(Click here for a larger view of the Asus Eee PC 901 netbook)With this announcement, Asus becomes the first company we know of to add a HSUPA cellular modem to a netbook. LG Electronics announced a wide-area-equipped netbook, the
X110, at the end of August, but this appears to feature an HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access modem), with somewhat slower operation. Meanwhile, the high-speed HSUPA standard has been offered in add-on cards for laptops and in a few other smaller devices.
Earlier Windows-based HSUPA devices we've covered include, in chronological order:
The HSUPA version of Eee's
PC 901 is apparently otherwise identical to the original, announced in June. That means an 8.9-inch screen, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo speakers and mic, plus built-in Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n networking. Claimed battery life, originally eight hours, has fallen just slightly to 7.5 hours. (For more details, see our earlier coverage,
here.)
For mass storage, the 2.4-pound device was originally said to offer either a 12GB SSD (solid state disk) preloaded with Windows XP Home or a 20GB SSD preloaded with Linux. The "Eee PC 901 with 3.75G" is cited as having only a 16GB SSD with XP Home, possibly leaving Linux fans out in the cold.
More about HSUPAAn offshoot of HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access), HSUPA is a
3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) specification. It was designed to boost the upload performance of UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system networks), with a roadmap calling for eventual upload speeds of 11.5Mbps.
So far, HSUPA has been launched by 51 operators in 35 countries, with 17 additional deployments ongoing, according to a fact sheet published in July by the
GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association). Europe has 38 commercial HSUPA systems, representing a 100% increase in less than six months, the organization adds. In the U.S., meanwhile, AT&T has been adding HSUPA to its network and says the process will be complete some time this year.
Further informationAccording to Asus, the Eee PC 901 with 3.75G will be available during October, though specific markets and pricing were not detailed. Inclusion of Bluetooth and 802.11 capabilities will be "operator dependent," the company says, suggesting that carriers will provide the device to customers in custom, subsidized versions.
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