ASUS has announced it will be previewing its next-gen Eee PC ultraportable laptop at CES next week, and several news outlets have pieced together educated guesses that include Sprint-compatible WiMAX radios in the new machine's specs. ASUS' own website invites consumers to "Join ASUS, Intel and Sprint to learn about the state of WiMAX technology" and preview the next-gen Eee PC, so it's not much of a leap to connect the dots here.
The current Eee PC has been a huge success thanks to its tiny, lightweight form factor, quick-booting Linux-based operating system, and $299 base price tag. Fans have lauded Eee PC as the perfect budget or second laptop for Web surfing and Email, but its 7", 800 x 480 pixel widescreen display has drawn criticism for being too small to be useful over the long haul. ASUS may be set to silence those critics with a 8.9", 1024 x 600 LCD panel on the next-gen Eee PC.
Sprint endured a turbulent 2007, to say the least, but has not publicly backed off of their announced plans to aggressively roll out its "Xohm" WiMAX service across the US this year. A low-cost, Xohm-ready ultraportable laptop could be just the thing Sprint needs to jump start itself in the new year.
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