Asus finally launching EEE Keyboard PC; Acer promises competition

Ever since last year's CES in January, we have been waiting patiently for Asus to release its most-anticipated product, the EEE Keyboard PC. And it seems that it is finally time for the world to get its 'PC in a keyboard' as the new gizmo is expected to ship in the US within three weeks.

The EEE Keyboard PC is basically an entire Asus laptop in the guise of a keyboard, complete with a little touchscreen panel where the numpad usually is. Powered by an Intel Atom processor and fitted with most of the same technology as a regular netbook, this Keyboard PC can then be hooked up to a TV, monitor or any other display.

The modes of connecting the keyboard to the display are two-fold. First, there is the usual wired connectivity through a D-Sub and an HDMI port. The fact that it allows for HDMI suggests that it could have better graphic capabilities than most netbooks. The second way of connectivity is through wireless HD! That’s right, folks, you can connect the EEE Keyboard PC to any TV or monitor that supports ultrawideband HD, potentially turning any screen into a PC.

The 5-inch touchscreen panel is also extremely impressive, as it offers a whole new paradigm in user interface, giving you easy access to shortcuts as well as doubling up for tasks such as a chat client.

Engadget says the Asus EEE Keyboard PC should be available for $500-$600 this month. Asus has also released a cool new video demonstrating the EEE Keyboard PC's capabilities.

Meanwhile, Acer has indicated that it too will be getting into the Keyboard PC market to compete with rival Asus. And more importantly, according to TopNews, it doesn't plan on skimping in the hardware. The Acer keyboard PC is expected to pack a Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, and an Nvidia GeForce graphics card. All of that for a price of roughly £370 makes this sound like a great deal, but we'll believe it when we see it.