I thought the Eee was 400$ also?

When these types of devices get a 10" screen and come down to about 200 to 250 then I'll look into getting one. Until then it just seems overpriced with to small of a screen.

That looks exactly like the Packard Bell Easynote XS if you ask me. Go on... Ask!

@oodanner:
10" is better....7" is Nokia N series small....migght as well get one of those

if Palm had only repositioned the Foleo.

You know, by the shape of the opening where the keyboard and screen join, I thought I saw a handle until I actually took a closer look. Having a handle opening might not be such a bad idea for these little guys...

@sirtalis: BOOM, good catch. its the same. better question is... Packard Bell is still around? how? why?

Im glad more and more of these keep on coming, soon they will be better and cheaper than ever.

competition, good. someone needs to make one where the screen fills up the top part of the case. no one wants an ugly frame around their screen. and get rid of the speakers, seriously. it's taking up precious room and will sound like crap anyway. if i want speakers i'll just plug them in.

i think the laptop looks good but aif this had the eee's ui then it would be awsome
and the border around the screen isnt as ugly

Well lets see:
I found out about EeePC when gizmodo posted its first post about Asus cheap/small notebook. And ever since I was waiting to get one. I had mine for about a month now and I am just glued to it still. Yes this new ultra portable laptop looks kinda neat, but still isn't anywhere cooler then EeePC. The price is already set to $400 which is going to really compete with full size notebooks that will sell cheaper and cheaper every year. By the time this Laptop comes out there will probably be 2nd version of EeePC with way better specs and 1st version will flood the market and probably be way cheaper then what I paid for it right now. So unless they really up the specs or dramatically lower the price I don't think it will succeed.

touchpad?

@Y2KGTP: well, 7" is a lot bigger than an n-series screen. With the nokes, the screen is 4.1". Realistically, that's about the minimum for handheld web-browsing and productivity at a decent resolution. At arms-length (like using it on a desk with BT keyboard for instance) 4.1" is a little hard to see. On the other hand 7" (like the Pepper Pad 3 and a lot of UMPCs) is optimal for hand-held computing and passable but not comfortable at arms-length. 10" is where arms-length on a regular basis isn't a total pain, and obviously the bigger the better.

I think people often forget the way that these devices are used; when you have a laptop formfactor, it means it's generally going to be resting on a table at arms length. That's why 7" on the UMPC/Pepper Pad form factor is so much more comfortable than the same 7" on Eee or this device. I personally think 7" is the best screen size for dual use; it's small enough to use in front of your face and be pretty mobile, but large enough to use on the desk with a real keyboard as long as it's not your primary productivity device. Course, that's just my opinion.

@ryan7107: Top right, above the keyboard? Mouse buttons at top left. Yes, it's awkward.

And yes, it is the same machine as the (EU-only) Packard Bell EasyNote XS.

Touchscreen instead of touchpad?

Or is there a touchpad in that tiny space between the speakers and the keyboard?

Still holding out for a 10" screen myself...

i just wish the eee pc was the same size but with no frame around the screen. =/

Som many good stuff how can this be $400? Seriously 30GB HDD, webcamm and other goodies for $400! You got a deal! Cha CHING

@OODANNER: if you look at the plastic surrounding the EEE's and the Everex's screens, there's way more room for a bigger LCD. I have a feeling that bigger screens are in the future for these neat gadgets.

I have to say, I'd be hard pressed to carry around an already plastic-looking computer with the word "everex" printed really big on the front. Sounds like some sort of cheap RiteAid batteries or something...

I think the UMPC just died.

I think there is plenty of room for other manufacturers to Join Asus in this space. It provides further validation of this model, and will only hasten price erosion in the overall mobility space. We all win!

I don't think it unreasonable, either, to think that this new form factor (Eee, OLPC et al) could increase the PC market as a whole from ~300 million units a year to around 400 million.

'Course I still think the Eee is cooler....

@Stang70Fastback: Everex used to be one of the oldest and proudest names in (clone) personal computing. So did Northgate, Hauppage and a bunch of other companies that have vanished, or are just hanging on and reinventing themselves as fast as they can (repeatedly) in order to survive. Yesterday's IBM is tomorrow's Brando/Thanko (and today's Lenovo)....

that looks like the ugly laptops from 1993

touchpad: good riddance, as long as this thing can do BT mice w/o a dongle. if they can do 8GB SSD for that price and get 3 hours on charge, it's a potential eee killer. sure is ugly though, compared to the eee.

I LOVE my Asus Eee PC! It's a great solution for those who want to travel VERY LIGHT and using basic applications. It's not exactly a laptop replacement because the LCD display & keyboard is a little on the small side, but has replaced my Palm PDA!

I find the Eee PC SSD of 4GB too small and would like to upgrade to the 8GB model, but waiting to see what happens with this unit & via nanobook.

This unit looks good, and the 30GB HD would be a good side. Only catch is a spinning physical harddrive uses more battery power and can be damaged if the unit drops.

It's a good price point, but I trust Asus brand more than this Everex.

CLOUD? sounds like zonbu and google again?
data cloud, or maybe it's bc skype? just seems like a decisive name. this'd be good with that google/zonbu plan for 279+.

But these ae the people who have brought us the nine buck mp3 player...

@HrPingui:
"are"

@schrosa:
Im witcha, I wish Foleo had actually come out, price was just way to high..$199-299 maybe, but $499 was insane

@schrosa: "...if Palm had only..." indeed, indeed.

Competition is welcome. It shall only prove Asus to be superior.

I think I'm getting the hang of this 'fanboy' thing. I think I'll have to learn to foam at the mouth and ignore solid arguments next.

Am I the only one who doesn't think that having the hinges like that looks horribly fragile? I'm with everyone else- the mouse set up looks awkward, if there.

Looks kinda cool.

If it surfs Firefox well with a wireless mouse then I'm liking it.

@Mandatory_Field: True, and I completely admire the company, this machine and it's specs... but the name still sounds cheezy to me.

... but I can get a brand new windoze laptop with a 15" screen for a hundred buck more... so what's the point?

I never like the everex brand but this thing is cool... At least it may help drive down cost of these laptops.

@Ednonymous: It's tiny...er. Ultra Portable.

I can get a desktop custom built that craps all over these specs, for the same price... but I ain't going to be lugging it around everywhere. Hyperbole aside, that's sorta the point.

I'm guessing like the eee pc there is no dvd drive on this. I'd love one with a drive for watching dvd's on the train. And not having to carry around my larger laptop or portable dvd player.

I like that this has a DVI port; here's hoping Asus upgrades their video out.

@Brian Sexton: Output, that is. Tired.

@vipermj9: Although this one does have enough storage for several movies/tv shows at a time. (Unlike the eee.) A DVD drive would probably kill the battery before the movie was over.

@2-7offsuit: def good point, I hadn't really thought about that.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought this was the nanobook. Isn't the nanobook just a reference design Via is offering to other companies to build on? So, its not similar to the nanobook. It is the nanobook, or at least one incarnation of it anyway.

Come on Gizmodo, I have nothing but love for you, but Slashgear got this right, and Engadget both got this right. For shame giz, for shame.

Close...The Nanobook is a FIC design that was sponsored by VIA. Everex is majority owned by FIC and the Packard Bell unit is also from FIC.

@oodanner: "When these types of devices get a 10" screen "
... the point is for them to be tiny, that's what makes them "these types of devices". XDD that was a pretty pointless comment o.O "when apples become bananas, I'll buy apples :D"

@Lody: Have you looked at the eeePC or this one? Theres so much border around the screen that upping the screen size to 10" is definately feasible with little to no addition to the footprint size. I'm with oodanner, I would love one of these subnotebooks, but 7"is too small for something thats not a handheld. Give me a 10" on one of these and I'll buy it in about half a second.

@lafond66:

yes I drew something like that in the 80s in college.

FUGLY