Asus sexes up Eee line

Asus has formally launched the svelte Eee PC S101, its attempt to lift the line out of its netbook-for-kids ghetto and parade the Small, Cheap Computer family up Main Street. Linux buffs will be disappointed to learn there's no open source operating system on the SCC, at least not initially. And, design aside, the S101's specs …

[b]

niiice, bbbbut..

"€599 ($/£)"

if they mean £600 spondoolies for a restricted laptop = wtf?

why should anyone buy it?

get that screen res up and it might be a player but with the same old 1024x600 is just a shinier eee..

make it something like 1200x800, throw in an external dvd writer and a SSD of a decent size, say 160gb and i'll buy one for £600.

btw, what are they thinking can be done with a 1gb SSD???

cheers,

bill

baby laptop thread: http://www.eupeople.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487

all welcome! ;)

[spegru]

Needs Linux of course

Otherwise these low power devices will not cope with the strain of antivirus software

It *is* listed and even emphasised on the Asus website though

http://eeepc.asus.com/global/products101-spec.html

[Matt Smart]

Tsk

Bit of a poor effort with the copying and pasting of the new Eee onto the hot Eee Girl, kids - I can see white edges and everything!

(As an aside, the thing looks considerably bigger than before - less likely that you'd just pick it up and take it to the beach!)

[M]

So the EEE has sold out

Quel tragique... ACER ONE?

[Kyle]

Buh?

So, having pioneered the netbook market and then failed to capitalise on it properly by releasing too many versions of what amounts to the same thing...they're now trying to put it in a shinier case and sell it to the Mac fans?

I love my eee701, but I'm really starting to wonder whether the folks at Asus actually understand why netbooks became popular in the first place....

[Steve Foster]

Cue obligatory fanboi joke

If I wanted an overpriced laptop that looked pretty, I'd have bought a Mac...

I'll be here all week. Oh, what's that you say? My coat?

[Doug Southworth]

1GB SSD?

...I hope that's a typo. Otherwise, the $814 price tag seems really steep. Come on ASUS, what happened to the $250 price tag that actually attracted people to your netbooks?

[Adrian]

At least

you don't need to worry about getting a bigger capacity battery and having it hanging out the back of the laptop, spoiling the looks !!!

[Gary F]

1GB SSD - surely a typo?

1GB solid state storage and it won't come with Linux? So how do they expect Windows and Office to fit comfortably within 1GB? Unless it comes with Windows 95? :-D

[Anonymous Coward]

ssd

1GB solid state drive? eh? so u can only use apps built into xp, because there is not likely to be any room left for apps!

[V.B.N.]

Lost the plot!

If that really is going to be the price then its clear that Asus have officially lost the plot. The current SCC market is saturated in its present state. We need the next gen SCC.

[Henry]

Asus' shipment of fail has arrived

Very nice looking, but XP home only? and 1GB SSD for £416???

Er no thanks, I'll be sticking with my AA1 thanks.

[Dave]

Expectations

I was expecting so much more, after reading that title.

I presume this latest model has merely been photo-shopped into the only interesting picture, as she cannot possibly read the screen at that angle.

[richard]

eh?

errr...another new model? how many do they have now?

[Tony Smith, Editor, Reg Hardware]

@All

Re. 1GB SSD

Yes, it's a typo - it should read (and now does) 16GB, more than enough for XP.

Re. Eee friend

Yes, it's a Photoshop. We did it for a laff. And because the original is a Photoshop job too.

[John]

Lost the plot?

So Asus, who effectively created the laptot/SCC craze, seem to have lost the plot. At that price, this isn't an SCC at all - it's just a small laptop with a solid-state drive (but only 1GB for that price?!!).

[Giles Jones]

Cost

Costs too much.

It's obvious the Eeepc only sold as it was a smidgen over £200.

[Matt]

@Matt Smart

Oh... I hadn't noticed the laptop in that picture

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a nice machine. Also comes with a 16GB SD card..

It actually comes with a 16GB SSD, and will be bundled with a 16GB SD card as well.

£449 may not be that cheap, but those who value quality above cheap-n-cheerful will be impressed; it's a damn sight thinner than anything else, and uses the same keyboard as the £1500 Asus U6...

If HP can get away with charging more for its metal MiniNote, why shouldn't Asus slap on a bit of brushed aluminium and see what happens..

Sure, take the Acer One (good luck speccing it up to 32GB, it won't be anywhere near £200..) if you don't mind typing on something that resembles my first laptop.. At least this one looks nice.

Shame out the 1024 x 600 pixel resolution though... Nothing is ever perfect, is it

[Anonymous Coward]

Boing!

That's the sound of ASUS jumping the shark.

Definitely an SC, but most definitely *not* an SCC.

[Ash]

@b (160GB SSD)

http://www.google.com/products?q=SSD+160gb

Goodluckwiththat

[Daniel]

Webcam naughties

Looking at the picture of Eee and friend, one can only wonder what the built-in webcam would see if you could access it remotely ....

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/07/clickjacking_surveillance_zombie/

[b]

@ash

..and?

all sorts of things come up in that search..erm, like machines that have an ssd AND a 160gb HD?

"good luck" indeed!

related: "Higher capacities are coming with 160GB mainstream ones by the end of the year and 250GB flagged for 2009."

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/10/06/kingston_resells_intel_ssds/