The Eee Box’s Chance
A few days ago I wrote a post titled “Will the EBOX have a chance?” (The Eee Box is an inexpensive Linux or Windows desktop made by Asus.) In that article, I said this:
There may be a lot less Linux desktop competition than Windows desktop competition, but there are still a surprising number of inexpensive Linux desktops, such as the gPC. Unfortunately, none of those cheap Linux desktops have done particularly well, so how is the EBOX going to be different?
At the time I noted a few things that the Eee Box had going for it:
- The Eee PC has done very well, so its momentum may push the EBOX forward
- The EBOX looks very nice
- Asus may be able to do the software better than other companies have done it. For example, many people complained about bugs in the gOS that shipped with the gPC.
Still, I was not entirely convinced that the EBOX would succeed. Now that the Eee Box specifications are out, I can add another point to the list above, one that may make a big difference:
- Can be configured to have enough RAM (1-2GB) to compete with modern desktops
Why is this point such a big deal? If you look at the previous attempts such as the gPC, they tried too hard to target the price-concious market. Because of this, the gPC and other earlier attempts at a cheap Linux desktop did not appeal to tech-savvy people. The Eee Box, however, between its looks and better specs will appeal to a larger audience. That is the answer to my question “how is the EBOX going to be different?” I will be very interested to see if this is enough to make the Eee Box successful.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I agree that the RAM specs and the design are a huge draw.
Also important, however, will be price and availablity/marketing. If they can get this thing out to retail at a good price and do some marketing on what Linux is all about and why people might want it instead of Windows … plus getting this cool-looking box … it could do really well and prompt other hardware makers to do the same.
June 9th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
The first EEE had a good price range and was almost like an impulse buy at that price (considering the PS3 was going for 700$).
The EEE 9 inch is price too high now.
The WiiEEE Box has the look, the size and wait till their Wiimote clone is out and at 269-299$ is again in that Wii range.
I want my EEE Box in the living room, my wife wants it in the kitchen, my brother wants it in his boat and my brother in law wants it in his VW camper
Size and price.
Its a low end computer, we dont need it to do video editin or any more than my old T21 does right now.
Our T21 goes between the kitchen and the living room. An EEEbox in the living room AND one in the kitchen will be the same price as a low end laptop and will also access my external HD which is plugged in to my wifi router.
I was holding back getting a Shuttle and I wasnt buy a Mac Mini for almost 1000$. At 269$, it could be a mistake but no more expensive than the stationary bike I never used.
At 269$, its a mistake I can afford.