Newest Eee PC Has Multi-Touch Trackpad

The next generation Eee PC laptop by Asustek Computer will come with a multi-touch trackpad in addition to the larger screen, better Web cam and increased data storage, a company representative said Thursday.

The Eee PC 900 boasts an 8.9-inch screen, larger than the 7-inch display on the original Eee PC 701 model, along with a 1.3-megapixel camera and 12G-byte solid-state disk drive (SSD). The Web cam on the Eee PC 701 is only 0.3-megapixels and the largest SSD is 8G-bytes.

The Eee PC 900's oversized touchpad works similar to the Macbook Air. Using two fingers, a person can zoom in and out of documents and photos, scroll up and down, and more, an Asustek representative said.

A picture of the Eee PC 900 can be found on the Federal Communications Commission's Web site, where details were submitted for approval by the U.S. government regulator.

A few things the Eee PC 900 will not have include a touchscreen and GPS (global positioning system), the Asustek representative said, despite some news reports to the contrary.

The Eee PC 900 will come pre-loaded with either Microsoft Windows XP or Linux OSs, the representative said.

The first devices will likely hit some markets by June this year. Pricing will vary by country, but in Europe, the new Eee PC will cost around ¬399 (US$626).