Windows XP will double the price of Asustek's Eee PC

By Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service, 10/30/07

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Adding Windows XP to Asustek Computer's Eee PC will double the price of the low-cost laptop compared to existing versions running Linux.

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The company will sell a version of the Eee PC with Windows XP in mature markets such as the U.S. and Europe for around $1,000, while a configuration aimed at emerging market nations will cost about $500, said Jerry Shen, president of Asustek, during an investors conference Tuesday in Beitou, Taiwan.

XP-based Eee PCs are expected to be available by year-end.

The Eee PC is a low-cost laptop designed for children and emerging markets that weighs less than one kilogram, has a 7-inch LCD screen, and can connect to the Internet wirelessly. Asustek officially put the first version of the Eee PC, costing around NT$11,100 ($340), on sale earlier this month in Taiwan. It runs a Linux OS from Xandros.

The laptop PC will soon reach the U.S. and Europe.

Asustek plans to launch the Linux-based Eee PC on Nov. 1 at retail stores in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Vancouver and Toronto, and also through e-commerce Web sites in North America.

On Nov. 9, the company will hold a launch ceremony in Germany, the first country in Europe to get its hands on the low-cost laptop.

The company will launch the Eee PC in major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, in mid-November.

Asustek has shipped 100,000 Eee PCs so far this month to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand, said Shen, and he is targeting 400,000 units by the end of this year.

Next year, Asustek forecasts it will ship 3.8 million Eee PCs.

"We're in talks with a few governments and we have already confirmed orders for one million units next year," said Sunny Han, global marketing director at the company.

Asustek also reaffirmed its commitment to pushing the cost of the Eee PC down to $199, nearly the same as the XO laptop developed by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project. OLPC is pricing the laptops at $200 according to its Givemany and Laptopgiving donor programs.

One of the biggest costs for the Eee PC is taxes, said Shen. VAT (value added tax) and other taxes have a big impact on price. Governments interested in buying Eee PCs for education could get a better price by waiving such taxes, he said. An Eee PC sold to a government without taxes factored in would cost around $199, while the price goes up to about $300 with the taxes factored in.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

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