Asus unveils Celeron-based Eee Box
The new Asus Eee Box B203 is powered by the Intel Celeron processor instead of the Intel Atom featured in previous versions.
(Credit: Asus)Asus has beefed up its Eee Box line with the addition of a Celeron-based B203.
As expected, Asus' new Nettop is largely unchanged from the B202, but it features a budget-minded Intel Celeron 220 CPU, instead of the Intel Atom found in earlier versions. Asus also increased the hard-drive options in the new model, offering a 120GB and 160GB version in addition to the 80GB offered in previous versions.
The B203 comes with four USB ports, a flash card reader, a DVI output, and Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity. The Nettop runs Windows XP Home, but Asus recommends Windows Vista.
Pricing wasn't available on Asus' Web site on Sunday night, but the processor change is expected to drop the cost of the Eee Box from $350 to $240, allowing the small form-factor desktop to better compete with similarly low-cost desktops and laptops.
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven. 
The Eee line is designed to be a cost effective, energy efficient line of computers. Windows Vista is pretty much the opposite in that it is bulky, still slower than XP, and designed so that only the most expensive version is full featured. These two ideas are pretty much opposites.
*** would a company need with their users having access to, oh, MovieMaker? Parental controls? Photo Gallery?
You need to read the articles before you comment. The Asus Eee Box runs Windows XP Home Edition. Clearly unsuitable for a Company, since it does not support Domain Join (Active Directory), Remote Desktop and File Encryption things even the smallest of small businesses use.
So to conclude, this is a consumer desktop Penguinisto and Vista will do just fine on it for most consumers too.
Also, Asus ships it with XP, which says a whole lot more than their "recommendation" ever does. Their "recommend" is mere marketing jargon, which is put on every Windows OEM. If the OEM "recommends" Vista, and puts that "recommendation" promptly on the product pages, MSFT kicks back some cash to the OEM. Standard operating procedure, etc.
- by SHADuck December 15, 2008 1:37 PM PST
- vista HB sucks so much, my next pc- nb will be non-vista, probebly non win. if the company doesn't care for its lesser offerings as much if not more than its expensive offerings, it is not worht to buy such.
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(13 Comments)NOTE I OWN MSFT SHARES