Asus set to release all-in-one Eee Top Thursday
Asus' all-in-one Eee PC is coming into focus. Announced back in January with the Eee Monitor moniker, the company's all-in-one PC is now called the Eee Top and two models have popped up on the Asus Web site. The company is expected to formally introduce the Eee Top Thursday in Taipei, according to IDG.
Details are lacking on Asus' rather vague product pages for the ET1602 and ET1603, but the systems will reportedly feature a 15.6-inch touch-screen display (down from the roughly 20 inches of screen space mentioned in January) and the 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor found in virtually every Netbook. Other rumored specs include 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and a 1.3-megapixel Webcam.
The higher-end ET1603 bumps you up to discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD3450 graphics. Asus mentions both Vista Business and XP atop the product pages for its Eee Top systems, but I can't imagine anything more than XP on such a low-end system. Lastly, pricing has yet to be announced, so we are left to wonder if Asus will hit the $499 price it quoted in January.
As for looks, the Eee Top looks like it won't offend. The shiny white and rounded Eee Top looks like it might have been designed by someone who had earlier worked on the Apple iBook.
While a cheaper yet smaller all-in-one PC alternative might hold some appeal, I'm left to wonder why I would want an Intel Atom processor inside a desktop, especially if it's the single-core Atom chip and not the dual-core Atom 330 CPU that is a better fit for Nettops. The single-core Atom N270 is a chip that was designed chiefly for energy efficiency. While I would like to consume less electricity in my home like any other responsible citizen of the world, I am more drawn to the extended battery life the Atom affords when placed inside a Netbook.
(Via Engadget)
