ASUS: No WiMax for next Eee PC

Matthew Elliott | May 21, 2008

WiMax supporters insist the technology is set to take off this year. If it does, it will have to do so without the help of the ASUS Eee PC 901. After giving it some thought, Asus has decided not to integrate the long-range wireless technology in its next mini-laptop, citing a lack of maturity in the US market, according to a report from DigiTimes.

Given the popularity of the Eee PC and Eee PC 900, ASUS' current low-cost little laptops, a WiMax-enabled Eee PC 901 might have given the fledging wireless technology a boost later this year. Instead, WiMax's chief investors--Sprint, Clearwire, Comcast, Time Warner, Intel, Motorola, and Google--will look to Samsung's next version of the Q1 Ultra to help lead the WiMax charge in the US.

Although ASUS has put the kibosh on a WiMax-enabled Eee PC for the moment, the company intends to add WiMax to its mainstream 14- and 15-inch laptops later this year, according to DigiTimes. By the time we start seeing laptops with WiMax, however, we might be talking about LTE-enabled laptops for use on AT&T and Verizon's forthcoming 4G wireless network.

Via Crave CNET | Source: The Tech Report

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