Asustek announces plans for more Eee products: desktop PC, monitor, TV
Surely fuelled by the phenomenal success of the Eee PC, Asustek has announced that it is planning to launch an extended family of “Eee” products, including a desktop PC, PC and monitor in one, and a TV. Unsurprisingly, the products’ main selling point will be low cost.
The E-DT will be a desktop PC sold without a monitor, initially containing an Intel Celeron processor, with subsequent versions adopting Intel’s Shelton’08 platform with Diamondville processors and the 945GC chipset. It’s expected to launch in April or May this year, with an initial price estimate of between $200 and $300, but with hopes that it’ll soon be sub-$200.
Providing a low-cost alternative to the likes of the iMac the XPS One, the E-Monitor will be an all-in-one PC and display (probably 19 to 21-inch screen size) and will feature a built-in TV tuner. Also based on the Shelton’08 platform, it’s expected to retail for a decent $499, coming in September.
Finally, the E-TV is — yep — a TV. This 42-inch LCD TV will integrate the Linux operating system. Interestingly, it’s here that the low-cost phenomenon seems to break down a little, with DigiTimes reporting that “pricing is to be set to at no greater than US$200 more than TVs in the same class”. I can only speculate that there are a lot of big players in the highly competitive TV market, who continue to drive prices down incredibly low. It’s scheduled to launch in September.
It will be interesting to see whether the “Eee concept” can extend beyond the wonderful notebook computer. The desktop PC market could be difficult to excel in, and the LCD TV market is incredibly cut-throat. The budget all-in-one PC may have some appeal, though we’ll need to wait and see the full specifications on these new models.
The concept sounds good to start with, but perhaps Asustek should concentrate their efforts on new Eee PCs.
(Via DigiTimes)
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