Asus to launch three new Eee PCs

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 30 Jan 2008 at 07:55

Asus has revealed plans to launch a family of products under its popular Eee PC brand.

The Taiwanese manufacturer won widespread acclaim last year with the launch of its low-budget Eee PC laptop (read PC Pro's review here).

Now the company plans to capitalise on that success with the launch of three new models, according to a report in the DigiTimes.

The company will release a desktop PC, dubbed the E-DT, which will initially run on Intel's Celeron processors when it's launched later this Spring, but will move to Intel's new Shelton platform towards the end of this year. The E-DT will ship without a monitor with the company aiming for a launch price of $199.

Asus will also launch an all-in-one PC/screen called the E-Monitor. The 19-21in device will again run on the Shelton platform and will include a TV tuner. As ever with the Eee brand, the key factor is the price, with Asus aiming for $499 - which will place it well below rivals such as Apple's iMac and Dell's XPS One, which both cost in excess of $1,000. The E-Monitor should launch in September.

The third, and most amibitious, product in the range is a 42in LCD TV which again includes a built-in Linux PC. Details are thin on the ground, but Asus claims the E-TV will cost around $200 more than conventional LCD screens of that size.

The DigiTimes also reports that Asus has canned plans to bring touchscreens to the Eee PC laptops, citing a lack of demand. Earlier this month, the company announced it was bringing larger screens and WiMAX to a refreshed range of the laptops.