Excited news
Earlier this anniversary the ASUS Eee PC acclaimed its aboriginal altogether (with a abounding altogether affair and block at LAPTOP Magazine). It was one year ago that the Taiwanese aggregation began affairs its aboriginal sub-notebook (which would anatomy a new class accepted as netbooks). The little Eee PC 701 not alone would activation on a accomplished Eee cast for the aggregation and band of altered sized Eee PCs, but it would advance the aggressive anthology manufacturers into the netbook bazaar as well.
As the Eee PC, and arguably the aboriginal chump netbook, turns one we arrested in with ASUS CEO Jerry Shen who has spearheaded the company’s Eee cast and its advance into the netbook market. A year later, Shen isn’t aflutter of the aggression of netbooks hitting the bazaar from the cast of Samsung, Lenovo and Dell and alone thinks the bazaar is just starting to yield off. Why? Able-bodied he aggregate the afterward in the hour continued interview:
* Four actor Eee PCs accept been awash to date. He affairs to ability the ambition of 5 actor Eee PC sales by the end of 2008.
* Touch-enabled Eee PCs are on the way and will be actuality by aboriginal 2009. Shen didn’t allotment the data of the anatomy factor, admitting he said they are exploring a convertible approach and a approved laptop anatomy for touch-enabled Eee PCs. They will aswell run Windows 7 as aboriginal as mid-2009.
* Several skus of the Eee PC accord barter abundant choices and acquiesce them to acquisition the Eee PC that best fits their needs.
* The Eee Ancestors continues to abound with the EeeTop this ages (that has an Simple Approach for Windows XP) and added articles that will be appear at CES in January 2009.
That is just a bit of what Shen aggregate with us. See the abounding account beneath and why we ahead the Eee PC’s additional altogether may be added agitative than its first.
Did you ahead that the Eee PC would activation such a ample class and that it would get the common acknowledgment it did?
When we launched the artefact endure October, we saw anon how accepted it was and how able-bodied it sold. At the end of that year, I set a ambition to advertise 5 actor by the end of 2008. So, for that aboriginal year, it went able-bodied above our expectations, but I hoped that this year would be actual acknowledged and we are on the appropriate track. We knew that we would see competitors in the bazaar and like Intel, we see this netbook bazaar to be one of the bigger areas of advancement in the future.
You mentioned getting on the appropriate clue for your ambition for 2008. How abounding accept Eee PCs accept you awash to date this year?
Being that our ambition is for this year is 5 million, we are assured that we will hit that. We are appealing abutting to 4 actor now. The antagonism has absolutely been ok and hasn’t set us off our goals.
Does that 5 actor board the added Eee Ancestors products?
Since the Eee PC has been so accepted we accept congenital out added Eee ancestors members. The Eee Box was the aboriginal and at the end of the ages we are absolution the EeeTop. We aswell accept the EeeStick. And we will accept addition two added Eee articles in January that we will announce. That 5 actor alone refers to Eee PC sales, and it doesn’t cover the EeeBox. The ambition for the EeeBox has alone been a few brace hundred thousand.
Speaking of the EeeStick, will that be accessible soon? And any abstraction of pricing?
We will alpha to array with the EeeBox, EeeTop and the EeePCs soon. It will be accessible with some machines and we will put on some amateur on those for arena with the EeeStick. It can aswell be acclimated for presentations. In some countries we will advertise it separately, but it should be some abode amid $50 to $100.
Is there a accurate Eee PC archetypal that has done bigger than others?
For the aboriginal abode of the year we alone had the 7-inch and that did actual actual well. But in Q3 traveling advanced the 9-inch and 10-inch are affairs actual well. The 900, 901 and the 1000 and 1000H are affairs actual well. I ahead the 9-inch and 10-inch and the 1024×600 resolution was a acceptable solution. But still abounding of the barter wish the 7-inch.
Do you ahead the Eee PC can get any bigger? Will we see 11 or 12-inch Eee PCs afterwards this year or in 2009?
In my viewpoint, if we go to an 11-inch or 12-inch it will become a notebook. The absolute aberration amid the Eee PC and notebooks is the awning size. We use the awning admeasurement as the key adverse amid the Eee PC and the notebook. So I do not ahead we will absolution annihilation beyond than 10-inches.
How has the success of the Eee PC afflicted the blow of Asus’ anthology business? Do you feel as admitting it has cannibalized the sales of acceptable notebooks if not for your cast but for others?
At ASUS, if we ascertain Eee PC, we ascertain the Es as easy, agitative and accomplished Internet experience. So no we haven’t apparent the cannibalization. In fact, in abounding areas, it’s been the opposite. For example, in Japan originally our anthology business was actual small, but afterwards the Eee PC our notebooks accept become actual popular. The Eee PC has brought ASUS to people’s acquaintance and it has helped the anthology business. This has happened in abounding countries.
Then what is the role of the ASUS N10 which you are not calling a netbook even admitting it is powered by an Intel Atom processor? What absolutely makes this altered from an Eee PC and what are you aggravating to achieve with this abstracted N alternation brand?
Originally we capital to accomplish a anthology with a 10-inch awning so we did that with this product. But in the approaching all the notebooks will alpha from 11-inches. So I don’t ahead we will do this in the future. In the approaching we will cover the 10-inch in the Eee PC line. For us, the aberration admitting amid netbook and notebook, is that the netbook is acclimated to absorb agreeable and accept that connectivity experience. The anthology is for creating agreeable and you accept added accumulator and anamnesis – its a apparatus that can do more.
We accept heard that acknowledgment ante accept been college for Linux-based netbooks. Can you allotment advice on sales of the Linux Eee PCs against Windows XP versions? What about acknowledgment ante all-embracing for Eee PC netbooks?
I ahead the acknowledgment amount for the Eee PCs are low but I accept the Linux and Windows accept agnate acknowledgment rates. We absolutely abstracted the articles into altered user groups. A lot of users like the Windows XP, but in Europe a lot of humans wish the Linux option. Actually in Linux we abutment the Simple Approach and in Q4 of this year we are traveling to alpha affairs Windows XP with an Simple Mode.
What is the purpose of the Windows XP Simple Mode?
The Simple Approach on Windows XP is actual agnate to the one on the Xandros operating system. For the amateur and for the getting who doesn’t apperceive how to use the computer, Simple Approach is better. We board this advantage on Windows XP if humans wish a simple interface, but they can aswell use the abounding operating system.
Seems actual cool. Seems like something that could advice with Vista. Do you ahead its something you could put on Vista?
I ahead we could, but we don’t plan on putting Vista on any of the Eee PCs. I ahead in the approaching in the additional bisected of next year we will put Windows 7 on Eee PCs. For now it will be Linux and XP and again Windows 7 and not do Vista.
Windows 7 is absolutely getting accustomed for its multi-touch capabilities. Can you allotment any affairs for blow Eee PCs?
Some of the models will accept this action next year, but not all the models. The blow action has its advantage but aswell some disadvantages. The apparatus will accept to be thicker if it has blow and we wish to accept abbreviate machines still.
Would you go with a book convertible anatomy or body blow aswell into the accustomed laptop form?
We are because both. We are because a book one and aswell a altered another and anatomy but we cannot allocution about the details. We plan to allocution about it in Q1 of next year.
There are currently several Eee PC models for sale, admitting added vendors ability accept one or two SKUs. Do you accept that there are too abounding Eee PCs on the market? Is it ambagious for customers?
The Eee PC change from 7-inch to 9-inch to 10-inch all approved to advice break chump needs. We are still aggravating to board chump needs. I ahead the user now has a lot of choices and it’s good. For instance, altered 7-inch versions accept been accepted with telcos. The models all board altered adaptability for barter and end users.
Newer exceptional models of the Eee PC accept appeared, including the S101. What is the cerebration in authoritative a higher-fashion subnotebook? Do you ahead humans will pay added for the style?
In our analogue the Eee PC S101 is the accomplished end arrangement in the Eee category. The S101 is a aftereffect of customer’s acknowledgment - there is a accumulation that wants a beautiful apparatus but is aswell absorbed on the simple Internet machine. We accept responded to the customer’s wants and the S101 is the top one in the band up so we ahead humans wish this blazon of amalgamation and price.
When will we see the next Eee PC?
We will board added agitative articles next year and the amount ambit will be from $250 to $700. We will advertise a archetypal in Q1 and in Q2 of 2009. They are agitative and in my analogue they are air-conditioned and the automated architecture is stylish. We plan harder to absorb 5 faculty innovation. We aswell wish to accomplish abiding the addition has low temperatures and continued array life. We wish the user to acquaintance fast cossack up times, quiet performance, a actual continued array activity and low temperatures.
Is there a plan to use Atom’s bifold amount processor in those approaching Eee PCs?
In abounding people’s point of appearance the accepted Atom is appealing good. In the approaching we ahead the netbook we will focus added on the amount consumption. We will plan on authoritative array activity best and added advancement but not in the computing. Actually we are alive on technology alleged ExpressTest which improves cossack up time and battery. All our Eee PCs will use this technology and the aboriginal to use it is the Eee PC S101.
Are there batteries in the works to actualize best array activity for Eee PCs?
Atom has been appealing acceptable for array activity and we accept added our Super Hybrid Engine for added array savings. We aswell accept the 2600M and 2900M for college body batteries.
Wrapping up the year, back the Eee PC 701 ASUS has continued the Eee cast to added non-notebook products, such as the Eee Box and the Eee Monitor. Are there affairs to body out the cast in the advancing year? Is there an Eee buzz in the works?
For the phone, I ahead we will still use the ASUS name but the Eee cast account will be allotment of that phone. We will accompany added articles in Q1 beneath the Eee ancestors brand, but we can allocution about this at CES. We will appearance off a lot of new articles at the appearance for Q1 2009.
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