From our front-page news:
ASUS announced yesterday that their all-in-one "Eee Top" PCs are now available, and you can order one from a multitude of e-tailers for $600. I'm not quite sure what to think of the Eee Top yet, but we have one here and I'll be posting an article for it within the next week. It's an interesting concept though, and from what we saw at CES, it has some definite potential.
Some say that the $600 price tag is a little high, but I'm not so sure I agree. For the most part, it has similar features as an Eee PC netbook, but those cost between $300 - $400 as it is already. What the Eee Top's higher price gets you is an all-in-one PC with a 15.4" touch-screen LCD, and also a mouse and a keyboard. The unit isn't too bad to look at, either, so I actually find the price to be pretty reasonable - at least at first glance.
I do have two complaints off-hand though. The first is that since this is a desktop PC, it should include Intel's Dual-Core Atom variant, not the single-core model that most of the netbooks are currently using. This might have been harder to pull off than I realize though, I'm not sure. Maybe things had to be kept strict to keep it within the $600 price tag, but it sure would have been nice to see. The second is the lack of an ODD, but given this is essentially a netbook in a desktop, it's not much of a surprise that it's missing.
I'll be giving the Eee Top a good test this week, so stay tuned for the full review.
ASUS, the award-winning innovator of the Eee series products, today announces immediate availability of the Eee Top ET1602 touch-based computer. Designed as an intuitive Internet device and central communication hub, the Eee Top integrates a 15.6" touch screen, an Intel Atom based system, and an easy to use graphic interface making today's computer a transparent, user-friendly experience for the entire household. Available now through ASUS North American authorized dealers, the Eee Top 1602’s introductory MSRP is $599 USD. A companion external DVD drive is also available at an introductory MRSP of $64 USD.
Source: ASUS Press Release
Some say that the $600 price tag is a little high, but I'm not so sure I agree. For the most part, it has similar features as an Eee PC netbook, but those cost between $300 - $400 as it is already. What the Eee Top's higher price gets you is an all-in-one PC with a 15.4" touch-screen LCD, and also a mouse and a keyboard. The unit isn't too bad to look at, either, so I actually find the price to be pretty reasonable - at least at first glance.
I do have two complaints off-hand though. The first is that since this is a desktop PC, it should include Intel's Dual-Core Atom variant, not the single-core model that most of the netbooks are currently using. This might have been harder to pull off than I realize though, I'm not sure. Maybe things had to be kept strict to keep it within the $600 price tag, but it sure would have been nice to see. The second is the lack of an ODD, but given this is essentially a netbook in a desktop, it's not much of a surprise that it's missing.
I'll be giving the Eee Top a good test this week, so stay tuned for the full review.
ASUS, the award-winning innovator of the Eee series products, today announces immediate availability of the Eee Top ET1602 touch-based computer. Designed as an intuitive Internet device and central communication hub, the Eee Top integrates a 15.6" touch screen, an Intel Atom based system, and an easy to use graphic interface making today's computer a transparent, user-friendly experience for the entire household. Available now through ASUS North American authorized dealers, the Eee Top 1602’s introductory MSRP is $599 USD. A companion external DVD drive is also available at an introductory MRSP of $64 USD.
Source: ASUS Press Release