8.9-inch Eee PC to launch early, without Intel's Atom?
It's just a rumor, though it's likely spot-on given DigiTimes' past success with its well placed ASUS source(s). Remember, they nailed the 9-inch touchscreen (rumor, announcement) as well as the 2nd generation ship date (rumor, announcement) among other notable successes. Apparently, ASUS is looking to get a jump on HP's new Mini-Note and that upcoming ultra-portable from Acer by launching its second generation 8.9-inch Eee PC early. As such, they'll have to forgo Intel's new Atom processor (shipping in June) and slap in an older-generation dual-core ULV instead. Sources claim that ASUS still plans to go Atom in "later versions of its Eee PCs." What's unclear is whether this would be an AsiaPac move only, or if ASUS' entire global rollout strategy has changed. We'll update you as soon as we know more.
