Asustek: $200 Eee PC coming in 2009

During its quarterly earnings call with investors, Asustek said it plans to drop the price of its already inexpensive line of Eee PCs even further next year.

The original Eee PC from Asus, launched a year ago.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET Networks)

Asustek President Jerry Shen said that by 2009 his company will offer an entry-level Eee PC beginning at $200.

The motherboard and notebook manufacturer also gave an accounting of how the Eee PC is doing.

The company shipped 1.7 million Eee PCs during the quarter, and expects to ship 1.8 million during the next quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season. In its first quarter on the market a year ago, 350,000 Eee PCs were shipped.

Shen also let on that over time, that won't include the smaller 7-inch and 8-inch Eee PCs, which will be phased out in favor of 10-inch Netbooks.

Asustek also noted that while it ships both Netbooks with hard drives and solid-state drives, those with hard disks represent 70 percent of the total shipments. Seventy percent of its Eee PCs are also shipped with Windows XP, and 30 percent with Linux.

[Mr. Dee]

Linux still has a long way to go. Look at Windows dominating a product that first came with Linux only. Its even worse with ASUS CEO promising to have Windows 7 on the Eee PC by the second half of 2009 and Steve Sinofsky showing a Netbook running Windows 7 at PDC 2008 with 1 GB of RAM and 1 GHz ATOM processor. Windows will continue to reign where predictability is often the most important fact in a PC purchase. I am sure Netbooks will get even more powerful by 2010 by the time Windows 7 hits the shelves, it will feature superior power management and just work even better than the already Windows XP. Steve Sinofsky said in an interview too, that the reason why most Netbooks do not run Windows Vista is actually disk footprint. Vista uses 11 GBs of disk space, most Netbooks come with 8 GB solid state drives. XP uses 1.5 GB of disk space.

[venuesdotorg]

Having a fresh install of Windows takes a day or more. Having a fresh install of Linux takes less than a minute. Just push the on button. THAT is why 30% of people are smart enough to "settle" for Linux.

[RicABlair]

I thought I read in the NYTImes that Vista was unofficially dead and Windows 7 was the way to go anyway.

[asoltesz]

@Mr.Dee
Linux eee sales converted into Windows eee sales: Microsoft at work, probably massive hidden agreements with netbook producers.

30% Linux sales is VERY GOOD if you take this into account.
Believe me, 30% is a HUGE step for Linux forward.

[Mr. Dee]

Actually, it has dwindled to 30% of sales and its continuing to dwindle. Once consumers realize that the the familiar is available on it (Windows) they will just choose it instead. They know it works, its compatible. Linux is for those who outright do not want use Windows and then again, they usually dual boot.

[Penguinisto]

@Mr. Dee: Not so fast:

German Foreign Ministry switches to Linux: http://www.osor.eu/news/de-foreign-ministry-cost-of-open-source-desktop-maintenance-is-by-far-the-lowest

Ubuntu 8.10 found to be easier to use, with 1.5x the performance than Vista: http://www.crn.com/software/211800390


You also neglect to mention that the Linux Eee model costs $50 more on average (due to bigger hardware specs... and no, I don't know why Asus took that route either).

/P

[rslc]

How much of that $200 goes to microsoft I wonder....:)

[pithenumber]

when did they start selling 8 inch EEEs? I only know of 7, 9, and 10 inch EEEPC models.

[interoperate]

Dear Mr Dee

You are living in the past. Many of the latest models from the major notebook manufacturers have an Instant-On mode that boots in a user into an operational system in around 10 seconds. Oh, did I tell you that the instant-on operating system is actually Linux?

Yes, increasingly average users will be finding that Linux is perfect for all their needs and that the days of paying tax to Microsoft is at an end.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Since Windows 7 is fully scaleable and componetized , I will be getting a netbook as soon as Windows 7 devices are released. Word has it "7" will be here in summer `09. I see Windows 7 replacing Widows Mobile on small form-factor devices.

[NoVista]

I had to buy my 7 Eee with XP, grrrr, because that was all they were selling, funny that. Oh, but this is in Australia. It didn't take me long for setting up a dual boot system, with Linux Mint KDE 4.0 on an 8GB USB stick. I also experimented with Damn Small Linux too,

My desktop machine is dual boot, with preference for Ubuntu 8.04 over XP. If it weren't for certain 3rd party s/w on XP, I'd never go there.

[SNOWM4N7]

I already saw a $100 (9,900 yen) one at Akihabara, Japan. It's just amazing!