Eee PC from ASUS Now Officially Include Windows XP

ASUS officially launches the Microsoft-equipped flavor of its popular ultra-portable

While enthusiasts have been loading Windows XP onto ASUS' ultra-portable Eee PC of their own regard since its launch, those who wanted to avoid the worry of customizing the Microsoft OS -- or just wanted the familiar "Windows Key" instead of the "Home Key" were left waiting for the official launch.

ASUS announced late on Wednesday the release of the Eee with a pre-loaded Windows XP operating system. Keeping the focus on the original philosophy of "Easy to learn, work, and play" the Eee-XP comes preloaded with a number of Windows Live products, such as Mail, Messenger, Photo Gallery, and "Family Safety" -- a parental-controls suite. The entry-level Microsoft Works suite will also be provided, but ASUS has specified that it will not be available in certain regions, likely due to localization restrictions on the software.

Given the issues about the lifespan of the internal SSD raised in an earlier DailyTech blog posting, there is some concern with regards to any new wear-leveling that may be put in place to extend the drive life. Most devices with solid-state storage have used operating systems designed to minimize repeated write-erase cycles, such as Linux or an embedded version of Windows, rather than a full consumer OS.

Having recently announced their second-generation Eee PC 900, ASUS is working to fend off attempts on the budget-ultraportable market from HP's upcoming 2133 sub-notebook, and the recently-unveiled ECS G10IL.

Pricing for the Eee-XP has not been announced at the time of this article, but previous predictions estimated that an additional markup of $30-$60 USD would be required over the Linux-equipped models.

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