The Asus Eee Keyboard has been around for quite some time now, but it’s finally been put up for preorders on Amazon. Unveiled early last year, it first looked like a prototype at the time, with Asus showing off a netbook platform crammed into a slim keyboard. Granted, it still looks like an odd PC a year after we first saw it, but will it be an oddity that people will want to pick up?
Here are the basics: this keyboard-looking device is technically a netbook, running on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor with 1GB of memory and 16GBs of storage loaded with Windows XP. Connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, Wi-fi, Bluetooth, USB, plus an HDMI output for plugging into HD displays.
Here’s how it works: There’s no reason to think that it’ll perform differently from any other similarly-configured netbook, but this kit won’t come with a 10-inch screen. While it does come with its own built-in display (a 5-inch capacitive multi-touch screen along the right side for basic operation), it’s designed to plug into larger displays wirelessly via an Ultra-Wide Bandwidth (UWB) connection. UWB is listed to work well enough to stream HD videos wirelessly from the keyboard to the display, so that’s good enough if you’re looking to stay in one place.
It’s an intriguing device, and certainly an interesting computer thanks to the sleek design—if you’re into sleek-looking keyboards. The problem? Would you pay $599 for a weird-looking netbook that won’t work that well on its own? Because that’s how much this kit is listed to be worth.
Tags: Asus, Eee PC, Keyboards, Netbooks
