The new Eee PC 900 from Asus was released for press viewing today at the CeBIT technology show in Germany.
Europe’s best and brightest were there for the much heralded release of the revamped Eee ‘900’ series that is bound to prove popular for its larger screen and enhanced resolution.
Shrouded in mystery, the official specs are still a little vague, even though the official Asus website reports on March 4th that the Eee PC will boast: 1G of memory, larger storage of up to 12GB, and wider 8.9-inch screens. The official price will be 399 euros ($654)
According to Jkkmobile.com and UMPCPortal.com who were lucky enough to get the first hands on video footage of the 900 series, the unit sports an almost identical weight and size with a nifty enlargement of the touch pad for better mouse control.
Based on the video they posted on YouTube, the unit has made a couple of interesting changes worth noting to readers, including speakers which are hidden on the base of the laptop. However the 900 and the standard Eee series are virtually identical when placed side by side. UmpcPortal reports the battery life is expected to lose 5 – 10% because of the increased screen wattage.
Although Asus were rumoured to have gone with the Intel Atom chip, the folks at UmpcPortal are reporting that the unit is still based on the Celeron-M architecture, with a 900mz speed. Resolution has increased to a very pretty 1024 x 600, flash memory is at 8GB, which is a noticeable decrease from the previously rumoured 12GB. The webcam is slightly improved (1.3mp), while the weight is still paperback friendly at 940 grams. Size dimensions are just as similar to the previous Eee at 225/165/35 mm. No Bluetooth…yet.
According to the CeBIT press conference reported about by UmpcPortal earlier today, the Asus 900 will ship with both XP and Linux Versions.
Apparantly, this little baby is due to hit stores in Europe around Mid April.
Mark our words: this will be a PC giant killer when it’s released to stores.