14 DAY TRIAL // Taiwanese manufacturer ASUS has officially detailed its anticipated Eee Top all-in-one desktop system, thus setting the stage for the emergence of yet another new market segment. The system formerly known as the Eee Monitor brings together the specifications you are most likely to find in one of all those netbook systems out there, in a form factor that will make it compete with similar systems from Apple, Dell, Sony or Gateway. The new product will become available in two versions, namely the ET1602 and the ET1603.
Both versions of ASUS’ new all-in-one desktop computer system have been designed to provide users with a 15.6-inch Wide Panel display and the Windows XP Home operating system. As expected, the Eee Top comes with a touchscreen interface, allowing users to interact with the system's operating system through the conventional mouse and keyboard, but also by touching and selecting different applications by using their fingers directly on the screen.
As for the performance part, the Eee Top is designed with Intel's Atom N270 processor, combined with the 945GSE chipset. It delivers 1GB of DDR2 memory and a 160GB SATA II 5400RPM hard disk, meaning all that could possibly remind a user of one of the many Eee PCs, or other netbooks for that matter. However, ASUS went a bit further with its new Eee Top system, and included some improvements as well, including Gigabit Ethernet and wireless 802.11n connectivity. Users will be able to take advantage of the system's six USB 2.0 ports, integrated card reader, and the two 4W Hi-Fi speakers. There's also a built-in 1.3MP webcam and microphone and, according to ASUS, both versions will offer users the Eee Top Linux Easy OS option.
The difference between the two versions consists of where the company has really improved the low-power, low-specifications design. While the ET1602 comes with integrated graphics, the ET1603, on the other hand, is powered by a discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD3450 discrete graphics solution. That alone is set to improve the overall graphics capability of the system, over that of regular nettops or netbooks.
Unfortunately, users will still have to wait some more for availability and pricing details.