There’s also a fashionable Asus Eee PC netbook to look forward to this year. Asus and designer Karim Rashid came up with a new Asus Eee PC Seashell that reflects Karim’s vision of computing – one that is more human, sensual, and hip. It features fluid waves, an ergonomic chiclet keyboard that’s soft to the touch, a frameless 10.1″ LED backlit display, and the new power-saving Intel Atom N450 CPU together with Asus’s exclusive Super Hybrid engine energy management technology. A single charge will deliver up to six hours of battery life. The Karim Rashid Eee PC Seashell also has Express Gate, an ancillary OS that boots up in seconds to give you near access to the Internet. Will be available in Hot Pink and Coffee Brown.

Multitasking gamers might want to look out for the hot new gaming notebook from Asus – the ROG G73Jh. This mean machine is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor, has DirectX 11 capable ATI Radeon HD5870 graphics, up to 8GB of DDR3 system memory, 8-channel HD audio with EAX 4.0 compatibility, and 1TB of storage space for gaming and other tasks. No word on the availability and pricing of the ASUS ROG G73Jh, but stay tuned for more announcements.

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There’s a new Asus EeeBox out and if you thought the older models were awesome, you’ll want to trade in your bulky CPU towers for this compact device. Despite its size, the Asus EeeBox EB1501 is a powerful machine designed to be the next big thing in home entertainment. It’s got 2GB RAM, a 250 GB HD, a dual-core Atom N330 processor, and Nvidia Ion graphics that enables you to enjoy movies and TV shows in high definition. Just plug the Box into your LCD monitorand sit back to enjoy a Full HD 1080p home experience with 5.1 channel surround sound. Aside from these features, the Asus EeeBox EB1501 has an optical drive, DVD-RW, 802.11n WiFi, 4 USB 2.0 ports (for your monitor and speakers), and an SD reader.

And even if you spend the whole evening marathoning How I Met Your Mother or some other equally awesome TV show, you won’t have to worry about how much power your machine is eating up. The Asus Eeebox EB1501 has an energy efficient Intel Atom processor and Super Hybrid Engine that allows you to save up to 70% as compared to usual PCs.

No word on availability and pricing in the Philippines, but the Asus Eeebox EB1501 should cost around $580 in the US. It’s too bad I just got a new PC last year; if I needed an upgrade, I would definitely get this Box.

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Those of you who’ve been hoping for new netbooks from Asus and Acer, it looks like you’ll have to wait til next year. According to Digitimes, the two manufacturers won’t be releasing new netbooks until 2010, and will instead focus on producing ultra-thin notebooks. Well, apparently Asus has the touchscreen-based Eee Pc T91 and T101 and an Android-based netbook scheduled for release during the end of the year. The T101 will be unveiled after Windows 7 is launched, and the Android-based netbook should be in markets after October. Meanwhile, Acer will be focusing less on netbooks though it will still let the new 10-inch Acer Aspire One carry the manufacturer’s netbook line.

As for the ultra-thin notebooks, Asus has 12, 13.3, 14, and 15-inch models planned for release around August. Acer currently has 13.3, 14.1, and 15.6 inch netbooks and will be launching newer models with discrete graphic cards and optical drives.

I don’t know about you but between a small, compact netbook and a slightly bigger, but ultra-thin and more capable notebook, I’d go for the notebook.

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Ever since the first ASUS EEE PC came out, netbooks have gotten bigger and lost the one trait that made them attractive in the first place: size. Why go for a 12-inch netbook when you can just get a more powerful laptop? The new Asus EEE Seashell, however, reminds me of the convenience and ease of use a netbook is supposed to provide. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a demo unit when I went to New York on vacation, and this is my review.

Design and Feel

For P23,000 (suggested retail price), you definitely get what you pay for. At 2.4 pounds and just an inch thick at the thickest point, the Asus Eee PC Seashell was incredibly satisfying to carry around. It’s thin enough for me to slip into a large purse, but not too thin to make me worry that it might break into two under more powerful hands. The sides of the Seashell stay sleek because tethered rubber stoppers hide two USB ports, Ethernet ports, and a socket for the headphone, mic, and mini VGA. I like that each of the USB ports were located on both sides of the machine, avoiding the annoying, “I can’t use my second USB device because my other USB device is in the way” issue.

I wasn’t too crazy about the glossy finish of the black demo unit because the fingerprint smudges drove me nuts, but its tapered edges and beveled-keyed keyboard felt like those of a first-class machine. The keyboard, in particular, was a delight to use. I remember how I kept making so many typos on the first generation Eee because the keys were too small and too close together. The keys on the Seashell had just enough distance from each other to avoid typos, and I liked how the keys had a satisfying click every time you pressed on one. There’s also a button on the upper left hand corner that controls the WiFi and Bluetooth, while a separate button turns the trackpad off. The trackpad itself was a little strange; instead of a smooth surface, the trackpad has a dotted texture that takes a while to get used to. Other than the odd sensation, the trackpad is fairly accurate and no trouble to use.

Performance

The insides of the Seashell pretty much resembles that of most netbooks. It runs on XP (thank God for that – I didn’t have enough time to figure out how to use a Linux machine), has an Aton N280 processor, 160GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM (which you can upgrade to 2GB), DHC port, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1. The Seashell’s real selling point, however, is its battery life. Asus claims that the its integrated lithium polymer battery has a 6-hour running time, but I only got around three hours and a half. How do I know this? I loaded two movies onto the Seashell’s hard drive – one was an hour and a half long, the other was two hours. I saw both movies on the plane and the Seashell was gasping for power by the time the credits were rolling on the second movie. Still, three and a half hours isn’t bad for a netbook; at least the battery is really light and doesn’t add any unwanted weight on your bag.

Problems

I did, however, encounter a serious problem that made it impossible for me to use the Seashell for the rest of my trip and pretty much defeated the purpose of a netbook. The WiFi refused to recognize any available networks, even if the router was right in front of me. At first I thought I was just being stupid and forgot to turn the WiFi on but according to the Asus forums, the Seashell is notorious for its WiFi woes. For those of you who experience problems connecting to WiFi on your Seashell, this advice from the forums might be able to help:

Right click on the Wireless icon in the system tray.
Left click on Open Network Connections
Right click on Wireless Network connection
Left click on properties.
On the window that opens it says connect using..and shows your wireless card with a button that says configure next to it. Press configure. On the window that opens is a tab called advanced. Down arrow to power save mode and set the pulldown to maximum. Click OK and reboot. Connect using encryption and let us know if you stay connected.

I wish I could tell you for sure if the procedure above worked, but I was too lazy to troubleshoot the Seashell myself.

Conclusion

The Asus Eee Seashell is a very tempting buy because of its sleek and beautiful form, but what might deter others from buying it is that it’s not beautiful enough to make it worth paying extra. The Seashell costs a couple more thousand pesos than its similar-performing though slightly chunky counterparts and though its compactness makes it a dream to carry around, I wouldn’t mind carrying something a little heavier if it means spending less. Then again, you can always wait for the price to drop, which I’m sure it will in a couple of months.

Asus took the design of the calming beauty of the ocean side and combined it to create the most stylishly functional EEE PC to date. The new seashell-pink EEE PC Seashell is an ultra-compact, portable companion that anyone can use to surf the Internet, update their blog, or stay in touch with family and friends. With an ergonomically designed keyboard, an ample 10 inch display, an intelligent energy management system, and a multi-touch touchpad, the EEE PC Seashell only has the best mobile computing experience to users, wherever in the world they may end up.

Not only is the EEE PC Seashell easy to use – it’s also a head-turning gadget. It’s enveloped in an opalescent glossy exterior that serves as a protective shell against scratches gathered from daily use. The lid is also graced with tiny reflective specks that glisten in the light, much like sand glistens in the afternoon sun.

Other features include 6 hours of battery life with a single charge, a Super Hybrid Engine that deploys only as much power as needed, a multi-touch track-pad, a 2.5-inch SATA II 160GB hard drive, as well as 10GB of online EEE storage so you can access files wherever you are.

Available for a SRP of P25,000.

I don’t exactly go crazy over the latest shiny new toy produced by Apple, but it sure is interesting to follow how other manufacturers take what Apple has done and make it better. Apparently, Asus is going to come out with a super-think netbook with Macbook Air-skinny proportions. The S1008HA or the Shell is a mere one inch thick with an Intel Atom processor, a 10-inch LED backlit display, and a whole host of impressive specs like a 1 GB ram, 160GB hard drive, WiFi, and Bluetooth.

Just like its sibling, the S101, the S1008HA is bound to be just as aesthetically pleasing but easier to carry around. It is said to have a longer battery life too!

The ultra-skiny Asus EEE will cost £359 or $523. Cheaper than a Macbook Air, yeah?

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Check out this youtube video of the Asus Eee PC

The Asus Eee PC comes in new incoming exciting color schemes: Pure White, Lush Green, Sky Blue, Blush Pink, Galaxy Black by Nov. 29, 2007

How to order/purchase your Asus Eee PC in the Philippines

In the Philippines, you can buy the Asus Eee PC in Greenhills GHZ Computer Products, Virramall Shopping Center. Tel Number 727-7842

Aside from GHZ Computer Products, you can buy an Asus Eee PC starting at a 15,999 pesos at the PC Corner (Click here to order Asus Eee PC) or send an SMS for faster communication to +639178531888

Complete Specifications of the Asus Eee PC are:

basics:
EeePC 701 = *easy* concepts: *Easy to learn, Easy to play and Easy to work.*

Subnotebook (white) —

operating system:
Linux-based, Xandros, Microsoft® Windows® XP compatible

cheapest model:
cheapest model starts from PhP 15,999.00 … Eee PC 2G Surf . . .7in. / 256Mb Memory / 2Gb SSD / 4-cell 4400mAH / .92Kgs.

colors:
Pure White, Lush Green, Sky Blue, Blush Pink, or Galaxy Black.

configurations: (sorted thru screen size / processor)
all 7in. / Cel-M:
Intel® Celeron® M (256Mb) / 02Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 15,999.00
Intel® Celeron® M (512Mb) / 02Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 16,999.00
Intel® Celeron® M (512Mb) / 04Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 17,999.00
(currently available in Pure White, introductory price)
Intel® Celeron® M (1.0Gb) / 04Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 19,999.00
(currently available in Pure White, introductory price)
Intel® Celeron® M (1.0Gb) / 04Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 20,999.00
(currently available in Bush Green, Sky Blue, Blush Pink, or Galaxy Black . . .all yummy color prices, just arrived !!!!!)

all 7in. / P-M:
Intel® Pentium® M (512Mb) / 04Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 21,999.00
Intel® Pentium® M (512Mb) / 08Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 23,999.00
Intel® Pentium® M (1.0Gb) / 08Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 24,999.00
Intel® Pentium® M (512Mb) / 16Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 24,999.00
Intel® Pentium® M (1.0Gb) / 16Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 25,999.00

all 10in. / P-M:
Intel® Pentium® M (1.0Gb) / 08Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 27,999.00
Intel® Pentium® M (1.0Gb) / 16Gb Media Flash Drive ———> PhP 29,999.00