Asus

Laptop battery shortage should be over by Q3

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:14:23 -0400

Last month, we reported on a laptop battery shortage, caused by a fire at a South Korean chemical plant owned by LG, the manufacturer of batteries for companies like Dell, HP and Asus. Well, it looks like LG is ramping up production of the batteries again and any shortages should be over by Q3 of this year. Though you might not have felt the shortage yourself, OEMs certainly have: Asus reports that it could have produced far more Eee PC units, had there been a more plentiful supply of batteries. "I think maybe the battery shortage may hurt every brand," Acer's chairman J.T. Wang said at the company's investor conference two weeks ago.

For more on the shortage:
- see this PC World article

Eee PC: Mossy hates it, touchscreen soon

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:59:53 -0500

With all the fawning praise that we've been hearing for Asus' Eee PC, it's kind of refreshing to finally hear a voice of dissent. And leave it to Walt Mossberg to tear into something that he doesn't like. In his in-depth review of the Eee PC, Mossberg gets down on the Eee's cramped keyboard, small display and limited Linux OS. Ultimately, he concludes that the tiny PC "is likely to prove unsatisfying for many road warriors."

Be that as it may, it's not going to stop Asus from pumping out more Eees. We've already heard about the WiMAX Eee and the Eee with the larger display but a touchscreen Eee? Apparently it's on the way, if you believe the Digitimes' sources. "The second-generation of Eee PCs will support panel sizes of 8-, 9- and 10-inch, the sources said, of which, the 9-inch panel versions will feature a touch panel." Allegedly, the touchscreen would only add $15 to the manufacturing price of the Eee, though it remains to be seen how much this will add to the final price of the unit.

For more on the Eee PC:
- watch Walt Mossberg's video review (via All Things D)
- and this Digitimes story

Asus launching M930 smartphone

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Well, well, well, what do we have here? Looks like a Windows Mobile 6 smartphone from Asus, exactly like we've been expecting. Behold, the Asus M930! On the outside, it looks like a regular old candybar phone with a QVGA display and numeric keypad. Fold it open, however and you'll find a larger display (400 x 240) and a full QWERTY keyboard. Onboard you'll find 256MB of storage, 64MB of RAM, a microSD expansion slot, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi and a 2-megapixel camera. While no details on pricing/launch date are yet available, the phone is expected to make its debut at the CeBIT show in March.

Given that we recently saw a WiMAX Eee PC from Asus, this could mark the entrance of yet another Taiwanese manufacturer to the mobile handset scene. And why wouldn't Asus want a piece of the market, especially considering how well their countrymen over at HTC have done during the last year? While I wouldn't necessarily expect to see this handset in the States, I wouldn't be surprised to see devices from Asus make their way to our shores in the future--especially once WiMAX becomes available.

For more on the new device:
- see this Engadget article

Asus plans to sell 3.8M Eee PCs in 2008

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:59:54 -0500

You can't say that they're not tenacious: Asus, maker of the runaway hit Eee PC, plans to sell 3.8 million of the tiny laptops in 2008. That's quite an ambitious number for a single model of PC and Asus will have to have to shake things up a bit to keep the Eeexcitement high in 2008. Looks like they're planning on it: the latest rumors suggest that Asus is in talks with Microsoft to bring a "stripped-down version" of Windows XP to the tiny notebook next year. Apparently, the Windows version of the Eee would be aimed at emerging markets--no word yet on whether or not it would be sold in North America, though it seems likely that it would be. While specific pricing information isn't yet available either, an Asus employee "close to the project" told DailyTech that the Windows Eee "will carry a premium somewhere between $30 and $60 over the base cost of the system."

For more on the Eee PC:
- see this DailyTech article

ALSO NOTED: Firefox: over 125 million served; IBM sues over flammable laptop batteries;

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:59:51 -0500

> IBM sues over counterfeit, flammable laptop batteries. Article
> 8GB Asus Eee PC gets spec'd, priced, is now available. Article
> Tiny PC is dirt and waterproof. Article
> This holiday, give the gift of iPod repair. Article
> Samsung announces the world's fastest memory...again. Article
> AMD CEO Hector Ruiz claims that Intel "copied everything from AMD." Article
> Firefox: over 125 million served. Article

And Finally... Re-purpose an old CRT monitor as a cat bed. Seriously. Article

Asus Nova is an orange to Apple's Mini

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Sure, Asus might be best known for its portable machines (Eee PC anyone?) but that doesn't mean that the Taiwanese company can't also cook up a desktop PC from time to time. Behold: the Asus Nova P22. Inside this Mac Mini-sized package (it sits at just two inches tall) you'll find a 1.86Ghz Core 2 Duo, 1GB of RAM, 160GB of storage, a slot-loading optical drive, Windows Vista and a bunch of media center features (as evidenced by that remote). Unfortunately it's only available in Taiwan at the moment and considering the price tag (just over $1000 USD) you probably wouldn't want it anyway. Still, if Asus could somehow launch a similar machine over here for around half the price it could be a real contender, especially for folks looking for a purty media center PC to stack on top of that Wii.

For more on the Nova P22:
- see this Electronista article

California school district orders Eee PCs

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:59:53 -0500

Still not convinced that Asus' low-priced Eee PC is a direct competitor of the OLPC project's XO laptop? Check this out: Fresno California's Unified school district has ordered 1000 Eee PCs--that's $650,000 worth--which will be distributed to students in 60 different classrooms. No, it's not quite one laptop per child--these rugrats will have to share their laptops with other kids--but it's still something. The idea is that kids will be able to use the machines to maintain a sort of online portfolio of their various projects while also using them to supplement textbooks in the classroom. Apparently, the school district spent a year looking for a laptop that wouldn't take up too much room on a student's desk before stumbling upon the 7" Eee PC. Bullard High School student Chris Mitchell was quoted as saying "This is cool." We're inclined to agree.

For more on the deployment:
- see this article from the Fresno Bee

Eee PC vs. the OLPC XO

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:59:53 -0500

Though they might be different machines with different target audiences, you can't blame folks for wanting to compare the OLPC project's XO and Asus' Eee PC. After all, they're both small, minimalist laptops that essentially retail in the States for $400 (though the XO's actual value is only half of that). So let's just get this over with: which machine reigns supreme? Laptop Magazine put both notebooks to the test and in their opinion, a clear winner emerged. Though the XO scored well for its design, durability and innovative approach to WiFi connectivity, it ultimately couldn't compete with the Eee PC's UI, bundled applications and performance. "Barring its unique form factor and mesh networking features, we wonder if the XO couldn't have been better served by an operating system and programs more akin to the Eee PC 701," Laptop writes.

For more on the two tiny laptops:
- see this article from Laptop Magazine

ALSO NOTED: Is it possible to secure your organization's laptops?; Does the Asus Eee PC violate the GPL?;

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:59:51 -0500

> Does the Asus Eee PC violate the GPL? Article
> Verizon's LG Venus gets reviewed. Review
> T-Mobile unlocks iPhone in Germany via iTunes. Article
> Home for the holidays? Not if you work in IT. Article
> Nokia's N810 Internet tablet gets unboxed. Article
> Is it possible to secure your organization's laptops? Article

And Finally... The evolution of Windows and Mac OS, side-by-side. Chart

Intel readying 45nm CPU for low-cost PCs?

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Whether in the Chinese market or on the shelves of the local Wal-Mart, it's clear that low-cost PCs are a hit. And if the latest rumors out of Intel HQ offer any indication, the 8000 pound gorilla of the chipmaking world might be readying a 45nm CPU specifically for the low-cost segment of the desktop market. According to Reg Hardware, Intel's forthcoming "Diamondville" chipset will be based on the company's 45nm technology, will run so cool that it won't require a fan and will sport a small price tag. What's more, Reg Hardware suggests that Diamondville, coupled with Intel's forthcoming Shelton chipset and 2-4GB of flash, could be the basis for Asus' just-announced Eee PC desktop. According to the rumors, Diamondville will show up in 2008, so we'll probably be hearing something official shortly.

For more on the rumors:
- see this article from Reg Hardware