DailyTech - ASUS Debuts EeeBox EB1501 with DVD Drive

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Blog: Gadgets ASUS Debuts EeeBox EB1501 with DVD Drive
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - October 2, 2009 1:37 PM

14 comment(s) - last by Cullinaire.. on Oct 9 at 3:59 AM

Asus EeeBox EB1501 Nettop (Source: Gizmodo)

EB1501 is the first EeeBox with an integrated optical drive

There are a few things that most nettops and netbooks have in common. The all tend to use the same processors and they very rarely have an optical drive. The lack of an optical drive is one of the chief complaints against most netbooks and nettops.

ASUS has unveiled its latest nettop called the EeeBox EB1501. The device is the first EeeBox to offer an integrated optical drive. That little feature will certainly give the EB1012 a leg up on its nettop brethren and make for a great HTPC machine that can also play DVD films.

Other than the optical drive, the specs of the little machine are pretty much standard. The device has a dual-core Intel Atom N330 CPU, 2GB of RAM with expansion to 4GB, 250GB of storage and graphics via NVIDIA Ion. Connectivity features include 802.11n, gigabit Ethernet, four USB ports, SD card slot, and eSATA for external storage.

The little device even has S/PDIF optical out for 5.1 surround sound. Pricing and availability in the U.S. is unknown at this point, but it is set to hit Europe on October 22 at about $580.

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expected to be $580

By mattclary on 10/2/2009 8:08:45 PM , Rating: 5

That seems a little steep to me.

RE: expected to be $580

By oab on 10/2/2009 10:04:10 PM , Rating: 2

You can buy a full-sized, full-powered laptop for that (in Canadian Dollars), or an even more full-powered desktop.

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RE: expected to be $580

By corduroygt on 10/5/2009 6:19:54 PM , Rating: 2

Especially compared to WDTV + external hdd and/or blu-ray drive.

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RE: expected to be $580

By omnicronx on 10/5/2009 6:35:15 PM , Rating: 2

Its so small and sexy though, just look how small the optical drive would have to be, components that small don't come cheap, and cannot really be compared to full sized desktop parts.

As for htpc's, they do not come cheap either, I paid 250 dollars for my case. Anesthetics rarely come cheap, and when you want your htpc to fit in with your home theatre system without looking out of place, you have to pay for it..

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RE: expected to be $580

By corduroygt on 10/6/2009 2:05:37 PM , Rating: 3

$580 weaksauce atom DVD HTPC vs. $299 PS3 slim with blu-ray playback...seems like a pretty easy choice unless you want to use this to run MS Office, in which case a $580 laptop would serve you far better.

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RE: expected to be $580

By Cullinaire on 10/9/2009 3:59:04 AM , Rating: 3

This is true. Anesthesiologists make buku bucks and something's gotta pay for that.

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RE: expected to be $580

By Zingam on 10/6/2009 11:45:25 AM , Rating: 2

Crazy!!! :D

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*standing ovation*

By therealnickdanger on 10/2/2009 1:55:33 PM , Rating: 2

Great job, ASUS! Very, very nice. The only thing that would make it better (and more expensive) would be a Blu-Ray drive.

RE: *standing ovation*

By therealnickdanger on 10/2/2009 1:57:33 PM , Rating: 5

This article doesn't mention it, but this little bugger also has an HDMI port - essential for HTPC.

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RE: *standing ovation*

By amanojaku on 10/2/09, Rating: -1

RE: *standing ovation*

By omnicronx on 10/5/2009 6:36:39 PM , Rating: 2

I just wonder about the audio via hdmi..

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RE: *standing ovation*

By therealnickdanger on 10/6/2009 11:51:24 AM , Rating: 2

IIRC, the NVIDIA 9400 (Ion) is capable of sending 8ch LPCM over HDMI, but I don't think it can bitstream DTS-HD-MA or TrueHD... So far, the only graphics cards that can perfectly transmit all HD video and audio sources over HDMI are the new ATI 5870 and 5850.

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Launching in 5, 4, 3...

By Sulphademus on 10/5/2009 4:41:48 PM , Rating: 2

With a launch date of Oct 22, are we to assume this will be coming with Windows 7 by default?

Nice Drive

By mauritsjkn on 10/6/09, Rating: 0

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