DISQUS

I saw that comment about the lack of a restore disk previously in the FCC copy of the user manual. What's interesting is that in the IT168.com unboxing photos posted earlier today, we see what looks to be a Windows CD included in the box contents. I wonder if this difference is regional?

I like Asus' approach, which is to provide both a hidden partition for quick restore along with a restore disk in case you wipe out your internal storage device.

Walmart's prices are all over the place for the Eee PC. They're selling the 900 20G (which they incorrectly refer to as the 900A) for the same $448 price as the 901 12G. For the 701 4G Surf, they're asking $30 more than for either of the 90x series models -- I guess they must be collector's items to justify this higher price?

Hmm... but if you look at this photo from Dell's own service manual, it shows the Intel logo on the SSD card: http://support.euro.dell.com/support/edocs/syst...
Could it be that the preproduction unit used by Joanna in the Laptop mag webcast has an STEC SSD module and the production units will have Intel? Or that the actual brand of SSD will vary, depending on who is supplying Dell at the time a given unit is assembled?

After the all the hype and excitement from the early photos and "leaked" specs in the May/June timeframe, my interest and expectations for this unit has progressively waned with each rumored announcement date that has come and gone. With its late showing, you'd think Dell would have been able to fine-tune a really outstanding, leading-edge netbook. Turns out, it's at the bottom of the class. The Acer Aspire one, Lenovo S10 and various Asus Eee PC models are much more attractive in terms of price and features. I guess they're counting on selling a lot of these on the basis of the Dell name alone? Nothing to see here folks, move along.

Yep, I agree. Simpler and more reliable/accessible to store files on an SD card or USB flash drive and move it from one PC to another. You can't depend on always having access to the Internet wherever you travel with your netbook, so your data may not be accessible if it's only in the cloud. This is aside from any security concerns about your data always being retained on the site and privacy.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the starting price will be $349, rather than $299, for the Linux version and $40 more for the XP version.

So, where's the "Atom killer" Via Nano CPU?

Scratch that second paragraph above... Just re-read the Lenovo press release on the S10 and it only mentioned XP. Out of curiosity, I checked Lenovo's Hong Kong site and it shows both the S9 and S10 models and they come with Linux and XP respectively. Since the S9 won't be marketed in the U.S., we won't be seeing a Linux version of the IdeaPad S series here in the foreseeable future.

I have a feeling the Lenovo rep's comment regarding the availability of Linux may have been intended for the global marketplace rather than for the U.S. He also misstated that the two jacks on the side were for audio and *video* I/O, so I'm not taking everything he said as gospel.

On the other hand, it's still possible Lenovo may offer the Linux version in the U.S. at a later date. Their press announcement for the S10 mentioned a starting price of $399, but the cheapest model for sale on their site is $429 with XP. I'm thinking maybe they will be offering the Linux model at $399?

If the "leaked" slide presentation is to be believed, the Dell netbooks will have limited configurability, including colors. Indeed, I would not be surprised if there will be only a handful of preconfigured models along the lines of Asus. On the "Configuration Options" slide, it shows 1 option for the Classic, 3 color options for the Video and 1 option for the Video+. For the Slim series, it shows 1 Slim and 2 Slim+ options. The chart lists the available accessories for each model, but no configuration options such as memory choices or upgrades or different storage options/capacities. So, likely a total of 8 preconfigured models.

The bezel surrounding the S9's 8.9" display actually doesn't look all that bad compared to say the Eee PC 701 or 904 (can't comment on the MSI Wind with 8.9" display since I haven't seen any photos). However, other than cost savings, since the chassis for both are identically sized, you might as well make full use of the space and go with a 10" display. For those of us in the U.S., this is a moot point since we're not getting a 8.9" display, Linux or SSD.

Isn't this the same $100 MIR Asus has been offering for the 12G/20G models since July 1? It was to have ended 7/31, but has been extended through the end of August. As a manufacturer's rebate, it's available for 12G/20G purchases from most U.S. vendors.

Are there actually any Via Nano processors out in the wild yet? There are already real products using the Atom (Eee PC, MSI Wind, Acer Aspire one, Intel mini-ITX mobo, etc.) that are in real users' hands. Given Via's past delivery issues with the C3 and C7, I'm not counting on seeing many (if any) netbooks released this year that will incorporate the Nano. Even Via's own OpenBook reference design still uses the older C7-M instead of the Nano. Talk about lack of confidence in the availability of their own processor.

I would not be at all surprised if the SSD turns out to be slow as it is on the Acer Aspire One and Eee PC 900 16G. In order to pack 8GB of storage at $299, Dell (like Acer and Asus) has to make some compromises somewhere. Still, it will be interesting to see how fast Blacktop will boot up on the Dell Enspiron Meeeni. ExpressGate didn't look all that impressive on the EeeBox.

I guess no one is willing to give up the ghost on this one? Rebranding the same unit half a dozen ways with perhaps some minor changes in RAM and SSD storage will not improve upon this sow's ear. :) If they can get the single-unit price down to $130 and incorporate internal network adapters for LAN and WiFi, then I might be interested in this as a plaything.

Also, the equivalent USD prices stated in the first paragraph are reversed. The Linux version should be $499 and the XP version should be $513.

But note that this chart doesn't list the 16G model that was quietly rolled out last week. Perhaps Asus is now making region-specific models? 16G in U.S. (is this available anywhere else?) and 30G HDD in China?

The mockup shown at CeBIT back in March had very flat keytops with little space between the keys. The prototype shown at Computex in June had a keyboard that was more like the eee PC's. No telling what it'll be when it finally hits production.

Or, they may stop selling 12Gs and 20Gs by then. It's a roll of the dice!

Looks like Directron (www.directron.com) is offering the $100 rebate on the older 900s as well.

Hehe... that would be sweet, but the rebate form only lists the 12G and 20G models. The list prices for the 16G models are already price-adjusted going out the door, so they don't need to offer a rebate as is the case for the older models.

The $399/$449 (Linux/XP) prices are for the new 16G models of the 900 series. Amazon misprinted the reference to an Atom CPU. The 16G models have Celerons, as is the case for the earlier 900s (12G/20G). See Asus' own webpage for the 900, which lists the 16G along with the 12G and 20G: http://eeepc.asus.com/global/900.htm
Note that the Asus webpage doesn't show the 16G as having storage split into 2 "drives". This seems to indicate they removed the 4G of primary (faster) SSD storage present in the older models.

They also list the Asus eee PC 2G *and* 4G at $250 and the 8G at $350 (vs. $299, $399 and $499 respectively at other vendors). The MSI Wind lists for $400, which I assume is the XP version going elsewhere for $479. The "Place orders via e-mail" comment on their product order pages makes you wonder about their legitimacy.

Take a look at the "Date Submitted to FCC" column for all the documents in this filing: 6/25/2008. It really doesn't look like the Wind will be available 6/27 or within the next couple of weeks if the FCC just received the application for their review and approval.

MSI's own store, Shop@MSI, is coming up blank for the Wind: https://shop.msicomputer.com/App/StoreFront/Sto...

Perhaps, it's just a temporary problem with their website, but it doesn't bode well.