In Software Design and Development I was constantly reminded about something called “scope creep” which can affect developers when making applications. It referred to adding or spending too much time on a particular feature, at the cost of meeting a deadline or budget.
It seems ASUS has let this happen to their little Eee PC, once touted as a $199 laptop. The original Eee PC, with it’s 7″ 800×480 display and 4GB flash memory came in at $399, double the price it was planned for. But it was still cheap, so it sold by the thousands. Then the 8GB model arrived, sporting a $100 premium over it’s lower capacity brother. Still, it was tiny and light so it sold quite well too.
Now ASUS is thinking they can stretch the price even more with the Eee 901, which combines an 8.9″ 1024×600 display and up to 20GB flash into the same space as the original Eee 701. Sounds good, but it has one fatal flaw: it’s going to cost $649. That brings it up to the price of the HP Mini-Note, which is better equiped than the Eee with hard drive options up to 200GB and larger keyboard.
I’ve been contemplating the purchase of an Eee 701 for use at uni and on the train, and I’ve found it for as little as AU$365, making it a relatively easy choice to make. But at $650, it moves out of the easy decision bin.
[via Engadget]
