$199 Asus Eee PC to ship in September

Asus has confirmed that its tiny, almost unbelievably cheap Eee PC is all set for a U.S. release in September. Despite the rumors to the contrary, it looks like we'll be getting the $199 model after all, along with three slightly more expensive models that top off at $369. According to Asus, all four versions of the sub-notebook should be on shelves next month, with the company planning to ship 500,000 units by the year's end. What's that, you forgot what $199 will buy you? Don't worry, we've got you covered:

• 7" LCD Display
• 900MHz Celeron-M ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) 353
• Intel 910 Chipset
• 512MB DDR2-400 RAM
• 4, 8, or 16GB solid-state storage
• ASUS-customized, Xandros-derived Linux OS
• Dimensions: 225x165x21-35mm
• Weight: ~2 lbs
• Colors: White, Black

Last but not least, if that "Eee PC" name has been bugging you, we've finally got an explanation: turns out, the three Es stand for "Easy to learn", "Excellent Internet", and "Excellent mobile computing experience." Fair enough.

For more on the Eee PC:
- see this Ars Technica article