Asus announces netbooks with built-in Optical Disc Drive

Thursday, April 2, 2009, 5:13
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asuseeepc1004dn Taiwan’s AsusTek Computer has been one of the most critical players in the netbook business. The company has played a big role in shaping up the netbook computer genre. The company introduced its very popular Asus Eee models, which along with rival mini-notebooks like the Acer Aspire ONE and Lenovo Ideapad, has proven its mettle with the consumers. These consumers are nothing but the users who willfully sacrifice features like a full-size keyboard, larger screen, and a DVD drive and settle for a smaller, lighter, and portable netbook that they think is great for simple activities like emailing and Web-browsing.

Asus has decided to move ahead with its innovations with respect to netbooks. The company has announced that, very soon, it plans to launch an Eee PC netbook that will sport a built-in optical disc drive (ODD). This ODD-equipped E1004DN netbook is planned to hit the shelves early next month. This model will be followed by another model, the 1008HA in the month of May. The E1004DN will be powered by an Intel Atom N280 processor and will be supported by a GN40 chipset, and a 120 GB hard drive for storage. The company has not divulged any details about the screen size of this model. Guessing the screen size is not going to be a problem because Asus has already said that it plans to discontinue its 7-inch and 8.9-inch Eee netbooks. So, it can be predicted that the screen of E1004DN will be around 10 inches. The E1004DN will be priced around $531 to $590.

Asus has demonstrated a smart thought process by offering ODD based netbooks. It has probably gauged the fact that the netbook users need a built-in optical drive in their machines. Users who do not care for digital downloads desire an optical drive all the more. The next additions to the netbook family can range from high-definition video support to super large screens. The netbook business still actually has lot to offer its consumers.