DailyTech - ASUS Sets U.S. Price Points for Eee PC 701 2G/4G Models

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Gadgets ASUS Sets U.S. Price Points for Eee PC 701 2G/4G Models
Chris Peredun - October 29, 2007 11:54 AM

25 comment(s) - last by nancy.. on Oct 31 at 10:07 AM

ASUS Eee PC 701 4G (Source: Notebook Review)

ASUS' original "$199 laptop" debuts at nearly $300 on Nov 1

One of the more anticipated pieces of technology to hit the market, the ASUS Eee PC, has been the subject of many articles on DailyTech and other news sites. With reviews and first impressions trickling in from various sites, the price point has finally appeared -- and it's a far cry from the initial hopes.

NotebookReview has managed to snag a slide from a presentation showing the U.S. price points for the Eee 2G Surf, 4G Surf, and 4G models. None of them are the original, much-touted $199; in fact, the price for the model originally flaunted by ASUS is no less than double that at $399.

In addition, the $399 unit will be the only one available for launch on this coming Thursday. The 8G model was not listed on the presentation, but judging by the existing prices, it would not be a surprise to see it debut at $499.

While many will clamor that the Eee is an ultra-portable machine and as such can't be compared to the latest budget 15.4" notebook from Dell, Gateway or HP, the average consumer may now see little reason to save only $100 by purchasing the Eee over a laptop with "far more power."

ASUS has already announced plans to debut a second-generation Eee in April 2008 sporting a Merom-based CPU and possibly fanless cooling. Hopefully the price can be reduced or the Eee may become yet another footnote in annals of computing history.