EeePC Keyboard Gets Priced, Launching February

For real this time? Let's hope so!

The EeePC Keyboard was one of the more notable announcements at CES last year. It made a splash in 2009 and then just seemed to linger in product launch limbo. Now it's 2010 and the device is making news again. This time, Asus says we'll see the keyboard in February. What's more, we've got a price for it too!

Just to jog memories – because this thing has been around f-o-r-e-v-e-r – the Eee Keyboard is basically a nettop in keyboard form. The idea is that you hook it up to an external display via either VGA or HDMI. It's got a 5-inch touchscreen display in place of the number pad and it packs Intel's Atom N270, 1GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD (with the option to upgrade to 32GB), and a built-in battery that's said to last up to four hours.

PC Magazine reports the Eee Keyboard will be available in February for between $499 and $599 depending on configurations.

Who wants one?

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1

Silmarunya , January 6, 2010 10:04 PM

Way overpriced for what it offers imo. After all, my mobile phone can do most of the things this will do easily, and the few things it can't can be done much better by the PC that's in front of me...
Miniature pc-like devices are nice, but not when it's supposed to be used... in front of a proper PC!
-4

blackbyron , January 6, 2010 10:06 PM

"nettop", what does that mean? Or the word is mispelled?
8

thackstonns , January 6, 2010 10:13 PM

blackbyron"nettop", what does that mean? Or the word is mispelled?

A nettop is a netbook but in desktop form. Basically a byom.(bring your own monitor)
0

Socnom , January 6, 2010 10:16 PM

meh. at that price, better to combine the cost of your eeePC with that and get an entry level gaming/entertainment laptop.
0

Computer_Lots , January 6, 2010 10:20 PM

Didn't Apple and IBM both do this with the old tan boxes in the 80's with 5 1/2 inch floppies. They were pretty much keyboards with the computing guts underneath and an external screen. Now, why did we abandon this design.... Oh, yeah, because if you break a key on the keyboard, you have to replace your computer. Keyboards are $5 and the computer costs 100's. It just doesn't make sense.

If you need portability, then get a laptop.
0

Computer_Lots , January 6, 2010 10:21 PM

Oh yeah, and what's the battery for? If there's no screen, how do you use it when it's not plugged in?
3

insider3 , January 6, 2010 10:22 PM

Starbucks: "We now provide monitors for your EeePC Keyboards"
0

pbrigido , January 6, 2010 10:24 PM

I wanted one last year, but then I tried to think of what I would use it for and couldn't come up with anything. If the price was at least $100 lower and had Nvidia's Ion inside so it could play back HD video, I would be enticed.
3

_r_d_ , January 6, 2010 10:35 PM

Sounds like the reemergence of the Commodore 64
1

anonymous@guest , January 6, 2010 10:37 PM

commodore 64 any1?
0

tapnick , January 6, 2010 10:51 PM

This is meh to me... It doenst have any attraction to it, for me to invest in it would have to do something my netbook, phone, or pmp couldn't do already.
1

cadder , January 6, 2010 11:03 PM

Probably won't appeal to computer enthusiasts but for the casual home user with a fixed desk location it has some use. Set it on your desk, plug in a monitor and go. You don't need a big box setting beside the desk and you don't need as many cables getting in the way. Quieter than a normal desk computer too.
0

anonymous@guest , January 7, 2010 12:03 AM

Not worth more than 399.
0

gwolfman , January 7, 2010 12:13 AM

Sandlot style:
Quote:
f-o-r-e-v-e-r
0

td854 , January 7, 2010 12:15 AM

I believe this also has wireless HDMI, 15 foot range for 720p output.
0

td854 , January 7, 2010 12:19 AM

and a hardware H264 decoder
0

groveborn , January 7, 2010 12:53 AM

This isn't designed to be a portable device, that's a side effect. It's designed to remove a single component in the living room: the tower. This is a great device for people with only a little room, and who may want to move their computer around the house, but who would otherwise not need a little tiny laptop. It could also be very useful in business settings where you may need to tote the computer around, especially in presentations (where a laptop would work just fine...). I can see this being a popular thing.
0

sliem , January 7, 2010 1:09 AM

AAAAAA expensive! Too expensive!
1

wildwell , January 7, 2010 2:37 AM

I can see the appeal to it. It's a relatively inexpensive way to replace an old home computer, just keep your monitor. It takes up less space and will surf the net just fine. It's a similar concept to Apple's MacMini computer, but even more all-in-one.
The battery also makes it portable. You can just pick the thing up and go to the office or someone else's home, etc.
I just wonder if they can sell enough of these things to make it profitable for them. Now the basic computing market has tablet PCs, low-cost highly portable netbooks, and more advanced smartphones too.
-1

outlw6669 , January 7, 2010 3:17 AM

Expensive but at least it is innovative.

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