ASUS dropping Eee PC 900 orders, waiting for Atom?

ASUS has already stopped accepting orders from resellers for the Eee PC 900 while it gears up for its Atom-based sequel, industry insiders reportedly say. Although just introduced as recently as mid-May for the US, the 900 is already being phased out in favor of the Eee PC 901 and its anticipated June 3rd launch date. The alleged swap effectively confirms early reports that the 900 is a stopgap model meant to introduce the 8.9-inch notebook's features ahead of rivals while temporarily using the older Celeron M processor.

Aside from the switch to a faster, more efficient Atom chip and the addition of Bluetooth, the Eee PC 901 is still said to be close in features to the 900 with 1GB of memory, either 12GB (for Windows) or 20GB (for Linux) of internal flash storage, and a 1.3-megapixel webcam. A specific American ship date is unavailable, though pricing should be under $650.

Filed under: computers
Other story tags: Intel, Linux, ASUS, Atom, Eee PC, Celeron