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Asus Eee PC

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Eee PC
ManufacturerASUSTeK Computer Inc.
TypeSubnotebook
Media2/4/8 GB flash memory
Operating systemLinux-based OS
Windows XP-compatible
CPU900 MHz Intel Celeron-M ULV 353, fan
Memory256 MB DDR2-400 or 512 MB/1 GB DDR2-667 RAM
Display7 inch TFT LCD with LED backlight @ 800×480; although the unit is slightly larger than the screen to accommodate the speakers and other components
GraphicsIntel UMA
InputKeyboard
Touchpad
Camera (Optional)
Microphone
Camerabuilt-in 300 kilopixel video camera (4G and 8G models)
Connectivity10/100 Mbit Ethernet
802.11b/g wireless LAN
3 USB 2.0 ports
MMC/SD card reader
Power4 cell 4400 or 5200 mA·h battery

The Eee PC is a small ('ultra-portable') computer designed by Intel and ASUS. According to ASUS, the name Eee (pronounced as the letter e, IPA /iː/) derives from "the three Es", a contraction of their advertising slogan "Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play"[1].

Overview

Two models were announced at COMPUTEX Taipei 2007, the Eee PC 701 and the Eee PC 1001.[2] The 701 based model Eee PC 4G was released on October 16, 2007 in Taiwan.[3] The remaining three models will be available by the end of November. The originally announced second model 1001 will most likely be released soon.[4] ASUS expects to sell about 200,000 units in 2007,[5] 300,000 to 500,000 by March 2008 and 3–5 million by 2009.[4] Intel has described the Eee PC as in line with its "World Ahead" marketing drive – which aims to provide anyone around the world a chance to own a PC.[6]

Both the price and the size of the devices are relatively small in comparison to similar devices, such as Ultra-Mobile PCs. The Eee series is viewed partly as a response to the XO-1 notebook from the One Laptop per Child initiative.

ASUS plans to introduce second-generation Eee PCs in April 2008 which are meant to feature Intel's Merom processors. The power consumption of the next-generation notebooks will reduce to 7 W TDP, down from 11 W TDP, and the fan might be removed to save more power and reduce noise.[7]

At the Intel Developer Forum 2007, Intel demonstrated its Classmate PC and the Eee PC, and also had specifications listing four models of the Eee PC. ASUS at the time claimed that models may start at the promised US$199 price point and transition up in price and feature to US$399.[8]

The price and specifications for the Eee PC, officially announced in September 2007, changed from those first announced by ASUS. The price rose from US$199 to US$245, while the base model went from a 4 to a 2 GB solid state drive, the VGA camera was dropped and the RAM was decreased from 512 MB to 256 MB. As of October 25 2007, the price range is now expected to be US$299-399.[9]

Since October 13, 2007 the ASUS website shows revised specifications. The products now have the marketing names EeePC 8G, 4G, 4G Surf, 2G Surf instead of the model numbers 700 and 701 shown in pre-release information and on the Eee PC label and on the packaging.[10] There is no indication that the model numbers are not still present for the Eee PC, but they might not be used in advertising for the systems.

ASUS has announced a desktop version of the Eee PC, without an integrated display, to be released in 2008.[11]

ASUS has announced a Windows version of the Eee PC by the end of the year 2007.[12]

Details

Mobility

The Eee PC is a subnotebook, about the size of a hardback book when closed.[13] It can be configured to either display a simple user interface for first-time PC users, or full desktop mode for greater functionality with a few simple downloads and changes via the Command Line Interface.[13]

Display

The 7in (178 mm) model has a resolution of 800×480 pixels.[14] The screen does not cover the entirety of the space within the lid; instead it is flanked on the sides by stereo speakers and, above, by the (optional) camera in the trim at the top.[15]

Software

OpenOffice.org Writer running on the Eee PC

On top of the base Linux system, which an ASUS press release says requires under fifteen seconds to boot,[6] the Eee PC runs a custom tab-based interface. The quick start time brings the operation of the device closer to that of small electronic devices such as mobile phones and PDAs. Bundled software includes OpenOffice.org, Mozilla Firefox, Skype,[16] Tux Paint and other educational entertainment software, E-mail and Internet radio applications, Google Docs and Wikipedia look-up tool.[17] Apt-get can be used to install additional software, simply by using Debian repositories. Asus does not include Windows XP, but the drivers and instructions necessary to install a separately-purchased copy of Windows XP are included in the package.

It was announced on October 16, 2007, that a version of the Eee will be sold with Windows XP.[3] Microsoft agreed to lower the price of Windows for Eee PC users to under US$40.[18]

Storage

The Eee PC uses a solid-state drive for storage (instead of a hard drive) which consumes less power, allows the device to boot quickly and makes it less susceptible to shock damage. The SSD disk is permanently soldered to the board, to save space by reducing the wiring needed. The RAM in the 4G and 8G Eee PC models is replaceable with one slot for a maximum of 2 GB memory, however the upgrade would also effectively void the warranty.[19]

Storage can be expanded by using the Secure Digital Card compliant memory card slot located on the right side. SD and SDHC memory cards mount virtually flush into the spring-loaded slot. Removal of the memory card is done by pushing in the card until it clicks and ejects.

Marketing

The Eee PC is not a competitor to the OLPC XO-1, another inexpensive laptop computer. The XO-1 is targeted solely towards the education market in developing countries and is only available to consumers through a time-limited donation program, whereas the Eee PC is a commercial product, aimed at the personal user who desires a cheap, portable, WiFi-capable platform.

Criticism

The unreleased OS install leaves 1.4 GB available (on the 4 GB model) to the user for personal files on the internal SSD.[20] By using small capacity storage a user may be expected to purchase extra storage peripherals which brings the total cost of ownership for the system up, negating some of the low price advantage. The final price and specifications for the Eee PC that were initially offered for sale were changed from those first announced by ASUS. A 2 GB model was in the initial announcement for $199[21], although many news stories carried the information incorrectly much later and indicated that a 4 GB model would be offered at $199. The price of the low-end model rose from US$199 to US$245 (reportedly at least partly due to rise in prices of 7 inch (178 mm) LCD displays[22]), while the solid state drive went from 4 to 2 GB, the VGA camera was dropped and the RAM dropped from 512 MB to 256 MB when ASUS published the Eee PC models with the Surf/non-Surf model names.

A "warranty void if seal broken" sticker covers the RAM access panel on the upgradeable models, forcing the owner to void the warranty if they attempt to open the access port to the upgradeable RAM slot. Asus Support have insisted that because the Eee PC is not considered by them as a laptop computer, rather an 'appliance', it will not be covered by their usual computer warranty policies. The pre-installed Xandros operating system has also been configured to limit the detected RAM size to 1GB, although this is adjustable by an experienced user, Windows XP installations have a 4GB for limit which is higher than the hardware limit of the notebook.

The screen, 7" (178 mm) diagonal with 800×480 pixels resolution, may limit usability with some applications. Asus has stated there are no current plans to release an Eee PC model with a larger screen.[23]

The operating system drivers for the ACPI and Wireless devices supplied with the pre-installed Xandros operating system are versions of software licenced under the GNU Public License. The company released the source code as a ZIP file along with the product, however it has been reported that a small percentage of the source may be missing, and some device driver software appears obfuscated.[24] In the absence of necessary source code, other Linux kernel versions and distributions on the device are less easy to use with some of the hardware. In a good-faith response ASUS has requested people help by specifically identifying portions of the Eee PC system that are still missing[25] and also has since released the source code for the ACPI module.[26]

Configurations

The new marketing naming convention seems to link the size of installed SSD, presence of webcam, and battery type into a name that indicates the Eee PC configuration.[27] The Eee PC Surf models include the 4400 mA·h battery pack, slower non-upgradeable RAM, and no webcam, while the non-Surf models have the 5200 mA·h battery pack, socketed DDR RAM, and a webcam installed. The model numbers (700, 701) may still be the same as has been seen on pre-production samples, differing on if the RAM is soldered on or has a slot and if the Mini PCIe slot is present. ASUS may offer upgrades for the SSD storage via the empty Mini PCIe slot, which has been shown to be labeled FLASH_CON in take apart photos of the 4G.[28] When a miniPCI-E card is inserted into the spare empty slot, the internal SSD gets disabled, making the device unable to boot from the original SSD.[29] 701 models with serial numbers starting at 7B may not have a mini PCIe slot soldered onto the motherboard, though the circuit traces and solder pads remain.[30] A laptop with a significantly larger 10-inch screen was promoted alongside what became the Eee laptops during early marketing[21], but Asus has indicated that they do not intend to produce such a configuration under the Eee brand at this time.[23]

Specifications

Component Eee PC 2G Surf (700)2 Eee PC 4G Surf (701) Eee PC 4G (701)1 Eee PC 8G (701)2
Display 7 in (17.8 cm) 800×480 TFT LCD with LED backlight[31]
Graphics Integrated Intel GMA 900 graphics processor (Shared Memory Architecture), additional VGA port (up to 1600×1280 pixels)[14]
Storage 2 GB Solid state drive (SSD) flash 4 GB SSD 8 GB SSD
Processor 900 MHz Intel Celeron-M ULV 353[32] which has 512 kB L2 cache RAM,[33][17] @ 630 MHz (70 MHz x 9) cooled by a fan
Memory 256 MB DDR2-400 RAM 512 MB DDR2-667[19][20] 1 GB RAM DDR2-667
soldered RAM socketed RAM, upgradeable to 2 GB
Battery 4-cell, Li-Ion, 4400 mA·h, 7.4 volts: 2 h 45 min battery life 4-cell, Li-Ion, 5200 mA·h, 7.4 volts: 3 h 30 min battery life
Camera N/A 0.3 megapixel; up to 640×480, up to 30 fps[14]
Pricing NT$7,999[34] (around 245 US$), US$299 in USA NT$9,990[34] (around 307 US$), US$349.99 in USA NT$11,655 including 5% tax[34] (around 357 US$). US$399.99 in USA NT$13,800[34] (around 425 US$) $499.99 US according to eeeuser[35]
Other
  • OS: Xandros[36] (Linux based distribution) running KDE. Capable of running any other off-the-shelf Linux distribution.[37] Hardware compatible with Windows XP.
  • Communication: 10/100 Mbit Ethernet, 802.11b/g wireless LAN mini PCI-E card (Atheros-based)
  • Audio: Realtek ALC6628 Hi-Definition Audio 5.1 CODEC;[14] built-in stereo speaker; built-in microphone
  • Connectors: 3 USB 2.0 ports, MMC/SD (HC) card reader, Ethernet port, Modem port (non-functional, empty), Microphone input, Headphone jack, AC power jack, VGA out, Kensington lock slot
  • Dimensions: 225 × 165 × 21~35 mm (8.9 × 6.5 × 0.9~1.4 in)[38]
  • Weight: 920 g (2 lb ½ oz)
  • Colors: Pure white or Galaxy black available in November 2007; Pure White, Lush Green, Sky Blue, Blush Pink, or Galaxy Black[39] (spring 2008)
  • Chipset: Intel 910GML series[14]
  • Expansion: two PCI Express Mini Card connectors (one internally, occupied by wireless network card, another empty, accessible from opening on back of unit).[28]
1 In the UK the Eee is also promoted as the RM Asus Minibook[40]; however, the unit itself is no different.
2 This version will be available the end of November 2007. [41]

See also

References

  1. ^ "ASUS Eee PC". ASUS. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  2. ^ "Asus unveils ultra-low-cost Linux laptop". LinuxDevices.com. 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2007-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b Nystedt, Dan (2007-10-16). "Low-Cost Eee PC Laptop to Run Windows XP". PC World. Retrieved 2007-10-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Some unconfirmed information about pricing, availability and more". EeeUser.com. 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-08-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Chen, Shu-Ching Jean (2007-06-07). "$199 Laptop Is No Child's Play". Forbes. Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b "Enter the 'E' Era with ASUS Eee PC" (Press release). ASUS. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Ting Chen, Yen (2007-09-05). "Asustek aiming for strong brand notebook business; to launch second-generation Eee PC in April 2008" (fee required). DigiTimes. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Asustek's EEE now expected in October". The Inquirer. 2007-09-23. Retrieved 2007-09-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Jackson, Jerry (2007-10-25). "Asus Eee PC Initial Hands On and Video Review". NotebookReview. Retrieved 2007-10-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "ASUS EeePC" (in Chinese). PCDVD. 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  11. ^ Smith, Tony (2007-11-09). "Asus to launch desktop Eee PC next year". The Register. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "ASUS Unites the Breakthrough Eee PC with Microsoft Windows" (Press release). ASUS. 2007-10-19. Retrieved 2007-11-17. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ a b Linder, Brad (2007-11-06). "Eee PC Tips: A crash course in Linux". Weblogs. Retrieved 2007-11-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b c d e Freeman, John (2007-10-31). "ASUS Eee PC: Exclusive Inside Look!". TweakTown. Retrieved 2007-11-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Asus Eee PC specs". Citrus Micro. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
  16. ^ Jastrzebski, Paul (2007-06-11). "ASUS Eee PC Hand's On Preview". HotHardware. Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ a b Smith, Tony (2007-10-16). "Asus launches tiny PC". The Register. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Nam, Suzanne (2007-11-12). "The Jonney Machine". Forbes. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ a b "Confirmed by ASUS: Eee PC RAM will be Replaceable". EeeUser.com. 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ a b "Unicap and UCView on the Asus EeePC". Unicap. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  21. ^ a b Asus press release
  22. ^ "Glass BOM blamed for Asustek price hike". The Inquirer. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ a b "News Bits: Asus 10-inch Eee PC Rumors are False, SanDisk Vaulter Disk". NotebookReview. 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-11-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference cliffhacks071122 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ "ASUSTek is committed to meet the requirements of the GNU General Public License" (Press release). ASUS. 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "Asus posts more Eee source code to comply with the GPL". Engadget. 2007-11-26. Retrieved 2007-11-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "ASUS Eee PC". ASUS. 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  28. ^ a b O'Brien, Kevin (2007-11-01). "Asus Eee PC Tweak Guide". NotebookReview. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ "Modding the Asus 701 (Eee)". WordPress. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2007-11-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "Rumour: New batch of EEE PCs may not have extra Mini-PCIe connector". EeeUser.com. 2007-11-15. Retrieved 2007-11-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "Rise in quotes for 7-inch LCD panels raised Asustek Eee PC price". DigiTimes. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ "EP EeePC" (in Chinese). Mobile01. 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  33. ^ "Intel Celeron M 353". Intel. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  34. ^ a b c d "Asustek EEE prices leak out". The Inquirer. 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2007-10-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ "Rumors About 10″ Eee PC 8G Are False". EeeUser.com. 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-11-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ Lemon, Sumner (2007-06-06). "First Look: Asustek's $199 PC". PC World. Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ Goodwins, Rupert (2007-10-26). "Ubuntu 7.10 Gibbon swings on the Asus Eee". ZDNet. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "Hands on with Asustek's $199 Eee PC". Infoworld. 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2007-07-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ "Asus Eee PC news photos" (in Chinese). XFastest. 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2007-10-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  40. ^ "RM Asus miniBook". Research Machines. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  41. ^ "Asus Eee PC Info". Eeeuser.com. Retrieved 2007-11-30.

Unofficial

  • EeeUser.com An Unofficial ASUS Eee PC EeePC 701 Community — blog, forum and wiki
  • UNEASYsilence — Running Mac OS X on the Eee PC

Reviews

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