My deal of the day today is quite spectacular. It’s for the new Asus Eee PC 900. This machine was introduced just a few months ago for $549, but with this deal it has dropped well below $400.

Inside this mini notebook is an 8.9″ display (1024*600), 20GB of SSD storage, 1GB of memory, Wi-Fi and a webcam. It comes with the Asus Eee PC version of Linux, but that can easily be replaced if you have access to a Windows XP installation CD.

There are a couple of caveats with the price; the “out the door” price is normally $529, but for just 3 days (July 22-24) it is on sale for $479.99, and Asus have a $100 mail in rebate promotion till July 31st. The sale and rebate make the final price of this machine just $379.99, which is actually cheaper than the original Asus Eee PC.

Product page: Zipzoomfly.com (via Fatwallet)

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You would think that putting your 11 different notebooks in a chart would help people pick the right machine for their needs.

Sadly, if the machine is an Asus Eee PC, you’d be wrong.

I’ve complained about Asus before, and how they have jumped the shark, but it takes their own chart to show what a daft mess this has become. And things are only going to get worse once they add the Eee 905, the Eee monitor and several Eee desktop machines.

Source: Asus UK (via Engadget)

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My deal of the day today is for the Asus Eee 900.

The version on sale is the 900 20G, which means you get a 900MHz Intel chip, 8.9" display, Linux pre-loaded, 20GB SSD (spanned between 2 drives), 1GB ram, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, webcam, card reader and several USB Ports.

As always with Asus, this machine has already been replaced by the upcoming Eee 901 which comes with an Intel Atom chip, but costs $200 more.

These machines come with all the required Windows drivers in the box, so if you manage to find XP you’ll be able to replace the Linux OS.

The $100 rebate is valid till the end of the month and can be found here. The machine is currently in stock and ready to ship.

Product page: Amazon.com

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Oh Asus…this is just getting silly.

What started as the prospect of a $199 laptop has now evolved into lineup of overpriced machines that get upgraded every month. That $199 PC is about to pass the $700 mark.

The successor to the original Eee PC was the Eee 900, and it was available for less than 3 weeks. It got replaced by the 901 last month.

And now the 901 is about to be replaced by the 903, 904 and 905 (in addition to the already announced Eee 1000). Whatever goodwill Asus generated for themselves with the original Eee PC, will soon be gone if they keep this up.

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TAIPEI, Taiwan — June 3, 2008 — Today at Computex, Microsoft Corp. announced that following the success of Windows on netbooks, the Windows offering is being extended to include nettop devices. Netbooks are commonly referred to as ultralow-cost PCs (ULCPCs) and were originally intended for students and other first-time PC customers in emerging markets. Nettop refers to desktops that are ultralow-cost.

In April, Microsoft announced the worldwide extension of the availability of Windows for this emerging class of devices that are primarily used for e-mail, accessing the Internet and instant messaging, and the company is seeing much demand among industry partners who want to ensure that customers can have the benefits of Windows on both new and existing devices.

For ages, I’d been struggling with how to describe the new generation of cheap and small PC’s. But Microsoft have finally answered that, by naming them "netbooks". They can also be referred to as ULCPC’s, but that is just too damn confusing.

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Well, this is kind of silly… The long awaited Asus Eee PC 900 (with an 8.9" screen) barely ever made it onto retailers shelves, and it’s already being canned.

Apparently Asus only intended it as a "transitional device", in anticipation of their Intel Atom powered Eee 901 (and to compete with the HP Mini-Note).

This is good news for people who didn’t manage to actually find a 900, but bad news for those that did, as their machines are already obsolete. The 901 should be available pretty soon, but it’s a mystery how long it’ll take to actually make it Stateside.

The Eee PC 900 was unveiled for the Asia Pacific market during late April and for the US market on May 12. But Asustek is said to have stopped taking any more Eee PC 900 orders as the Eee PC 901 is set to launch on June 3, the sources said.

Source: Digitimes

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Owners of an Asus Eee 900 will be glad to hear that Proporta have several accessories for their new machine. Even though the Eee 900 has only just started selling, you can already order a leather case and screen protector.

The leather case features a magnetic clasp and cutouts that offer full access to all the ports. It costs $44.95 and is available here.

The screen protector is removable (and washable!) and reduces glare. It also improves the "stylus feel" if you were brave enough to upgrade your Eee with a touch screen. It costs $9.95 and is available here.

The Proporta Advanced Screen Protector even comes with a money back guarantee and a lifetime warranty.

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Yesterday I took the plunge and ripped open an Asus Eee PC (my Wife’s) and upgraded it with an 8Gb flash drive and Bluetooth. It took $35 in parts, a steady hand and a soldering iron, but the result is pretty cool. Both devices are in a USB plug, so I can remove or upgrade them over time.

If you plan to work on your wife’s Eee, make sure you have a spare $399 lying around in case screw things up.

Next week (in part 2) I’ll be installing a touch screen, which should turn this thing into the ultimate Eee, right before it’s time to upgrade the entire machine to the 901 series Eee.

Tips and inspiration on how to upgrade your Eee PC can be found here.

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I’m beginning to think that we’ll never see that magical $200 price point Asus promised 2 years ago.

Their super successful Eee PC has gone from $349 to $549 and now to $650. Granted; that $650 gets you the newest Intel Atom chip, an 8.9" screen and Bluetooth (a first in any Eee pc).

The rest of the specifications will be the same as the recently released Eee 900 (12Gb or 20Gb SSD drive, 1Gb ram, 1.3MP camera, Linux or XP).

Source: Digitimes

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Well that WAS quick… The poor thing wasn’t even announced that long ago, and the first of them has made its way to some lucky fellow in Germany.

In case you missed it, here are the new specifications:

8.9 inch 1024 x 600 screen
Intel Celeron 900Mhz
1GB RAM
12GB SSD
1.3 mega pixel webcam
big multitouch trackpad
12v charger brick

Check out the full gallery over at jkkmobile.

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