Asus Eee PC 900 launching 5/12 in the U.S. at $549

The upcoming 9-inch version of the popular Asus Eee PC has already been spotted in Europe and Asia, but details about an American launch were scarce--until now.

Sources at Asus tell us the Eee PC 900, which we discussed in detail earlier this week, will be available in the U.S. starting May 12 for $549. That's a little more than the $500 figure everyone was assuming, and certainly more than the $399 7-inch version.

For the extra money, you do get more system RAM (1GB vs. 512MB), a higher 1,024x600 screen resolution, and more solid state hard-drive space--12GB in the Windows XP version and 20GB in the Linux version.

[Lemon5]

I must say, the Eee is dancing dangerously close to "full featured" laptops. When i say full-featured, i mean one with much better processors. I dont know, maybe it being so small is the reason for the price, but it just seems to expensive to me now.

[7aji88]

Yeah, it costs nearly like a new full laptop. Probably because of the larger SSD and the screen size , but the CPU still the same?! and for the RAM it's no big deal since you can upgrade it you self to 2 gigs for 25$

[cjmoisan]

This price is a huge disapointment to me. I was, like most others, expecting a good $500 Eee PC. While $50 doesn't see like much more, you might as well spend $600 ditch the portability and get a good processor. Hopefully the atom processors will be good enough to change my mind.

[thundermustard]

I agree on the cost. A ten percent increase over the expected MSRP may be a deal breaker.

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[DMBoricua]

I dont get why the WinXP version is only 12GBs of space and the Linux version is 20GBs.... anyone can get a good use of it and quickly fill up space with a Windows machine, but for linux, I doubt it. Pretty much you'll be using Linux for its built in programs which dont take a whole lot of space, and store a couple of pictures and videos here and there....but nothing else. I'm a full Windows and Linux user, and I gotta admit I dont do much in Linux.

[logos]

My understanding is that the cost to purchase the XP license while keeping the cost for both linux and xp versions to be the same was the reason to provide the 8GB difference. I guess the cost to save on that extra ram was the price of the xp license or at least close to.

[Scopip]

Ditch XP, and sell it to me for $450

[ayoung45]

If they can somehow shed $50 off and make it $499, then I believe they could sell a lot more, considering it a sub $500 notebook.

[afakirani]

I think that regardless of the $50 increase, the Eee is still ridiculously expensive for what it is. Considering that you can get a full featured laptop for roughly the same price on sale at most retailers, even $500 seems high. I don't understand how Asus went from promosing a 7" Eee at under $250 to one that now retails for over $400. Again the MSRP of the 9" version has also gone above their original estimates. However, I'd guess that someone who sould honestly consider the 9" model wouldn't particularly mind putting in the extra $50, but you can count me out for either the 7" or the 9" models becuase of their relatively high price.