ASUS Eee PC with Optical Drive Upcoming

ASUS Eee PC with Optical Drive Upcoming

ASUS is planning to launch an Eee PC with a built-in optical drive in May. The DigiTimes report states that the Eee PC E1004DN will have an Intel Atom N280 processor, GN40 chipset, 120GB hard drive, and carry a retail price between $531-590.

Full Story (DigiTimes.com)

 

The optical drive is optional. Also, this is the first EEE with the GN40 chipset. And it has an Expresscard slot.

Link



Link

Has a 1.8" 4200rpm Hard drive and Bluetooth 2.1.

 

Finally!..

 

From what I read during CES, it won't be released in the US, which is a shame. Still should be interesting. From the looks of the picture, the keyboard does not stretch all the way. Why not make the keys bigger imo?

 

It will be released in the US, but in limited numbers. I don't think Asus expects to sell many 1008 units due to the high cost associated with the ODD (the ODD itself + no rebate from Intel for using the Atom processor because of the ODD).

 

I love how that "optional" looks like it was taped on during the last minute.

 

They can share the keyboard across multiple products. Saves them $$$ instead of having another keyboard specifically for one EEE.

 

Its not the first netbook with optical drive though.

The Clevo M710L beat ASUS to it.

Clevo M71xL (launch date: Available now)

• 
• 10.2-inch (1024 x 600) Netbook
• Intel Atom N270 CPU
• 2.5-inch HDD
• Optical Drive ...... about freaking time in a netbook.
• and the rest: HSDPA option, wifi, etc...

 

I don't really get the appeal of an optical drive in a netbook. To me, the whole point of a netbook is the compact size, light weight and long-ish battery life. Wouldn't an ODD hamper two of those three?

 

I wish there was no need for an optical drive but there still is with movies. and with a netbook mostly being used for travel a optical drive makes since (usb drives can get in the way and some have no room for them).

 

Absolutely. However, I think the netbook market can only go so far without expanding with new features. There's already a plethora of options for the "standard" netbooks, so I'm guessing in order for manufactures to stay competitive, they'll have to come up with something different to separate themselves from the others - even if it means to sacrifice weight and battery life.

 

How can a USB drive get in the way or be too big to have room for? Even full-sized USB keys are pretty small compared to a netbook, and if you really need them there are USB keys the size of a US dime. If you don't have room for that, you're doing something really wrong. Even then, if you absolutely cannot use a USB drive, wouldn't an expresscard slot make more sense? You could use it as storage expansion via certain drives or a number of other enhancements.

Agreed, but then what sets it apart from a low-end regular laptop? It's smaller, true, but it's getting more expensive, heavier, less battery life, etc. Honestly the only time I have used my optical drive lately was to reinstall the OS on my laptop back in October or something. You could use an external hard drive for that or even a flash drive. I use my iPod for music, digital files for videos and other media, and digital distribution services like Steam for video games.

 

Ditto. Whenever I hear about an ODD on a netbook I can't help but think that if I didn't mind carrying around CDs I wouldn't have switched to an MP3 player.

I'd agree with this if this if it wasn't ASUS themselves that were flooding the netbook market with hundreds of slightly different Eee's.


A few better ideas:

-GPS
-external media player controls (for doubling as an MP3 player)
-AM/FM transmitter (so I can play MP3s on my car radio)
-replace the SD card slot with an ExpressCard slot that comes pre-loaded with an X-in-1 card reader
-tablet touchscreens
-Nvidia Ion

 

Look up the T91 and T101H, both of these tablets have a gps option. And I guarantee you this summer Asus will have an Ion netbook. Acer and Lenovo are already planning theirs.

And without an optical drive, this is basically a N10 without the Nvidia 9300/9400.

 

I ment usb "optical" drives.

 

Well, I think Asus is only trying to secure their spot as being the top netbook manufacturer. After all, the EeePC line is their main "bread and butter" product.

As for the other ideas, a GPS, and AM/FM transmitter would be excellent ideas. Also, the 1008 already comes with an expresscard slot and a 8 in 1 card reader (no compromises here )
I'm not so sure about substituting a netbook for an MP3 player since the ipods pretty much dominate the portable music market, and most people would will rather carrying something much more light-weight than a 3lbs object while at the gym.
The tablet touchscreens are already in the works. It's been shown in CES and it seems promising if those units do go into production.
Also, I think it's only a matter of time before we start seeing the Nvidia Ion on netbooks.

 

What are you talking about...that 3lbs means extra calories burned. ;þ

 

You are exactly right. The only response I really can have is that having options is not a bad thing. Doubtful that we'll be seeing these optical drives mainstream in netbooks, for reasons you pointed out above. But having only 1 of these types of models available, for the sake of saying it's available, is something I welcome lol. I say the same too the one netbook with a GPU, the N10J, which I would actually have bought if it did not cost 700$+ and weighed 3.5 pounds. So in a sense, my ideal netbook is exactly what you described, which discouraged me from buying it. However, that's not to say that people won't find it attractive, even if there is a small or large amount of people, who want a GPU or a built-in DVD drive on a portable 10" screen, options are good imo. I'm certain there is atleast 1 person out there who wants a portable 10" laptop at all costs, but feels the only thing missing for them is a DVD drive. This should satisfy that person.

 

I'd be a lot more likely to buy one of these Atom based laptops if it had an optical drive-assuming the price was still $300-400.

 

This will be more than $400.

 

Why not just take advantage of the card reader? Would be much less invasive than a USB drive, but still just as convenient.

 

"...according to our U.S. ASUS spokesperson the newest model is not planned for arrival in America."

http://blog.laptopmag.com/asus-eee-...-not-planned-for-stateside-landing#more-13413

So it looks like it will not be available in the US.

 

Not saying it would happen, but a netbook with bluray, HDMI output, and a capable videocard for HD videos (e.g. 9400) would make a pretty slick media player

 

Lol i don't think we are seeing any blu ray enabled netbooks anytime soon.....(unless its from sony )

 

I doubt even a dual core atom would handle BR playback without the aid of a gpu that can hardware decode it.

Plus 1080p on a 600p screen doesnt make too much sense

 

yeah, but he has the right idea with the HDMI port to use it as a media player on the go. It would definitely need a DDR3 9300 or something for that but still i dont see Blu Ray anywhere here soon unless Sony makes it.

 

Asus N10 is what he needs. has dedicated gpu & hdmi.

 

Yeah thats true has the price dropped since its release though? I think we will be seeing another dedicated GPU netbook from Asus by year end.

 

EEE 1004DN not for US

 

We'll have to just wait and see. Asus reps are not always reliable when it comes to product release info

 

Sorry, but netbooks are a fad. They may have some more room to grow, but soon they'll level out then drop.

After that, the only way for them to grow is to add features/power. Once that happens, they're no longer netbooks!

UPDATE: In the mean time, netbooks are expected to grow from 14 million in '08, to 40 million this year! Maybe I should reconsider my "fad" statement?

source Laptop mag.