While our best people Darksaber and W1zzard are at Computex 2008 gathering info and pics for you, I'll be reporting everything else that's not covered by the event. First of all, I'll start with some info leaked yesterday before the official start of Computex. ASUS has confirmed the official specs for their ASUS Eee Box desktop PC. Take a look below.

Under enemy pressure ASUSTeK is now being reported to bring forward the launch of its 10-inch Eee PC to June 3rd, in an attempt to surpass rivals MSI and Acer.

With Micro-Star International (MSI) expected to officially launch its 10-inch Wind series notebooks and Acer planning to launch an 8.9-inch Aspire low-cost PC in Europe priced at 299 euros (US$469.49) over the next few weeks, Asustek Computer has decided to rush forward plans to launch a 10-inch version Eee PC, according to notebook industry sources. The Eee PC 1000 is now expect to be launched on June 3 along with the Eee PC 901 and Asustek is also preparing lower priced versions of current models, the sources noted.

There aren't any further details just yet, but if the info is correct the launch date is near.

Although ASUS promised in January that the company is planning to integrate WiMAX technology into its next generation Eee PCs, DigiTimes today reported that this is not going to happen and instead of WiMAX the recently revealed Eee PC 901 will get Bluetooth as standard option.

After two quarters of evaluation, Asustek believes the WiMAX market will not reach maturity in 2008, and has therefore decided to push WiMAX only in its 14.1- to 15.4-inch notebooks, mainly in the US market, noted the sources. Asustek will keep to its original plans to launch WiMAX-based VX2, U6 and V1 notebooks before the end of this year, however, the cancellation of the WiMAX Eee PC is likely to impact the company's original goal of having WiMAX featured in 15% of notebook shipments in 2008.

Last week the long-awaited Eee PC 900 has finally hit retail stores. Now, one week later we'll talk about the new upgraded Eee PC 901 model that's rumoured to be the first Atom-based Eee machine. It might look like a regular shiny-white Eee PC 900, but if you take a closer look you'll find some subtle design changes. If we assume that the pictures posted by the French site blogeee.net are accurate, the Eee 901 will be sleeker and more stylish than the original. The noteworthy changes include a redesigned trackpad, the missing ASUS logo and the changed power button position. The computer is expected to be showcased at the Computex 2008 exhibition next month, where Intel is also expected to roll out its Atom CPUs.

ASUSTeK's latest low-cost ultraportable laptop Eee PC 900 is now in stock at major US etailers such as Buy.com ($565.99) and ZipZoomfly ($599.99). ZipZoomfly offers the second gen Eee laptop with a 8.9-inch 1024x600 display, Intel's Celeron M 430 processor at 1.7GHz, a 12GB solid state drive, 1GB of RAM (DDR2-400), built-in 1.3MP web camera and Windows XP Home OS. The second etailer Buy.com offers the same laptop with the only difference being the Linux OS and the 20GB of SSD storage (4GB built-in + 16GB Flash based) for $565.99. All current laptops are model EEEPC900-W017 and come in white color only.

MSI is entering the Eee PC champion league with some tricked out Wind notebook. While you won't be blown away by performance or by the looks of it, Wind U100 will be MSI's first major fighter against Eee that is claimed to beat it in 6 out of 9 design specification. Shipping in mid to late May, the U100 will get its power from an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor based on a Intel 945GM motherboard, up to 2GB DDR2 667MHz memory, 80GB 2.5-inch SATA hard drive and a 10-inch WSVGA LCD with 1024x600 wide resolution, that MSI claims is much better for web surfing compared to Eee PC. Also included is a 4-in-1 card reader, three USB 2.0 ports, GB network port, 802.11B/G wireless and Bluetooth V2.0 EDR. Multimedia features will get you HD audio through integrated stereo speakers and video from a 1.3MP camera. The MSI Wind will ship with either Windows XP or Linux OS. Also MSI promises two battery options: 3 cell and 6 cell. With the 3 cell battery installed, the whole system will weigh less than a kilo and measure 260x180x19-31.5mm. See some more pictures at TweakTown.

ASUS apologized in public today in connection with recent reports that the company had mislead customers and early reviewers. Several consumers in Hong Kong who purchased Eee PC 900 on the first day of its launch have complained that the battery that came with their systems is a 4-cell, 4400mAh model, not the 4-cell, 5800mAh and 4-cell, 5200mAh batteries that were reported by early reviews. ASUS explained that the bigger batteries were provided to the media for testing by mistake, while the 4400mAh model is the standard that should ship with Eee PC 900. ASUS plans to introduce a 5800mAh upgrade part in the near future. All unsatisifed users will be offered an free update from ASUS. The company is currently ecaluating a replacement program, details of which it will introduce soon.

In a brief conversation Helen Ling, an ASUS representative from the company's UK office, told TechRadar that Intel Atom based Eee PC systems are also going to debut soon. When asked about the arrival of Intel Atom inside the Eee PC she said that the new machine will arrive by the "end of June in [the] UK, I would have thought." Later in the session Ling also added: "I think it should be after Computex". Atom will debut during the 28th Taipei International Information Technology Show (Computex 2008) which will run from June 3 to June 7, 2008. Current ASUS Eee PC 900 low-cost laptops are still powered by a Celeron M processor.

Amid the buzz of reaching a new milestone of 1 million Eee PCs sold in just 5 months after its launch, ASUS has provided yet another round of excitement with its release of the new Eee PC 900. This new generation of the ever popular PC packs in a whole range of hardware that includes a 8.9 inch widescreen, a 1.3M pixels webcam, the new innovative FingerGlide and 12GB and 20GB storage capacities for Windows and Linux platforms respectively - catering to wider consumer needs while still maintaining the "Easy to learn, work and play" concept by keeping the overall weight under 1kg.

ASUS' Windows XP preinstalled Eee PC has now become available on Best Buy, two days before the previous April 9th shipping date. Dubbed EEEPC4G-BK010X, and coming with two color options - Black or White (available only online), the Windows XP Eee PC have a price tag of $399.99, identical to that of the Linux Eee 4G version. Specs of EEEPC4G-BK010X are as follows: Intel Celeron M processor 900MHz, 512MB DDR2, 7" WVGA TFT-LCD widescreen display (800x480 resolution), Intel UMA graphics with up to 64MB shared video memory, 4GB SSD, built-in Web cam and microphone, and Windows XP Home Edition preinstalled.

According to ASUS, the first batch of Eee PC 4G with Windows XP will be hitting the U.S. retail market in the first half of April. The 7-inch screen laptop will be available at Best Buy for $399 starting April 9th. The hardware of the system will remain exactly the same as the first generation Linux Eee PCs. It will include the above mentioned 7-inch wide screen with 800x480 resolution, Intel CPU, Chipset and video, 512MB DDR2 memory, 4GB SSD disk, Windows XP Home preloaded, 1x LAN, 3x USB ports, memory card reader, integrated camera and 4400mAh battery for up to 2.8 hours of life.

ASUS' long-promised Eee PC desktop has finally been pictured, according to shots sent into Hot Hardware. Dubbed E-DT, Eee's desktop brother will be equipped at first with a Celeron processor similar to the Eee, but will eventually move to Intel's Atom family of CPUs once they become available. ASUS promises that the system is due to ship by April or May and sell for between $200 and $300 US. The Taiwan PC maker also aims to further lower the price of the E-DT once it is available and start selling like hot cakes.

Kevin Lin, vice president of ASUSTeK's sales department confirmed today that the second-generation Eee PCs will include 8.9-inch touchscreen panels. Some systems may also incorporate GPS support for navigation, Lin added, also noting that the local price for the systems is expected to reach $500. The 8.9-inch Eee PC will adopt Intel's low-cost notebook platform, up to 1GB memory and upgraded SSD drives up to 12GB. Reports indicate that next-gen Eee PCs will possibly become available in May or June.

ASUS has quietly released a Software Developer Kit (SDK) for the Eee PC. The SDK comes as a 1.2GB disc image that can be downloaded from the ASUS support site, and includes the following components:

• Xandros Desktop Open Circulation Version 4.5
• QT
• Eclipse
• QT plugin for Eclipse
• Debian packaging wizard developed by Xandros

Detailed instructions for creating applications, icons and more are included in the user's manual.

Previewed during the latest Mobile World Congress, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) has spilled new details on their ASUS Eee PC competitor, the G10IL. Based on the Intel Atom (Diamondville) microprocessor and Intel 945 GSE + ICH7M core-logic, the G10IL will be offered with glossy 8.2-inch or 10.2-inch display, up to 2GB of memory, optional solid-state drive and preinstalled Windows XP or Linux OS. ECS G10IL will be the first ultra-portable laptop to be available, with new models set to follow soon. Multimedia and network features include built-in 1.3MP webcam, tri-band HSDPA and HSUPA connectivity, three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet networking, a 56Kb/s analog modem, WLAN and Bluetooth, and a 4-in-one card reader. "In response to the demanding requirements of notebook offering advantages unattainable by others, Elitegroup Computer Systems today unveiled Simply Smart ECS G10IL notebooks where we made a giant stride possessing the power and features that is undoubtedly a winner in its class for today's sophisticated customers," a statement by ECS reads. The release date and pricing of the first ECS G10IL are still unknown.

ASUS' Eee PC met with surprising success when it was launched last year, offering users a small, simple and cheap notebook to perform basic tasks such as browsing the internet and creating office documents. The company is now planning to try and build on that success by launching a desktop variant of the Eee PC, currently being called the Digital Home System EP20. Unfortunately there are very few confirmed details - all that's known is that it will be smaller than a typical desktop PC and come equipped with the same Linux operating system as the Eee PC (based on Xandros Linux). The system is also expected to feature one of Intel's new Atom processors, which could allow for both single and dual core versions. ASUS commented that prices should start around $199, although DailyTech speculates that the real figure may be closer to $299.

It seems just about every company wants to jump on the subnotebook bandwagon nowadays, with MSI being the most recent addition to the list. The Wind Laptop will feature a 10" display, an Intel Shelton CPU with speeds ranging from 1.0GHz to 1.6GHz, a 2.5" HDD or SSD, 1GB RAM and a seven hour battery life, with either Linux or Windows as an OS. There is no information about when this is likely to become available, but prices are expected to be between €299 ($458) and €699 ($1072) depending on which model you go for.

Laptop Magazine scored an hour-long interview with ASUS CEO Jerry Shen, and while most of the details they got out of him were already unveiled at CeBIT this week, they did manage to squeeze some new info about the future Eee PC 900:

• The US pricing for the Eee PC 900 will be around $499 at launch, with plans to drop the price within a few months
• While initial reports have suggested that the Windows XP model will sport a 8GB of flash memory and the Linux version will have 12GB, Shen says the Linux model might have as much as 20GB of storage
• ASUS is looking into offering a hard drive option, but any units the company releases between now and June will have SSD only
• ASUS is not abandoning its custom Xandros operating system
• Units with built-in WiMax and HSDPA could be released in Q3 2008
• Future models could use Intel's Diamondville processor
• More color options are coming in a few months

Not wanting to miss out on its chance to share ASUS's surprising success, ECS is now planning an 11" competitor to the Eee PC. The G10IL will be a sub $500 notebook with three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, a VGA connection and built in HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access). So far no other hard specs such as processor speed or memory have been given, but WiFi and Bluetooth are both quite likely. Like the Eee PC there will be no built-in optical drive.

Amidst great expectations, ASUS today launched the ASUS Eee PC pre-installed with Microsoft Windows XP. This new offering of the ever-popular Eee PC promises to let users enjoy an efficient online and work management experience with the incorporated Windows Live and Microsoft Works features. This will help create additional opportunities for students and other personal PC users who desire a portable and affordable PC to easily access the Internet virtually anywhere.

Blog site Eee Site uncovered today details of the next generation Eee PC that will sport a larger display, more RAM, and more storage space. Here are some hints:

• The new model will be named the Eee PC 900
• 1GB of RAM will be standard (up from 512MB)
• SSD storage capacities of up to 12GB will be available
• The overall size should remain the same since the Eee PC 900 will use the same case as the current 700 series
• The base price will jump from 299€ to 399€, not sure what that means for the US prices as computers usually

Expect official press release very soon.

ASUS has formally launched its Windows XP Home Edition pre-installed Eee PC in Japan. The Linux-less Eee PC is named 4G-X and has quite the same specs as the original Eee PC 701 (4G). The standard 4GB SSD, 512MB of DDR 2 memory, 800x480 display, three USB 2.0 ports, SDHC memory card reader, 10/100Mb/s Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and a 0.3-megapixel webcam are all presented. ASUS is also bundling the 4G-X model with a 4GB SDHC card, doubling the total storage to 8GB. Japanese buyers get a choice of white or black colours. Buyers also get an optical mouse and free access to NTT's WiFine hotspot network. The 4G-X will cost ¥50,000 ($468/£239/€320).

After Asus's large success with the Eee PC, the company is looking to launch a new version, which will most probably appear in Q2 2008. The screen options will be either 7, 8 or 8.9-inch and the PC will be WiMAX-enabled. Interestingly, Asus may opt for a 9" touch screen, and is searching for a manufacturer that would be capable of supplying the screens in large quantities at a decent price.

There is a possibility that the top Eee model will feature a 10" screen, Asus does plan to keep the costs as low as possible.

ASUS North American headquarters today confirmed the plan to offer channel-wide availability of the Microsoft Windows XP-based Eee PC. "The Eee PC has been a tremendous success since our initial launch in November last year, and our channel customers tell us they want to offer even more options to their end consumers. With the new Windows XP based offerings, we expect to engage with a broader customer base whose existing software and applications require a Windows' based device," said Jackie Hsu, President of ASUS America Channel. The Microsoft Windows XP-preinstalled Eee PC is expected to be available through ASUS North American authorized resellers by the end of Q1, 2008. The introductory models will be equipped with 4GB or 8GB of solid state drive. Pricing information is not available at this time.

After its big success ASUS Eee PC is now ready to offer more with the release of brand new accessories. A compact 1000dpi resolution optical mouse, pair of headphones with 1.15m of cable length, handy power adapter and extra batteries (4 cell with 5200mAh and 6 cell with 7800mAh) will be the first four new accessories for Eee PC. The accessories will be released in Q1 2008, but their prices have not been announced.