Can someone explain to me Asus’ marketing strategy for the Eee PCs? Increasingly, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the way Asus is releasing Eee PC models. Here is a case in point: If the Amazon.com listing is correct (and I have no reason to doubt it at this point), Asus is set to release another Eee PC 900 model running Linux. First question: Why release another Eee PC 900 given that Asus has the updated 901 models and the upcoming 904?
Next question. To date, the Eee PC 900 has come with a 900MHz Intel Celeron processor. Why would this new one then come with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor? Would a new model number or another 901 configuration not be more reasonable?
Interestingly, the new model will sell for USD$399 despite coming with the faster processor. But that USD$150 savings over the current Eee PC 900 does not come without a catch as this model only comes with a 16GB SSD (instead of the 20GB SSD on the earlier model of the same name).
We’re soon going to need a giant scorecard and a bottle of aspirin to keep track of all this.
Source: Laptop Magazine
Update:The news of a new Eee PC 900 with a 16GB SSD are indeed correct but the new model will not come with an Intel Atom processor. Like its other Eee PC 900 siblings, it will have a 900MHz Celeron processor. The new model is now listed in the specification sheet on the Asus site.