8.9-inch Asus Eee will have touchscreen display

And possibly built-in GPS

26 March 2008 10:20 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Whether or not the second generation 8.9-inch version of the Asus Eee will boast a touchscreen is becoming a bit of a will it/won't it saga.

Taiwanese manufacturing sources had initially suggested that the larger model of the low cost UMPC would be made with a touch panel, something that was denied by Asus in January.

Jerry Shen, president of Asustek revealed that Asus' market research had determined that a touchscreen version of the Eee "is not a highly demanded feature" and said it had suspended plans to produce such a model.

But now, Kevin Lin, vice president of Asustek's sales department is being quoted by DigiTimes as saying that it will indeed have a touchscreen display and may even boast GPS.

With shipments expected to begin in May or June, pricing for the 8.9-inch version will come in at around $500. This timescale is also said to be when Asus E-DT desktop PC, priced at $199, will also hit the market.

Full tags

Hardware, Laptops, UMPCs, Asus, GPS, Rumours