Super-slim Asus Eee PC "Shell" unveiled

ASUS has used CeBIT Hanover to unveil its slick new luxury netbook, codenamed "Shell" and officially named EeePC 1008HA (why do companies drop those cool codenames in favour of much more boring names...?)












The product comes with brand new branding. Rather than the old acronym for Eee, “Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play” the company has gone with “Easy, excellent, exciting.”

The company’s rebranding and redesign shows the change in direction for the company, whose rise to fame was on the back of the original Eee PC -- a simple, cheap, seven-inch screen notebook.

Even though the company previously claimed it would not be doing away with its tiny devices, the company is now planning to abandon its smallest laptops in an attempt to concentrate on its 8.9 and 10-inch netbooks.

"It seems that customers prefer to have a greater screen, which also means a larger keyboard," ASUS CEO Jonney Shih said at a CeBIT press conference. "I still believe we have a good opportunity in 8.9-inch for kids, telecoms or emerging markets. The seven-inch [netbook] is going to be phased out, although some emerging countries may still have some demand."

It's the Eee PC 1008HA, though, that has managed to attract the majority of attention from tech enthusiasts. The motto for the new device, the 1008HA is "When pearlescent beauty meets versatility."

Blogs are abuzz with information, but there are still a lot of missing details. Though aesthetics have been described in detail, little is known in regards to the components of the new netbook.

The netbooks are slightly curved with a hard, glossy finish. The netbook cover opens to display an almost full-sized keyboard, 92%, which is much closer than most companies have come, and equivalent to the HP Mini notebooks which attracted much positive comment for their design. The 1008HA PC weighs roughly a kilogram.

The 1008HA boasts a 10-inch edge to edge display, and has a multi-touch touchpad, WiMax and 3G capabilities.

ASUS is keeping quiet in regards to both availability and price, however many blogs are estimating the cost at around 600 euros ($1766), which, if true, shows that although it sports a netbook form factor, the pricing is closer to a full-sized notebook.

Of the other PCs displayed by the company there was a “keyboard PC” which was a portable keyboard which ASUS claims has the same functionality as a desktop PC. It has a small monitor built in, backlit keys, and connectors for external monitors or HDTVs. Engadget claims it will have "16GB SSD, 1GB of RAM, WiFi and Bluetooth modules, VGA / HDMI ouputs and a few USB 2.0 ports."



_{Credit: Mobilecomputermag.co.uk}

There was also a distinctly less interesting Eee PC T91 which is a 1" thick tablet PC that has an 8.9 inch screen and software designed specifically for its touch interface. If Microsoft couldn't make tablet PCs fly, we're sceptical that ASUS will be able to, but we'll have to see!



With the economy failing and the PC market shifting, this move might be a great one on ASUS’s part, delivering a line of PCs that are both small, affordable and more realistic as far as use is concerned.