The Four-eyed Journal » Asus Eee PC

Asus Eee PC 900 Press Launch

jhay — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:35:18 +0000

This post is late. Nonetheless, last Monday’s Philippines Press Launch of the now much-talked about Asus Eee PC 900 was a pretty good success. Apart from the mainstream media outfits present, I was among the few bloggers who showed up to see what Asus had in store for the Philippine media and new media and how they would ‘sell’ the new Asus Eee PC 900 in the local market.

It was my first time to attend a press launch and I never thought it would be that big and almost very formal. Asides from the technical crew, I was among the very few who came to the Shangri-la Hotel dressed very, very casually with jeans and dirty skater-boy sneakers and all.

The program formally started at around 11am and it started off with a presentation of what Asus has become as an IT and computer computer company in the past couple of years.

The key point from the presentation is that Asus is no longer just a motherboard company, they are now more than just about manufacturing reliable motherboards, they are among the top computer companies in the world. All this thanks to the successful phenomenon that the Asus Eee PC line of ultra-mobile portable computers or UMPCs has created. With over a 1 million units sold in just 5 months, the Asus Eee PC brand is here to stay.

Can the Asus Eee PC 900, the wildly popular Eee PC 701′s bigger brother continue this joyous trend for Asus? From the sights, presentations, questions and answers I’ve come across during the press launch, it seems that Eee PC 900 is in a strong position to do so.

Inside the Eee PC 900

We’re all familiar with the specs of the new Eee PC 900 by now, but let’s recall anyways:

Display: 8.9” Display, 1024 x 600 resolution
Color: Pearl White, Black
CPU: Intel® Mobile CPU
Processor: Intel Mobile Chipset
Memory: DDR II 1GB
Display Card: Intel UMA
Storage: 12GB (4GB built-in + 8GB flash) SSD (Microsoft Windows OS Version)
20GB (4GB built-in +16GB flash) SSD (Linux OS Version)
Audio: HD audio / built-in speakers
Wireless: Built-in 802.11b/g
Camera: 1.3M Pixel webcam
Storage Cards: SD / MMC (SDHC)
Input / Output: 3xUSB / VGA-out (D-Sub, 15pin) / earphone jack / mic / RJ45 10/100 Mbps
Power Output: 12V, 36W;
Input: 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
Tracking Control: Utilizes FingerGlide
Operating System: Windows XP Home / Linux
Dimensions: 22.5cm(W) x 17.0cm(D) x 2cm~3.38cm(H)
Weight: 0.99 kg

Techno mambo-jambo asides, the most talked about and most welcomed improvement in the Eee PC 900 is the bigger screen size of 8.9” supporting the standard 1024 x 600 resolution. No more constant side-scrolling to view a web page, image or document.

Another cool feature of the new Eee PC 900 is the FingerGlide touch/scroll pad which allows users to use two fingers in manipulating the Eee PC 900. You can zoom in to view pictures and stuff. A very nice touch indeed, so to speak.

A lifestyle device

A nine-inch compact (powder case)?

What was a noticeably dominant theme in the press launch was that the Eee PC 900 is marketed for ladies, teens and housewives. It’s just not a geek’s toy anymore, it is now being positioned as lifestyle device. Hence all the casual to stylish portrayal of the Eee PC 900 with female models ranging from school girls to young career women.

The great mobility offered by its exceptional portability is one of the strongest selling points of the Eee PC. Now that it runs on Windows XP natively, I suspect more people will buy it because Asus’ Regional Marketing Manager, Ethan Hung and the M$ Philippines’ Gen Manager Pepeng Rollan was right, if you want to introduce newcomers to computing, then Windows would be the most obvious choice.

Ultra-portable, great aesthetics, seamless wireless connectivity and a nice array of productivity and lifestyle suites, the Asus Eee PC 900 would be a good choice for those looking for a quick means of getting online and getting some work done while on the go.

So what’s the price tag of the Eee PC 900?

I earlier blogged about how the Eee PC 900 seems to be overpriced with some stores selling them at Php33,000! Of course we will still have to wait for official word from Asus and it was given last Monday, all of the Asus Eee PC 900′s nifty features wrapped in a compact package will cost you Php24,000.00 for both the 20GB Linux and 12GB Windows XP versions. Of course this is the suggested retail price by Asus so expect it to go up to around Php26,000 once retailers add-in their additional costs or if you upgrade the memory.

Still, it’s quite a good bargain if the Eee PC 900 fits your needs and preferences. So again, will I buy the Eee PC 900 now that I now it’s real SRP? Some of my blogging friends already know the answer and I’ll make it public in a few hours’ time. LOL

Congratulations to Asus for the successful launch of the Eee PC 900 and I’m sure that since the new school year is about to open, this baby will be among the top items in almost every student’s back-to-school shopping wish list. I thank Sir Yuga and First Tier Brands for the invite. Here’s the link to my photo set of the press launch and lastly, here’s a short video where Leah and Aldrin, Abe, Arnold, Eugene, Reggie, and Racquel (of PDI?) and myself finally had a chance to get our hands on the new Eee PC 900:

*The Eee PC 701 and Eee PC 900 looked almost identical we had a few moments of having problems distinguishing one from the other, hence Yuga’s sudden burst of a bad word. It was all unintended.

ASUS EeePC 900 Press Launch May 12, 2008

jhay — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:56 +0000

Perhaps they read my rant about the over-priced Asus Eee PC 900 and so First Tier Branding Solutions Inc. has invited me to the ASUS Eee PC 900 Press Launch.

It will happen this coming May 12, 2008 at the Quezon A Ballroom, Makati Shangri-la. Most of us already know who ASUS is and what the Asus Eee PC is. The original 7-inch version has sparked a social phenomenon that has shaken the world of ultra-potable laptops.

The newer EeePC 900 or the so-called “9-inch” model has been made available here in the Philippines but has been met with mixed reactions especially because of it eyebrow-raising price tag. Sure it comes with a bigger screen, more storage capacity and it now natively runs Windows XP, but then again one cannot help the feeling that at Php33K, it is something of an overkill.

I suppose attending the press launch will put my apprehensions to the test, but what I’m really after is the chance to meet other bloggers and techies who will attend the event.

So who else is going?

Php33k for Asus Eee PC 900?! I’d get a Compaq notebook instead

jhay — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:45:27 +0000

No freakin’ way! That’s what I commented on Abe’s post which details that the new 9-inch Asus Eee PC 900 sells for Php33,900 here in the Philippines.

The price of Php33,900 (see PC Corner listing here) for the Asus Eee PC is a little bloated because it will come with Microsoft Windows XP Home, a whooping 2GB of RAM and a bigger storage space of 12GB solid state drive.

I’m sure a variant that comes loaded with Linux will be available and much cheaper but I think the current price tag is an overkill. Blogging buddies Ade and Jaypee has been seducing me, I mean encouraging me to get the Asus Eee PC for some time now but I’ve always told them that I’m holding our for the 9-inch model.

Now that it’s out and available but with such a price tag, I’m having serious second thoughts.

Think of it, what else could I get with Php33,900? I did some snooping around the net and found this gem:

Compaq Presario C765TU NOTEBOOK

It’s technical specs:

Processor Intel® Celeron 550 (2.0GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
Chipset Mobile Intel 965
Operating System Free DOS
Graphics Intel® X3100 Graphics
Video Memory up to 358MB Shared
Display Panel 15.4-inch WXGA High-Definition** Widescreen Display
Standard Memory 1GB
Memory Slots 2 slots, 1 in use, 1 available
Hard Drive 120GB
Optical Drive Super Multi 8X DVD±RW with Double Layer Support
Networking/Wireless High speed 56K modem, integrated 10/100 LAN, 802.11 a/b/g WLAN
External Card Expansion ExpressCard slot/54 slot (supports both 34 and 54 form factors)
Media card Integrated 5-in-1 digital memory reader slot (xD, SD, MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick PRO)
I/O Ports Built-in 350K webcam, RJ-45, headphone, microphone jack, Omni-directional microphones (2), AC adapter, S-video out, Kensington lock, VGA, USB 2.0 (3), Rj-11
Battery 6-cell Li-ion
Power 65W AC adapter
Approximate Weight 2.45kg (5.39lbs)

It’s priced at PhP 24,950.00 at PC Corner while Asianic sells it for Php 27,950. Load it with Ubuntu Linux or a Windows XP (or both in a dual-boot setup) and it’s a better buy than the Asus Eee PC 900.

There’s even enough change to get myself a decent wireless router (Linksys WRT-54G) and setup a wireless home network so that I could blog from anywhere in the house. Heck, there’s plenty of change left for a pair new jeans and a tee. It looks like the notebook I’ll be getting in two months’ time won’t be an Asus Eee PC. Disappointed, I really am with Asus Eee PC 900.

Am I the only one?