Asus Eee PC Gets DVD Drive, Netbook Committee Re-evaluates Eee PC Membership

Fact: A netbook is a "computer with a low-powered x86-compatible processor, small screen, small keyboard, equipped with wireless connectivity, lightweight and no optical disk drive."

Apparently, Asus has broken one of the golden netbook rules adding a DVD drive to their popular Eee PC.



Over the weekend Asus announced the newest edition to their Eee PC line, the 1004DN (other names that could have been cooler include Eee PC DVD, Eee PC Rebel, Eee PC Traitor.) The poorly named netbook is expected to hit U.S. shores in April.

I wish I can say "shame on you Asus for betraying your roots by making a tiny laptop and calling it a netbook," but alas I can't, because Asus us just giving the people exactly what they want. They are simply appealing to an audience that has come to expect their computers to come with a DVD drive.

And after having my netbook for a few months now, I have to admit, an optical drive would be far more convenient for plane trips.

Now, that Asus has blazed the optical drive trail, I'm sure we will see Acer, Dell, MSI and Sony follow suit.

Although the new Asus Eee PC 1004DN's specs aren't blow-your-mind awesome, they are still pretty impressive and needless to say "I wants." (Pending price point.)

The 1004DN specs include:

• DVD Drive: Super-Multi (Sounds fancy)


• Screen: 10 inches (The new netbook standard)


• Processor: Intel Atom N280 (That's the newest one)


• Weight: 3.2 lbs (That's with battery and DVD player)


• HDD: 120 GB


• Battery: 6-cell (With estimated 5.9 hour life. That probably doesn't include when the DVD drive is in use.)


• Memory: 1 GB (Standard, but there is a slot for expansion)


• Bluetooth: Yes


• Camera: 1.3 (Typical)


• Keyboard: Chiclet (93% normal size. Would it kill them to up it to 95%?)

For more netbook info, check the netbook review site. If it's more tech news you want, we have plenty more blogs to occupy your time with.

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