Asus Prices the Eee PC Out Of Its Own Market

Asus singlehandedly created the budget mini-laptop market. And now, sadly, it would seem that they’ve priced themselves out of it. Laptop Mag finally got Asus to announce a prices of their new 8.9″ Asus Eee (901) and their 10.2″ Asus Eee (1000). And confirming long-standing rumours, the US$399 pricepoint is a distant dream.

Eee PC 901 (both Linux and Windows versions): US$599
Eee PC 1000 (both Linux and Windows versions): $699
Eee PC 1000H (Windows version only): US$649

Yes, the screen is bigger, but that hasn’t stopped MSI from pricing their Wind for US$100 to US$200 cheaper—depending on your OS—or Dell’s 8.9″ “E” that starts at just US$299. It looks like Asus is taking their strong Eee branding out for a test drive. The problem is that the original Eee was a smart, frugal machine. It’s not meant to be a premium brand.

To be fair, the 1000 price is not completely solidified. But it’s hard to believe that it will be cheaper than its US$600 9″ little brother. [laptopmag]