Asus Eee PC, New Linux Laptop Around The Corner

After the mess of the Palm Foleo and while there aren't official news about a commercial OLPC (it seems we may have some for Christmas) Asus, probably the biggest motherboard maker in the world, announces the Eee PC is almost here.

The name is certainly uncool (it reminds me of Nintendo's Wii) but the feature set looks quite well, let's see:

• A 7" screen.
• Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
• 256 Mb. to 1 Gb. DDR2.
• Solid state disk (SSD) from 2 Gb. to 8 Gb.
• It can run Linux (neat!) or Windows (I wonder who will be the wacko planning to run Vista on these).
• Stereo sound and mic.
• 4 cell battery with duration between 2.8 and 3.5 hours.
• 2.03 lbs.
• 3 USB ports.

Asus press release says they will have 4 models available in North America during the next weeks, with prices ranging from US$ 299 to US$ 399. I find them quite attractive, really.

And now that I've just ordered a Nokia N800 (price dropped US$ 100 in the last days in Amazon so I'm asking for a refund) and I want to get a more compact Darter from System 76, Amber the Pangolin is too much weight while traveling, I'm already adding an Eee PC to my Christmas wish list this year.