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As we expected, the Eee PC 1002HA has begun showing up with US based retailers.  The 1002HA appears to be replacing the now fast dwindling 1000H and is retailing for around $500.  Of course, as of now, these listings are simply for pre-order but they are expected to begin shipping shortly. 

The Eee PC 1002HA offers the nice brushed metal design that is found on the S101 and as for features it has a 10-inch display, 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n.  Based on the specification listing it seems the one item that is lacking is built-in Bluetooth.  Otherwise, another potential drawback is that it is shipping with a small 2-cell battery.  If you are looking for something with similar specs and a larger battery, you can always check out the 1000HA, that model is available for around $430 and ships with a 6-cell battery.

Product [ZipZoomFly]  Product [Buy.com]  Product [Amazon]

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We first saw details on the Eee PC 1002HA back in late-October.  Asus has recently shown the netbook off at a media event and with that comes a nice image. 

Feature wise, this model is nothing to get overly excited by.  Most of the features are the same as we have come to see as “normal” for a netbook.  To begin with, the Eee PC 1002HA will have a 10-inch display, as well as an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.1n and it will be running Windows XP.  Otherwise, the 1002HA will also have a few available options for storage including both SSD and standard hard drives.

Moving on from the specs, the exterior casing is what makes this particular model stand out.  The exterior is sporting a pretty nice looking brushed metal.  It was also noted as being “a sturdy, upscale-looking chassis.“  In addition to the brushed metal on the exterior, the wrist rest also includes the brushed metal.

As for pricing and availability, the Eee PC 1000HA is expected to begin shipping in early-December and start at $499 and go up depending on configuration.

Read [CNET]

• Asus Eee PC 1002HA now available with US retailers
• Micro Center’s Black Friday 2008 weekend sales
• 10-inch Acer Aspire One on track for Q1 2009 release

The Eee PC has been the most popular net book since it started selling, namely because it was the first, but also because it is damn good at what it does. However a few people have some qualms with it, mainly about the fairly low storage that it offers: 12GB.  I know I could easily fill that in a day and obviously the people at the Japanese company GreenHouse agree with me as they have released some Eee PC hard drive upgrades.
You can now replace your measly 12GB SSD with either the 32GB or 64GB modules which will over quintuple your storage, making the Eee PC a much more attractive option.  The specifications aren’t awful (considering that it is for the Eee PC) with 35MB/s and 15MB/s, but comparing that to a desktop internal hard drive it is poor and even for a laptop it is slow.  What’s it cost to upgrade that Eee?  Keep reading.

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With recent rumors that an updated MSI Wind will be coming soon, this price cut is not much of a surprise, but it is still welcomed.  Best Buy, which has just recently began selling the MSI Wind netbook, originally had it selling for $399.  Now it is just $349.99, which means another reason to grab a Wind, that is if you were considering a netbook purchase. 

This price cut may have me reconsidering the Eee PC 1000h I was about to hit the checkout button for.  Sadly, the one drawback is the fact that it is currently listed as backordered, but if you can handle waiting a bit, this looks to be a great price.

The MSI Wind that you will find at Best Buy is running Windows XP and features a 10-inch display, 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, 120GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM.  Additionally, it sports three USB ports, and Ethernet port, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, a built-in card reader and a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam.  You know, the typical netbook specs.

Product [Best Buy]  Via [OhGizmo!]

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Asus set a target of 5 million units of its Eee PC netbook to be sold this year, which they appear to be reaching.  The only problem is that shipments of the Acer Aspire One are creeping towards its ambitious target of 6 million sales, 20% more than the Eee PC.

The title of “best selling netbook” is one that Asus will be incredibly reluctant to give up as it was mainly them who came up with the netbook idea, and it has been through them that the craze has spread.  However the numbers do not lie, Asus only shipped 1.7 million in the third quarter while Acer managed 2.4 million, and advantage they intend to continue into the fourth quarter with predicted sales to exceed this quarter.

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Looking to get an Eee PC for less than an iPod?  Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?  Well, in its quarterly investors earnings call, Asustek announced a great number of things, including the fact that the baseline Eee PCs will be lowered to $200 by the end of 2009.  It seems 1.7 million Eee PCs were shipped last quarter, and Asus is expecting 1.8 million to be shipped this coming quarter.  There is some bad news for some, though.

Along with the price announcement, Asus announced that the 7” and 8.9” models will soon be phased out in favor of the 10-inch models.  That’s somewhat sad to me at least.  The 8.9” is the perfect size I think, especially if the screens on the 8.9” and 10” are the same resolution.

More after the break.

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Asus has added yet another model into the ever growing lineup, this time it is the Eee PC 1002HA.  Basically, the 1002HA seems to marry some of the S101 styling with the features found in the Eee PC 1000 series.

The 1002HA will feature a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive.  A big drawback of the 1002HA comes in part to the battery, which is a lowly 2-cell model, as opposed to the large 6-cell that is available in many of the 1000 series models.  Keep reading for more details on the 872nd Eee PC.

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This is where we call out by names the actions and companies that seem odd, out of touch or just plain straight up smokin’ crack.  Technology is an odd realm where PR speak doesn’t hold a lot of water if the 1s and 0s don’t line up.  This week sees posturing, positioning and flat out insanity.  Here is what caught my eye this week:

Check out my mockery of:

• Cell phone carriers
• Dell
• Asus
• Motorola (yet again)
• the gaming industry

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The luxury styled Asus Eee PC S101 is confirmed to arrive in the US market beginning on November 1.  But if you ask me, that is where the good news stops thanks to the price: a whopping $699.  So much for the S101 continuing on the recent path of affordable netbooks.  Overall it is not a horrible model spec wise, and to be fair on the price there are others that complete at that level such as the higher end Mini-Note 2133 which retails in the ballpark of $750.

Learn more about the S101, click the link to follow

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Despite any feelings that you may have regarding netbooks, it is hard to argue against their popularity.  And if there is any doubt as to how popular they really are, you may want to ask Asus.  The whole netbook revolution is just barely one year old, and Asus CEO Jerry Shen has just given up some details on the sales figures for the Eee PC.

It turns out that they have already sold nearly four million Eee PCs, and have plans to reach the five million mark by the end of 2008.  Given the lower pricing that we have been seeing lately, coupled with the never ending lineup of new models, it seems only safe to believe they will reach that goal of five million.  Of course, that belief is coming from a regular netbook user.  I cannot help but wonder how many of those four million sales came from buyers (like myself) who started with an Eee PC 701 and moved on to other models in the Eee PC lineup as they were introduced.  Continue reading after the break.

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