Asus unveils Eee PC 900 XP laptop

Details of second-generation sub-notebooks announced

Asus has formally taken the wraps off the second generation of its much-hyped Eee PC family of mini notebooks, available with either Windows XP or Linux operating systems.

Both Asus Eee PC 900 models sport an 8.9in screen, 1GB of Ram, a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam, USB ports and integrated card readers.

Larger than their predecessors, the Windows XP version will ship with a 12GB solid state hard drive while its Linux counterpart will come with a 20GB hard drive.

According to the Taiwanese manufacturer the new Eee PCs will offer up to 3.5 hours of battery life.

Asus has yet to confirm which processors will power the new line up, saying only that the devices would run on an "Intel mobile CPU" and an "Intel mobile chipset".

Weighing in at less than 1kg both versions of the Asus Eee PC 900 will be available from PC World on 1 May priced at £329.

The company has also announced a new 7in 4GB Windows XP version sharing the same specification as the existing 4GB Eee PC 701. The Asus Eee PC 4G Win laptop will be priced at £249.