ASUS Eee PC

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Criticizing a product as poor as the Nokia tablets accomplishes nothing in the long run. What's the point unless you can find something better? From a technology standpoint you can make a very good argument that the Apple iPhone is better, but the iPhone still has some significant disadvantages, not the least of which is the need to get an AT&T Wireless contract.

It looks like such a better product may be shipping around mid-August. Manufactured by Asus, the Eee PC is a folding ultra-portable with a 7" display. Unlike the OLPC, the Eee is aimed at the general market. From what I've been able to gather, the Eee should come with the following features:
  • Display： 7" 800 x 480
  • CPU & Chipset: 900MHz Intel Dothan based Pentium M CPU, 910 mobile chipset
  • OS: Linux and Microsoft Windows XP compatible
  • Communication: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet; 56K modem
  • WLAN: WiFi 802.11b/g
  • Graphic: Intel UMA
  • Memory: 512MB, DDR2-400
  • Storage: 4, 8, and 16GB Flash
  • Webcam: 300K pixel video camera
  • Audio: Hi-Definition Audio CODEC; Built-in stereo speaker; Built-in microphone
  • Four USB 2.0 ports
  • Battery Life: 3hrs (4 cells: 5200mAh, 2S2P)
  • Dimension: 22.5 x 16.5 x 2.1~3.5cm
  • Weight: 890 grams (nearly 2 lbs)
The price for this machine? The 4GiB is $200, the 8GiB is $300. The 4GiB is half the price of the Nokia N800, half when comparing the 8GiB Eee to the 8GiB iPhone. There's more than enough horsepower in the processor as well as DRAM to run a decent, properly tuned version of Linux. As usual, you mileage will vary, especially with un-released hardware. But it's something I certainly want to look at a lot more closely.

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