14 DAY TRIAL // According to recent details regarding the computer industry, ASUS' Eee Box nettop system isn't performing as expected, which has prompted the company to come with an alternative configuration, lowering the prices in an attempt to increase sales. The alternative to the company's Atom-powered Eee Box nettop will come to provide users with the computing power of an Intel Celeron processor, but also with an increased storage solution.
The idea behind the Celeron-powered Eee Box is to boost sales of the company's first nettop system, which was launched almost four months ago. Enabling a Celeron 220 processor on an Eee Box system is expected to lower the price tag of the nettop to just NT$7,988, which is approximately US$240, reports Digitimes in a recent piece. The price also includes a 120GB hard drive solution, which will provide a boost in the storage department, over the company's initial Atom-powered model, which boasted only an 80GB hard drive.
According to Digitimes, a Celeron-based Eee Box, which comes with a 19-inch LCD monitor, should be priced around NT$11,900, or roughly about US$356, when the Eee Box nettop, powered by Intel's successful Atom processor, an 80GB hard drive, keyboard, mouse and Eee Stick, is priced at NT$9,999 or US$299. The price difference is obvious, and will potentially pick up sales for the company's Eee Box nettop system.
ASUS estimates to ship approximately 100,000-200,000 units of its Eee Box product this year, while the number is expected to grow to approximately one million units by the end of 2009. The company's estimations are somewhat in line with those of leading CPU giant, Intel, which predicts that nettop shipments will reach 60 million units by the end of 2011, according to sources cited by Digitimes.
As with its Eee PC lineup, the Taiwanese manufacturer will have to compete with other major PC makers that are expected to unveil their own Eee Box competitors.