Windows 7 Powered Asus EP121 Tablet Set For April 10th Release Date

If you're actually one of the people who want to run Windows 7 Home Premium on a tablet then Asus might have the one for you. The expensive Eee Slate EP121 tablet is scheduled for an April 10th release in the UK with Amazon listing the tablet for a whopping £999.99 ($1,627 USD). If you want to pay that extreme price tag then you'll be getting a 12.1-inch display (1,280 x 800 resolution), an Intel Core i5-470UM CPU, a 64GB SSD, Intel HD graphics, Bluetooth support, a 2MP webcam, and a desktop OS. Definitely sounds powerful.

[Slash Gear]

Asus Eee Pad MeMO Full Spec Sheet Leaks Days Before CeBIT Announcement

CeBIT 2011 starts later this week and new information regarding Asus Eee Pad MeMO has just leaked. jkk mobile has just leaked what you see above and it's the full spec sheet and what the 7-inch tablet will look like. Specs reportedly include a 1,024 x 600 resolution, a 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR / WiFi b/g/n support, quadband HSPA+ connectivity, a microHDMI port, a 5MP camera with an LED flash, a front-facing 1.2 camera, a microSD card slot, and Android 3.0 "Honeycomb". The CPU inside is enough to output 1080p (Full HD) video at 30fps so that's excellent. Look out for this one to get official in the next few days.

[Slash Gear]

"Sirocco" Gets Announced As the Asus Eee PC 1015PW, Another Boring Netbook

As expected, Asus announced yet another Eee PC netbook today and it's the 1015PW. Asus hyped up the launch for this one a bit too much, mentioning that this would make waves in the industry but all it made was a ripple in the water. The best part about this netbook is the textured paint job on the lid, which is likely what the company was talking about because it's quite unique. This netbook will be available in gold, pink, and purple models.

On the specifications front you get: a 10.1-inch 1,024 x 600 resolution display, WiFi b/g/n / Bluetooth 3.0 support, 1GB of DDR3 RAM, a 250GB / 320GB HDD, and a dual-core Intel Atom N550 1.5GHz CPU. Price and release date is unknown right now, but I can't imagine a bunch of people picking this one up. Netbooks are just about dead at this point.

[Liliputing]

Asus Unveils Eee Pad Slider and Transformer; Tegra 2, Android, and QWERTY In Full Harmony

More tablets from Asus and these are actually the more interesting ones. These tablets are both powered by Nvidia's Tegra 2 chipset and they're both sporting 10.1-inch displays along with QWERTY keyboards. The first one on the left is the Eee Pad Slider which sports a 1,280 x 800 resolution IPS display, miniHDMI / miniUSB ports, a microSD card slot, a rear-facing 5MP camera with an LED flash, a front-facing 1.3MP webcam, and Android "Honeycomb". The body is 0.5-inches and it reportedly weighs 2.2 pounds.

Now, getting to the tablet on the right. It's reportedly called the Eee Transformer which you might've heard about before. Like I said, it's sporting a 10.1-inch display and you'll be able to dock it on a body which will give you a keyboard along with a touchpad. Basically, you'll be able to use Android like a netbook. Specs are just about the same as the Eee Pad Slider, but the dock on this bad boy will reportedly give you another 16 hours of battery life because it has an integrated one. Interesting, indeed; if only I could get my hands on either of them.

[Engadget]

Asus South Africa Says Eee Slate and Eee Transformer Devices Are Being Tested

Asus South Africa just tweeted something that you should look forward to seeing in the future. They have just mentioned that their company is currently working on and testing out the Eee Slate and Eee Trasformer. Judging by the names, the Eee Slate will be a tablet, while the Eee Transformer could be something with a touchscreen display and a removable screen / dock. It could very well be something like the Dell Inspiron Duo or the Lenovo IdeaPad U1. Of course, details should be unveiled soon, maybe we'll even see them at CES 2011 if we're lucky enough. Check out the tweet here.

[Electronista]

12.1-Inch Asus Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 Notebook Now Available In the UK

Asus has unveiled their latest ultraportable and it's the 12.1-inch Lamborghini Eee PC VX6. This notebook sports a dual-core Intel Atom D525 1.8GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM, Nvidia Ion 2 graphics, Optimus technology, a 250GB HDD, Bluetooth 3.0 / WiFi b/g/n support, VGA / HDMI outputs, USB 2.0 / 3.0 ports, a multicard reader, a 1.3MP integrated webcam, and a 6-cell battery which will supposedly last 6 hours. It seems like a pretty good notebook on paper. You can get one right now in the UK for £499 ($799 USD). Yes, it's expensive because of the "Lamborghini" moniker.

[Slash Gear]

Asus Eee PC 1015PW Netbook Surfaces With Dual-Core Atom N550 and Bluetooth 3.0

Yet another netbook from Asus is on the way. Dubbed the Eee PC 1015PW, this netbook reportedly features a dual-core Intel Atom N550 CPU, Bluetooth 3.0 / WiFi 802.11n support, a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display with a 1,024 x 600 resolution, a chiclet keyboard, and a 250GB / 320GB HDD. This netbook will come in a royal purple colour, but the price and release date haven't been mentioned yet.

[Engadget]

Asus Eee PC 1015PN Netbook Now Official, Dual-Core Atom and Ion 2 For $430

A fairly new netbook from Asus has just been made official and it's the Eee PC 1015PN. This netbook sports a 10.1-inch display with a 1,024 x 600 resolution, a dual-core Atom N550 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD, Nvidia Ion 2 graphics, Optimus, and Windows 7. Apparently, you'll get as much as 9.5 hours of battery life which beats out the new MacBook Air's quite a bit but they're really not in the same league. This one's going for $429 right now so you can check it out on Asus if you want.

[Engadget]

Asus Eee PC 1015PN With Ion 2 and Atom N550 Up On Amazon For $430

Asus is still alive in the netbook game with yet another Eee PC, the 1015PN. This netbook features a 10-inch display, a dual-core Intel Atom N550 CPU, and Nvidia's Ion 2 graphics. Other specs are just about standard so there's no point in me spitting them out again. If you're interested then you can check it out on Amazon for $429.99.


[Engadget]

OS Shift?

Amazon's top-10 "Most Wished For in Computers & PC Hardware" list includes, in order or popularity:
1. Asus Eee PC 8G
2. Asus Eee 4G
3. Asus EEE 4G
4. HP Pavilion DV6662SE
5. Nokia N810 Portable Internet Tablet
6. Nokia N800 Internet Tablet PC
7. Apple MacBook
8. Apple MacBook Pro
9. HP Pavilion DV6626US
10. Apple MacBook MB062LL

A couple of things strike one about this list. First, the prevalence of Linux-powered machines at the top three spots. Second, the prevalence of smaller form factor, highly portable devices among the top 10. Third, the prevalence of operating systems other than Windows in the top 10. Fourth, the prevalence of devices optimized for Web and Internet use.

On Amazon's "Bestsellers in Computers & PC Hardware" list, five of the top 10 devices use operating systems other than Windows. On Amazon's "Most Gifted" list, six of the top 10 devices use operating systems other than Windows.

Here's the other angle: some people carry smart phones with them when traveling, and leave their PCs behind. Top management and sales personnel are more likely to do so than people who have greater needs for text entry and Web app access. The point is that at least for shorter trips, the smart phone goes, the PC stays.

Almost everybody who owns a smartphone takes it, not a PC, when traveling locally, because email and text communications that otherwise would require a PC still are available.

To the extent that this trend continues, and more-mobile PC style devices also get traction, as the Amazon data tends to indicate, what does it mean? Web. Remote computing and storage. Need for better interfaces.

Small devices almost have to lean more heavily on applications in the cloud rather than local processing and storage. And several of the new devices plow new ground in the form factor/power/price equation, banking on Web apps to reduce price footprint, for example.

Navigation on a small device also is more problematic, so devices get an even-bigger push for new input options. Speech and touch, for example. Finally, taking all notebook PCs and smart phones together, and looking at them as a single market, not separate markets, one can observer that there already is more diversity in operating systems than has been the case in the desktop PC market.

Eee, gOS Rocket, Linux, Computing in the Cloud

Things are looking up for Linux PCs (even though its share in the OS market still is small) and "computing in the cloud." Good OS, the open source startup that introduced gOS, a Linux operating system with Google and Web applications, on a $199 Wal-Mart PC last November, now says announced that gOS Rocket will be introduced January 7. Think of gOS Rocket as a low-cost Linux-powered notebook that is optimized as a Web device.

Note also that the Asustek Eee PC--also a Linux machine-- was among the top-ten notebook PCs sold by Amazon over the Christmas season, and was ranked at the top of wish lists compiled by Web site CNet. Asustek executives say demand was so strong forthis Christmas season that virtually all available units were bought just about as soon as they were put on the shelves.

“In the two weeks since its launch in the US, the Eee PC has already sold ten thousand sets,” says Sunny Han, ASUS director. Asustek fully expected to finish 2007 by meeting its sales goal of 350,000 units, and is planning for sales in 2008 of three to five million.

Rocket comes with Google Gears, the online-offline synchronization technology from Google that enables offline use of web apps.

gOS Rocket also features gBooth, a browser-based web cam application with special effects, integration with Facebook and other Web services; shortcuts to launch Google Reader, Talk, and Finance on the desktop; an online storage drive powered by Box.net; and Virtual Desktops, an intuitive feature to easily group and move applications across multiple desktop spaces.

At the center of Rocket's new desktop is a gorgeous Google search box, enabling users to perform Google searches directly from the desktop. This new feature launches Google search results in Firefox, the leading, open source web browser. Surrounding the Google search box is an attractive desktop environment comprised of new wallpaper, icons, digital clock, and other new desktop elements.

"Like most of our customers, we absolutely love the gorgeous design and simplified navigation that gOS provides," says Paul Kim, director of marketing for Everex. "With the release of Rocket, the gOS team has once again shown the industry how to make a great looking operating system intuitive and easy to use."

Rocket includes Google Gears to enable offline use of web apps. Google Reader, which allows you to read all your news and blogs in one place, is the only Google application to currently work offline with Google Gears and has been added to the gOS desktop. Launching Firefox will reveal a new custom gOS homepage that prominently features a continually updated list of web apps that work with Google Gears to allow offline access.

Separately, researchers at Informa predict that, by 2012, Linux will ship annually in 128 million mobile phones, or about 8.8 percent of all handsets sold. The report also forecasts a bright outlook for other open source mobile technologies, including Java, WebKit, and others.

According to the report, Linux in 2006 was the second most popular OS for smartphones sold worldwide. During that year it shipped in about 11.7 million handsets, the "vast majority" of which went to customers in Asia. Uptake in Europe and North America during 2007 is forecast to drive overall shipments close to 20 million, or about 17.3 percent of the smartphone market. From there, shipments are expected to nearly quadruple by 2010, reaching 27 percent of all smartphones by 2012.