 was the bezel/screen, and now they're aiming to do the same thing again? and timing wise I'm totally lost. They have already 2 announced models that are still largely unreleased, and yet they're looking to push out another?

I think this has to do with a lot of reviewers complaining about the keyboard. I honestly have never used it, but i've heard a lot of people saying that it really isn't that bad. I'm sure journalists and people who type an exorbatent amount won't like it, but that's not the use. It's supposed to be small and portable. They are really muddying the waters by the growing size of the EEE. I think they need to focus on whats here now, the 901 and 1000, and give the 701 a refresh. Make it so the 7 inch screen has no bezel, I think that would be a really powerful idea. Mix that with an Atom, a 200-300 price tag, and then they'd be back on top. and really cut back the pricing of the 901 and 1000, it's a bit ridiculous, especially when compared to the competition (aka the Wind)..

On the eeeuser.com forums today I was looking around and people have started putting hard drives into their 901s. Since it already has a ZIF connector, a user is able to drop an iPod hard drive (or equivalent) straight in. Unfortuantely this disables the larger flash card (8 or 16GB) leaving only the 4 and the hard drive. It's still a pretty good option, seeing as these are fairly low power hard drives and hold up to movement pretty well.
http://www.mymobileclips.com Brandon

Asus is really mixing up the lineup. I wish they would fix the layout of the keyboard , mainly the right shift key, before slapping it on every EEE they plan to release. And to top it off, they are still pushing it at the same price? New products are nice, but it seems like they are cannibalizing the EEE line.
Dean

This makes no sense to me. It seemed that with the 900, it was a huge step forward. The largest complaining point with the 701 was the bezel/screen, and now they're aiming to do the same thing again? and timing wise I'm totally lost. They have already 2 announced models that are still largely unreleased, and yet they're looking to push out another?

I think this has to do with a lot of reviewers complaining about the keyboard. I honestly have never used it, but i've heard a lot of people saying that it really isn't that bad. I'm sure journalists and people who type an exorbatent amount won't like it, but that's not the use. It's supposed to be small and portable. They are really muddying the waters by the growing size of the EEE. I think they need to focus on whats here now, the 901 and 1000, and give the 701 a refresh. Make it so the 7 inch screen has no bezel, I think that would be a really powerful idea. Mix that with an Atom, a 200-300 price tag, and then they'd be back on top. and really cut back the pricing of the 901 and 1000, it's a bit ridiculous, especially when compared to the competition (aka the Wind)..

On the eeeuser.com forums today I was looking around and people have started putting hard drives into their 901s. Since it already has a ZIF connector, a user is able to drop an iPod hard drive (or equivalent) straight in. Unfortuantely this disables the larger flash card (8 or 16GB) leaving only the 4 and the hard drive. It's still a pretty good option, seeing as these are fairly low power hard drives and hold up to movement pretty well.

Asus to release new eee PC models with larger keyboards?

ASUS Eee PC 904

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