The desktop Eee is about to hit Australian shops. We’ve got the lowdown on specs, and how much it will cost.
We spoke to ASUS today, who told us the new Eee Box mini desktop PC is currently being shipped into the channel now and will go on sale in Australian stores in 4 to 5 weeks.
We're also told the Eee Box, which is the size of a hardcover book, will be priced at $429, which is even cheaper than the current Eee PC notebook. The 'Box will be available initially in Black.
Like the Dell, but different
The news comes hot on the heels of Dell's new mini-system, dubbed the Studio Hybrid, which starts at $999 (without a monitor).
The Specs
We're impressed with the look of both systems, but it's clear they'll be different machines, not just because the 'Box is more than $500 cheaper. For one, the 'Box is half the weight of the Studio Hybrid - a mere 1Kg, vs more than 2Kg for the Dell.
While it's cheaper and lighter, the 'Box looks like being more of a media extender, lightweight email/Web machine, than a fully fledged workhorse. It will have Intel's Atom, at 1.6GHz, similar to ultraportable notebooks like the Aspire One and Eee PC 901. The Dell is a Core 2 Duo system, though it's not a gaming system either.
Other specs for the 'Box include onboard 802.11 WiFi (optional on the Dell), ExpressGate (7 second startup), 80GB HDD, 1GB RAM, and …drum roll please - Windows XP Home. Thankfully no Vista, and we wouldn't expect otherwise considering the spec.
Now if hackers get busy with this, as they have done with the Eee PC, this could get interesting.