Eee PC with 9-inch touchscreen in the works?
Details of future generation Eee PCs from ASUS have been trickling out even before the first generation shipped. Now that sewing circle of Taiwanese component makers have whispered a few secrets in the direction of DigiTimes.
Context & Ripple Effects
ASUS's Eee PC went from the $199 Intel-Asus announcement in mid-2007 to a sellout hit by November, and December brought word that shipments were beating expectations — so a second-generation model was always a matter of when, not if. What this report adds is the sourcing method: DigiTimes hears from Taiwanese touch panel component makers already sampling parts for a future Eee PC with a 9-inch touchscreen.
That detail matters because it signals ASUS moving upmarket from the original 7-inch Linux machine reviewed last year, toward a larger screen and touch input — territory closer to its confirmed luxury U2 ultraportable play against the Sony VAIO TZ than to the stripped-down netbook that started the line.
First-order effects
- Taiwanese touch panel suppliers gain a high-volume sampling customer in ASUS, whose proven Eee PC demand makes their panels worth tooling up for ahead of any official announcement.
Second-order effects
- If a 9-inch touch Eee PC ships, it pressures the subnotebook price ladder from below: Sony's VAIO TZ competes on luxury materials, while ASUS would be adding screen size and touch at budget prices, squeezing the middle of the category.
Third-order effects
- Component-supply-chain leaks like DigiTimes' are becoming how next-generation laptop roadmaps get priced into the market before vendors confirm anything, shortening the window in which a first mover like ASUS owns its own surprise.
The trend: Low-cost ultraportables are iterating on screen size and input methods faster than traditional notebooks did, with Taiwan's component ecosystem telegraphing each step through supplier-level leaks.