Asus: No WiMax for next Eee PC

WiMax plans for the Asus Eee PC have been put on hold.

(Credit: CNET Networks Inc.)

WiMax supporters insist the technology is set to take off this year. If it does, it will have to do so without the help of the Asus Eee PC 901. After giving it some thought, Asus has decided not to integrate the long-range wireless technology in its next mini-laptop, citing a lack of maturity in the U.S. market, according to a report from DigiTimes.

Given the popularity of the Eee PC and Eee PC 900, Asus' current low-cost little laptops, a WiMax-enabled Eee PC 901 might have given the fledging wireless technology a boost later this year. Instead, WiMax's chief investors--Sprint, Clearwire, Comcast, Time Warner, Intel, Motorola, and Google--will look to Samsung's next version of the Q1 Ultra to help lead the WiMax charge in the U.S.

Although Asus has put the kibosh on a WiMax-enabled Eee PC for the moment, the company intends to add WiMax to its mainstream 14- and 15-inch laptops later this year, according to DigiTimes. By the time we start seeing laptops with WiMax, however, we might be talking about LTE-enabled laptops for use on AT&T and Verizon's forthcoming 4G wireless network.

(Via The Tech Report)

[basketcase421]

This is smart on Asus's part, as WiMax is not widely used or tested yet. Of course, this could help WiMax's viability. But, I doubt anyone is going to fully jump on the bandwagon until more results are seen. http://www.custompcmax.com

[sinerasis]

Agreed with basketcase421, there is no need for Asus to jumble in a technology on their lowcost device that isn't even mainstream. They need to focus their marketing towards the most amount of people possible. EVDO would be a better option at this point, because of coverage, but honestly I would rather Asus keep the cost down and let me add whatever I wanted by myself.

[Lemon5]

Really, i think Asus should work on bringing down the price of the eee (the new ones are a little pricey). This would no doubt jack up the price even more. Glad to see Asus really making good decisions over their new "little star."