First Look: Asus Eee Keyboard PC
Posted in This Just In... on August 20th, 2009 by gkrakow
In reality it’s the polar opposite of a tablet computer. The forthcoming Asus Eee Keyboard PC is an entirely new entity unto itself. And I got to see a very early prototype.
A tablet computer is all screen and has either a hidden or an on-screen keyboard (sometimes both). For some tasks a tablet is terrific but personally I sometimes find them difficult to type on.
The new Eee Keyboard computer is nearly all keyboard – and a nifty one at that. On the right-hand side is a 5-inch (diagonal) LCD touch screen. On the back are a bunch of connection ports (when necessary) and that’s about it. Nearly everything you need is built into the keyboard.
Inside, is a fully functioning Eee PC – with an Intel Atom processor – running Windows XP – with one GB of RAM and a 16GB solid-state hard drive.
There is Wi-fi (802.11 b/g/n), an HDMI video/audio port, a wireless HDMI ultra-wide band connection, a couple of USB (2.0) ports and a VGA out. Can’t wait to try the wireless HDMI.
The keyboard itself is a back lighted “Chiclet” affair and in my brief test proved to be absolutely terrific.
Although the screen is small it is quite usable for its intended purpose -controlling multimedia, browsing the Web from your couch, etc. I’m not sure I’d like to edit a word processing document on a screen that small but for just about everything else it seemed fine. For the record, the screen works both vertically (as in the photo – the long way) and horizontally (the wide way).
This is a real computer and needs to plug into the AC to work. But, there’s also a rechargeable battery inside that allows the new Eee to work like a netbook (which it is). Asus is thinking in terms of getting three hours or so from a battery charge.
The only thing left to tell you is when and how much. When is estimated in the fourth quarter of this year (although Asus usually comes in ahead of their schedule). Price: It’s estimated at $549. Asus may set the MSRP at $549 but expect to pay less for one shortly thereafter.
Can Asus repeat the success they’ve had with netbooks? We’ll know soon enough.
I plan to test a full production model as soon as they come off the assembly line.