Asus to remove the 8.9-inch netbook line

Asus plans to phase out its 8.9-inch netbook line completely.

Eee PC 900 - about to be extinct?

Just recently we heard rumors about Asus planning to trim down its product line in order to reduce operating cost. This also aims at reducing consumers’ confusion about numerous almost-similar variants that are different only marginally. This might be the first blow – It’s speculated that the Taiwanese company plans to phase out its 8.9-inch netbook line completely by later this year.

Asus Asia-Pacific president Benson Lin said that 10-inch models are becoming the “mainstream specification” – as reported by Tom’s hardware. He’s probably true in saying so, as the same thing is happening with Acer also, who reacted by started shipping the new Aspire One 10-inch netbook, and stopped manufacturing the 8.9-inch Aspire One model completely.

The 10-inch models will account for 95 percent of Eee PC shipments with the remaining 5 percent being 7-inch models for telecom service operators.

Although there’s not much different between 8.9-inch and a 10-inch machine – you might ask – but a 10-inch machine gives a much better grip of comfort on the keyboard. Many of the users I’ve asked found the 8.9-inch keyboard a little too small. But then there are those who would want to sacrifice the comfort of the keyboard for that extra mobility.