Asus plans to start selling Eee PC models preloaded with Windows XP in the US in April. According to Laptop Magazine, you'll be able to pick up an Asus 4G with XP at Best Buy for $399 on April 9th. That's the same price Asus is currently charging for the 4G model with Xandros Linux, which means that one of the following is true:

1. Asus has managed to bring down production costs.
2. The company is selling so many units that they can cut their profit margin and still make money
3. Microsoft has decided to offer up Windows XP for the same price Asus is paying for Linux, ie: free.

I'll let you decide what's actually going on, but I'll give you a hint. It's certainly not option 3.

Anyway, Laptop Mag went and did a mini-review of Windows XP on the 4G, but to be honest, there's not much new to report here. Asus has included Windows XP drivers since day one, and folks have been loading Windows XP onto their Eee PCs for just as long. The one difference is that the geekiest folks who load Windows on their own use programs like nLite to shrink XP and remove unnecessary components and services so that the operating system will take up less space. On the unit that Laptop Magazine tested, Windows took up a good 1.8GB out of the box, and after installing just a few applications, the testers were almost out of storage space.

There is one other nugget of information worth mentioning. Apparently Microsoft is bundling its Works suite with the Eee PC. So you can probably gain a few more MB of storage by uninstalling that and replacing it with free Office-compatible programs like AbiWord and Gnumeric. Or if you're not particularly concerned about storage, you could install the bulkier, but fuller-featured OpenOffice.org.

German Eee PC site Eee PC News has released Easy Mode XP, an application launcher designed for Eee PCs running Windows XP. The application looks nearly identical to the Easy Mode interface Asus designed for the Eee PC. But the Asus software runs on Xandros Linux and is kind of tricky to customize (unless you use some third party software). Easy Mode XP, on the other hand is incredibly easy to customize.

You'll need Microsoft's .net Framework 2.0 in order to run Easy Mode XP. The first time you run the application you'll be presented with a series of tabs, but each will be empty. You can add applications and icons by clicking on the icon editor. Just select the location of the file you want to run, give it a name, and choose an icon. The developers have been kind enough to create a group of icons for common Windows applications.

And it's also much easier to switch between Easy Mode and "full desktop mode" in XP, because Easy Mode is basically just an application running on top of Windows XP. Clicking the full desktop mode button just minimizes the interface.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure why anyone would want this utility. It's pretty cool that you can mimic the Eee PC's Linux interface in Windows. But if you're running Windows on your Eee PC right now, it's safe to assume you installed it yourself, which means you're probably pretty comfortable with a start menu, taskbar, and other Windows XP doohickeys. Easy Mode was really designed for people who didn't have a lot of experience with computers and people who didn't want to learn about Linux. Neither is true of the folks who are installing XP on the Eee PC.

Now, I did read something about Asus preparing their own Easy Mode for Windows XP that may be included with future Eee PC models that will ship with Windows preloaded. But again, I would assume the goal is to create an attractive interface for people who don't have a lot of experience with traditional computers.

Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe the appeal of the easy mode is the large icons which are easy to read on a small screen. But as simple as Easy Mode XP is, I just don't see a reason to use it.

While you can install OS X or Windows Vista on an Eee PC, the truth of the matter is the laptop does is much more comfortable running Linux or Windows XP, thanks to its underpowered 900MHz Celeron processor and relatively small amount of storage space.

But Engadget got confirmation that Asus and Microsoft do plan to make sure Windows Vista's successor will run on the Eee PC. Right now, the next Windows operating system has the catchy code name of "Windows 7." While it's not due out for another year (or three), Windows 7 is supposed to have a smaller kernel than Vista, which could make it a better choice for a computer without much storage, like the Eee PC.

Of course, by the time Windows 7 is released, flash prices may have dropped enough for Asus to cram a 32GB or 64G SSD into the Eee PC. OK, maybe not, but I can dream can't I?

Apparently Asus has started shipping an Eee PC model preloaded with Windows XP in Korea. I have to admit, Google Translate didn't do a very good job with this article from French Eee blog, Blogeee, so I'm not going to get into the rest of the details. But it does appear to be just a matter of time until we see a Windows XP model in the US. Possibly just days, even.

Want to overclock your Eee PC, seriously boost the screen brightness, or gain some more control over your tiny computer's obnoxiously loud fan? EeeCtl can do all of that and more.

This tiny Windows-only application hangs out in your Windows system tray. Give it a little right-click and you can adjust your processor speed, fan, or backlight settings. You can adjust the processor to run at 630MHz, 765MHz, or 900MHz. Out of the box, the Eee PC runs at 630MHz, even though Asus advertises the computer as having a 900MHz processor. I mean, it does, but Asus underclocks it to improve battery performance. So obviously if you go and use EeeCtl or another method to boost your CPU cycles, you can probably expect your battery life to take a hit.

The latest version of EeeCtl also includes the ability to make your screen super bright. Previously the only easy way to achieve this was to install the unofficial 501 BIOS which isn't really supported by Asus. Of course, EeeCtl isn't supported by Asus either, but you don't need to reflash your BIOS to install it.

The most valuable feature for me has been the fan control settings. Last time I updated my Eee PC BIOS, the result was a fan that runs at 100% pretty much all the time. And while that's tolerable if you're hanging out in a noisy coffee shop, it can be pretty annoying in a quiet room. EeeCtl lets you adjust your fan speed manually or by selecting an "automatic" setting.

While some people have reported that they've disconnected their fans altogether to get rid of the whirring sounds without any negative effect, keep in mind that the fan is in there for a reason. So if you don't want your computer to overheat and die on you, I'd recommend continuing to run the fan at a moderate speed, especially if you're going to overclock your Eee PC. But EeeCtl lets you decide how and when to let the fan go full speed and when a slower speed might do.

It probably goes without saying, but this is unofficial software, and there's always a chance that you could bork your system by installing it. But so far, I'm pretty impressed with EeeCtl.

Look, I know that with a 900MHz celeron processor, integrated graphics, and just 512MB of RAM, the Eee PC isn't going to be a speed demon. But that doesn't mean you can't still have some fun with it. Cas at ScaleGamer has posted a series of YouTube videos showing the Eee PC running everything from Far Cry to Mario 64 using a Nintendo 64 emulator.

Of course, good luck playing these games on a stock unit. You're going to want to install Windows XP, or at least install WINE and hope that it will work with the games you want to run under Linux. And I'd certainly recommend upgrading your RAM.

Dan at UltraMobileGeek even posted a video showing World of Warcraft running on an Eee PC. (Thanks TheCuso!)

Asus is continuing to roll out new models of the Eee PC at a furious pace. The original 4G unit has only been out for about two months, and already you can find 2GB and 8GB varieties. Now we've got word that Asus plans to add a 16GB version to its lineup.

Asus will be launching the Eee PC in Japan soon, and Akihibara News reports that it will be available in 4GB to 16GB varieties. The site is also reporting on a rumor that you'll be able to get Windows XP preinstalled. While the Eee PC officially supports XP and pretty much any version of Linux you want to throw at it, (and unofficially, you can shoehorn OS X or Windows Vista onto it if you're up for a challenge), every unit sold at retail to date has come with a custom version of Xandros Linux preinstalled.

I get the feeling that if Asus plans to launch a 16GB model in Japan, it won't be long before we see a US release.

Of course, I probably shouldn't be surprised to see Asus turning out all of these different varieties so quickly. For the most part, these are all the exact same unit with just a few changes in off the shelf components like RAM and SSD. I'm still holding out hope that Asus will decide to introduce a low cost Eee PC with a 10-inch screen into the mix, but that will require building a whole new case, which could take a bit longer. And as long as the original 7-inch version is selling well, which it seems to be doing, there's not a lot of incentive to mess with a successful formula.

[via Gizmodo]