Having just recently announced a price of 400 Euros (US$600) for the Eee PC 900 in Europe, Asus will launch this cute little sucker for a mere US$500 in the good old US of A. This price tag seems to be attached to a Linux version of the laptop which sports slightly lower specs than a hinted at Windows XP version which comes with a bit more (required) grunt and thus a heftier price tag. Here are the specs for the Linux version

* 512 MB of RAM
* 12 GB of flash storage
* Intel’s 1.6 GHz Atom
* 9 inch display 1024 x 600
* 2.5 hour battery life
* 3 USB, 1 monitor, headphone jack, microphone input, SD card reader
* Ethernet 10/100
* 802.11b/g wireless

The Asus Eee PC 900 certainly looks like a winner if you’re after a slimmed down laptop in both specs and physical size. I’m not personally convinced by it but I’m sure there’s a niche market out there for these suckers. If anyone has had a play with one, drop me a line and let us all know what you think.

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We took a look at the Asus leather clad laptop, the U2, last year and today we shall take a gander at their ultra-portable offering the U6S another leather unit. Over at HotHardware they have done a full review and give the U6S a thumbs-up despite noting an issue re short battery-life and with it weighing in at 1.57 kg you could argue that it’s not really ‘ultra-portable’. However here are the stats that did grab their attention

* Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz,4M L2 Cache,800MHz FSB)
* Vista Business
* 2 GB Memory
* 12.1″ LED 1280×800 res display
* 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G
* 802.11a/b/g/n connectivity
* Bluetooth 2.0, 3G/3.5G, HSPDA connectivity
* 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
* Ultra Slim DVD Super Multi Double Layer
* 300 x 220 x 31.6 mm
* 1.57 kg
* 4 x USB 2.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x RJ11, 1 x RJ45 ethernet ports

The U6S is indeed feature-rich and with a price tag of US$1650 looks like good value. However the short battery life and weight are real downers for me - surely the idea of an ultra-portable laptop is, err, its portability. I’d rather shell out a few more bucks for a lighter and longer battery life model - but if that doesn’t concern you and you like the feel of leather in your lap then the U6S is probably right up your street!

Source: HotHardware

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If you’ve got a couple of PCI slots available on your desktop and a hankering for a bank of four wide screen monitors then look no further than the latest graphics card from Asus, the EAH3870 X2 with a staggering 1 GB of video memory. The guys over at HotHardware are drooling over this little (well not so little really) sucker and with good reason. Here are a few bits and pieces to enable you to join in with the drooling

* 1GB of GDDR3 DRAM at 1200MHz
* Four DVI outputs
* Dual fan cooling
* Dual slot card

I’m not sure I could justify four monitors for the cost alone but if you’ve got a desire to fill your desk with monitors then this card is for you. Unfortunately no price tag wrapped around this sucker yet but what price can you put on wall to wall pixels!

Source: HotHardware

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Asus describe their latest laptop offering, the U2, as

taking luxury computing to a whole new level

I’m not too sure what they mean by that, as luxury computing to me usually has something more to do with a warm, comfy seat ;)

However if leather laptops are your definition of luxury then the U2 is for you and rather than prattle on about it myself here’s the spiel from Asus

Hand polished stainless steel frame and copper etch detailing exist in sublime harmony with premium leather, creating an interplay of warmth and cool high-tech aesthetic that mirrors the principle of perfection attained from visual and tactile balance.

It sounds very swish, doesn’t it? But what’s under the hood, well the U2 certainly doesn’t disappoint in that department either

* Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology
* 802.11 a/b/g connectivity
* All flavours of Vista
* 11.1″ WXGA 1366 x 768 LED back-lit display
* 80GB/100GB/120GB PATA 1.8″ 4200rpm HDD
* 32GB SSD option
* Up to 4 GB memory
* 277 x 194 x 29 mm
* 1.28 kg (1.25 with SSD)

The combination of a back-lit LED display and 32 GB solid state drive knock this puppy down to a non-bone crushing 1.25 kg, and of course suck less juice than your average display and drive thus saving the planet too. So although the U2 doesn’t exactly take luxury computing to a new level, it’s sure going in the right direction … and look no reference to Bono in the post either ;)

Source: Asus

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With Microsoft bringing you the Digidesk, a PC in a desk, here’s the reverse from ASUS, a desk around a laptop. Whilst funky wooden laptops are nothing new, I think that they do look super trendy and would certainly turn heads down at the local Starbucks! I wouldn’t be so sure about placing my coffee cup so close to the keyboard though. One thing to note is that the mousepad looks wooden too, touch sensitive wood eh? Very clever ASUS ;)

Source: engadget

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