Computer maker ASUS on Thursday began quietly seeding online retailers with the Eee PC 2G Surf, the current lowest-cost version of its 7-inch ultraportable notebook. Both J&R and online-only reseller NewEgg are carrying the new version, which significantly reduces the price of the system by halving the onboard flash storage to 2GB and stripping out the webcam. In exchange, the system gains several pastel color choices for its outer shell, including Lush Green and Sky Blue.

In spite of the cost trimming, the device is as fast as before with 512MB of memory, a 900MHz Celeron processor, and ASUS' customized variant on Linux as its main operating system. Battery life is also rated at the same three hours using a four-cell pack, according to the company. Price is the main advantage of the system, which is in stock today for $300, or about $100 less than the 4G model.