Asus Eee PC May Get a Touchscreen

By all reports, the Asus Eee PC is selling well, but nevertheless there have been a few who have passed on this device because it lacks a touchscreen. These people should be pleased to hear that one of this mini laptop's second generation models will reportedly have what they want.

Artist's Conception of Next-Generation Eee PC

According to DigiTimes, Asus will launch versions of the Eee PC later this year with 8-, 9-, and 10-inch displays. Only one of these, the 9-inch version, will be a touchscreen. Currently, this device is available only with a 7-inch display.

Exactly when the new Eee PC models will debut is not known, nor is what they will cost.

A Runaway Success

The Eee PC has done better than many people may have expected. DigiTimes says Asus sold between 300,000 and 400,000 units in the first three months this low-cost device was on the market. Industry experts predict the company will ship more than 4 million units this year.

However, these experts also predict that touchscreen-based models will account for only a few hundred thousand of these in 2008.

More About the Asus Eee PC

The Eee PC has the typical clamshell design for a laptop computer, with a reduced-size QWERTY keyboard and a trackpad. It is 8.9 inches wide, 6.5 inches deep, and 1.4 inches thick (22.5 cm by 165 cm by 35 mm), and weighs just under 2 pounds (890 g).

The price and features of each version of this product vary quite a bit.

The Asus "Eee PC 2G Surf" comes with 256 MB of RAM and a 2 GB Solid State Disk Drive (SSD), but the built-in web camera has been removed in order to keep the cost down to $300. The Asus "Eee PC 8G" is pre-configured with 1 GB of RAM, an 8 GB SSD, and webcam for $400.

Exactly what connectivity options are in each model depend on the price. However, all include Ethernet, three USB ports, VGA port, and an SD card slot.

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