With the release of Asus Eee Top all-in-one personal computer many market observers expressed concerns that the device will impact sales of Asustek’s own Eee Box nettop as well as mainboards. While Asustek Computer admits that the system will have an impact on the market, it claims that the device will mostly affect sales of PCs and mainboards by second-tier vendors.

Speaking at a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan, Jonney Shin, the chairman of Asustek Computer, stressed that market positioning of Asus Eee Box and Asus Eee Top is completely different and that they hardly compete against each other, reports DigiTimes web-site. This may sound logical as despite of the fact that performance of both Eee PCs seems be equal, the Eee Top is designed completely differently than the Eee Box and customers seeking for one would not choose another. However, since a lot of end-users are unsure about their demands, there still may be competition between the two low-cost PC options.

Asus Eee Top all-in-one desktop (model ETP1602-WT-X0010) is based on Intel Atom processor N270 (1.60GHz) and Intel 945 GSE core-logic with built-in graphics core. The novelty sports 1GB of DDR2 memory, 160GB hard disk drive, Gigabit Ethernet controller, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n controller, built-in audio, 1.3MP webcam and so on. The system is equipped with 15.6” touch-sensitive screen with 16:10 aspect ratio. Even though the Asus Eee all-in-one desktop has touch-sensitive screen, it still comes bundled with keyboard and mouse.

The Eee Box is based on single-core Intel Atom processor, has 160GB hard drive and does not have optical drive, but it features 4-in-1 card reader, Wi-Fi 802.11n controller and, most importantly, Windows XP Home operating system.

Since the Asus Eee Top is aimed at consumers looking forward working out-of-box system, it naturally competes against inexpensive desktops made by local vendors and impacts sales of affordable mainboards made by rivals of Asustek Computer and does not impact own-brand business of the company, according to Mr. Shih. It should be noted that it naturally affects sales of Asrock-branded inexpensive mainboards that are made by Asustek’s subsidiaries.

Tags: ASUS, Eee, Intel, Atom