Asus readies iMac attack with all-in-one Eee Asus' attempt to conquer the world with its Eee family continues with the appearance this week of an iMac-alike all-in-one desktop model. Eee Monitor Asus' Eee Monitor: iMac styling The original desktop Eee, the Eee Box, will be joined by the dully named Eee Monitor - as a variety of sites are dubbing the new machine - …
I was surprised to find no mentions of size or price but a quick google found this:
"ASUS made no comment on the Eee Monitor's price or configuration, but reports from earlier in the year suggest a 19 to 21-inch screen size, built-in TV tuner and a starting pricing of around $500. Apple's iMac starts at $1199." on http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007065.html
From what i have read this makes the device too big for XP, so it will have to be Linux, esp at that price!
I think you guys are giving it too much credit. It resembles more the stylings of the All-in-1 'Portable' PCs from Sony/etc.. You know, just as ugly. Copying some iMac styling designs doesn't make it look like one, more a distant relative in design than anything.
Anyhow i dig what the Engadget guys had to say about this one..
"You've single-handedly managed to drive a lust-worthy name six feet below the surface, and now the mere mention of "Eee" just puts us in a foul mood... Rather, this looks to be some sort of all-in-one PC, or a totally fruity docking station at the very least. "
Check the styling of the Eee logo on the front, now imagine the case in blood red rather than piano black and you have an Etch-A-Sketch rip off
Here's an earlier design I stumbled across*
http://darndog.no-ip.com/eee.jpg
And that's why it's awesome.
Also does it have DVD? or don't we use them anymore?
*ok, quickly shopped
I'm a bit of a fanboi. I rather like it. It may not be quite in the same league as an iMac, but for someone who simply doesn't need the power of an iMac, but would like a reasonably attractive all in one at a reasonable price, I think it looks good. Less ugly than most monitors, let alone most all in ones.
The OS would probably put me off a bit.
The perspex bit at the bottom is there simply because Asus couldn't be bothered to design a proper stand. It also means I wouldn't be able to tuck my keyboard underneath to retrieve a bit of desk space - something I do like about the iMac / CinemaDisplay monitors.
I like my Eee a lot, but increasingly Asus are looking like headless chickens frantically hoping to strike gold a second time.
"most people that buy a Mac buy it for OSX"
Most, maybe. But remember that there is a lot of people who can't stand the Mac interface (me included). If I'd ever buy a Mac, it would be to reformat the HD and put Linux on it (as I've done for a coworker here, since she did not like OSX either and could do our "bioinformatics" work better in Linux).
IF I'd buy a Mac, by the way, it would be for the design only, since the hardware nowadays is the same as any run-o-the-mill PC anyway, in some cases the Mac is even worse... (those mice are pretty low quality, they stop working properly quite soon)
...as I type this, on my Leopard powered 2006 model MacBook Black, that is crashing left right and centre and suffering serious connectivity and syncing problems thanks to some possible bugs in Leopard 10.5.2 onwards, I am really working hard to transfer as much of my life to the web centric lifestyle. (IE, editing, publishing and sharing online.) If that is the case, then if I can purchase a low cost 'terminal' with a decent quality display, this could be it. I already use a 7" EEE PC that cost £1000 less than my MacBook, and while it is not capable of running 'power user' apps such as Illustrator, PhotoShop, Final Cut etc, it does handle 100% of my business tasks with aplomb, never crashes and has a very intuitive Linux front end. Oh, and no pricy upgrades. To those attacking Asus about quality in comparison to Apple, their products look nice and are built tough. Go take a look at any of their monitors or laptops in real life - as good as any top end Sony gear. My thoughts on Apple are they should make a massive effort to get the iPhone OS on ALL their devices and stop bloating (desktop) OS X, as it's becoming like Windows Vista: Confused and unstable.
"If it doesn't run OS X, Steve Jobs has absolutely no reason to be concerned."
Really? Is that why Mac sales folks are so desperately marketing their product with a hearty "Hey, our computers run Windows, too!"
I think this, and other copycat products sure to come, may very well cut some of the "I"m buying the Mac from Best Buy 'cause it looks simple" buying populace away from Mac.
Mike R: my guess is the curved plastic base is something to do with redirecting the sound from the Denon speakers. I used to have a little Panasonic TV with side speakers that always sounded naff until I stood a book on edge at a 45° angle from the speakers to reflect the sound forward. This looks similar.
I reckon I could live with this design, but I would be much happier if it could run OSX. Time will tell.
Get the price and size right and I'll buy one as a second telly.
And that from someone who has a black macbook, imac G5, imac G3 (nice blue one and nice flower-power one), mirrored G4 powermac, mac mini (small and cute serving the TV), G3 ibook (great 12" portable running Tiger), clamshell ibook (lovely piece of kit and running fine) and a design classic a G4 Cube (got cheap from work and still quick enough to use) ... all running fine after many years of good service and although I could get a great return on eBay (where Macs sell for good prices) but they are just too nice to use and look at to part with. And yes they all get used regularly ... tying yourself to one machine only is soooo passeee 8-)
The only Windows machine in my house is the 6 year old IBM Thinkpad T23 which is for work and still runs Win 2000.
No, really, isn't it just marvelous?
Comment #1 - if only there was an emoticon for spittle & bile splattering the screen; APLLE DID IT FRIST!!111!!!eleventy-one!!111
*cough* Xerox PARC -> apple LISA? *cough* The handle was there so you could use it as a boat anchor, IIRC.
That said, the EEE Monitor (Monit-EEE?) looks a sweet bit of kit, all the function and swank of the iMuc, but at a non-Nathan-Barley price!
Perfect for aging parents - no virii, no damaging the OS, a simple F9 and it's all clean!
Count me IN.
Nerds, you need a clue.
You can copy Apple all you want but it is the *user experience* that sells the Apple systems.
Just like all the iPhone competitors who are dogging in the marketplace, its the iPhone *user experience* that sold that platform.
Running linux or windows on a system does not give the same user experience as running Mac OS X.
This product will flop, you heard it here first.
It looks OK. It has a nice set of speakers. No Firewire though. It looks like it comes with a power brick. I would not call it a 'rip-off design'; just progression in style. So you're going to say 'Hoblot self-winding watches are a rip-off from Rolex that also self-wind'. Apple jumps up-&-down about how everyone builds beige, square PC's. No sooner that someone comes out with something of a different shape and style, 'WA ,WA, WA ,WA, WA! They're copying Apple!'
Hey, made ya look didn't it.
Why Acer wants to emulate a naff idea like an iMac beats me.
Personally, as an Apple user, I would like to see Apple produce a conventional, tower or desktop shaped box, with standard components inside, but well built like the Mac Pro. This, along with their superb design ethic and OS, at the iMac price point (either end), would be a PC killer.
Yes, you're probably right, it probably will flop, but not because of user experience alone.
I declare an interest, I use XP and Ubuntu, but my OS of choice is OSX. I reckon the iMac sells in numbers not because of it's form factor but in spite of it. It may make some sales to the uber-trendy Notting Hill crowd because of it's all in one design, but frankly, as joe average (and not a millionaire), I'd prefer a mini tower that isn't priced like a MacPro. Apple's big growth area is notebooks, which again kinda bears this out.
Unfortunately uncle Steve thinks that's a bad idea, so if I want to continue to use OSX it's basically an iMac or MacMini with a USB hub for me. In the Windows/Linux market there's a load more choice and always someone stepping up to provide new hardware choices.
If the Eee does flop, it's simply because the form factor doesn't compete well.
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