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Well, this is interesting. PC World and InfoWorld are both running articles by Dan Nystedt at IDG News Service today. Both reports are likely based on the same source article, but they seem to have two very different angles. InfoWorld says Asustek turns to Celerons amid Atom shortage, while PC World says Asustek Aims New Eee PCs at Emerging Markets.

In other words, Asus chose to use the 4-year old Intel Celeron M 353 chip in the upcoming Eee PC 904HD and 1000HD either because:

1. There’s a shortage of Intel Atom chips, so if the company wants to keep pumping out new laptops, it has to resort to older processors
2. Intel wants to keep the prices of some units low by using older, cheaper processors which should help boost sales in emerging markets like India.

Both sound plausible. But for some reason the emerging markets article suggests that while the 904HD costs the equivalent of just $477 in India, it will cost $650 in the US. That’s not low cost – it’s $100 more than the company is selling the Eee PC 901 for! Granted, Asus dropped the price of the 901 recently to compete with the MSI Wind and similar laptops, but at $650, the 904HD ain’t exactly a bargain, especially when you consider the fact that it’s got a slower, more power-hungry CPU than the 901. An PC World says the 1000HD could cost as much as $750 in the US.

I’m hoping someone simply fed IDG or PC World the wrong numbers. I have yet to see an official US price for either unit.