Classmate PC Potential Eee PC Rival?

Looking at the specs of the Intel Classmate PC, which is manufactured by ECS by way of its purchase of Uniwill -

Intel Classmate PC Specs as listed in the the ClassmatePC site -

Chassis: Customized Mini Chassis 245x196x44
Processor: Intel® Mobile Processor ULV 900 MHz, Zero L2 cache, 400 MHz FSB
Chipset: Intel 915GMS + ICH6-M
Memory: DDR-II 256M SO-DIMM
LCD: 7" 800 x 480, LVDS Interface, LED B/L
Storage Device: 1GB/2GB NAND Flash
Audio: Stereo 2 Channel Audio, Built-in Speakers and Microphone, Jack for External Output and Microphone Input
LAN/WLAN: 10/100M Ethernet + WLAN 802.11 b/g w/ Antenna
Keyboard: Integrated Keyboard with Hot Keys
Touch Pad: Cycle Touch Pad with Left and Right Buttons
Digital Pen (optional): Wireless Pen to take digital notes
TPM: TPM1.2
Power Solution: Battery with Adapter – 6 Cells, approximately 4 hours Usage
Weight: Less than 1.3kg (aprox. 2.86 pounds)
Operating System: Windows XP Pro*/ Linux*

it is quite obvious the unit shares a common platform with the Asus Eee PC.

Of course, appearance-wise, no one will mistake the Classmate PC for its Asus counterpart, as the two photos below from Ricardo's Blog show.





But aside from the similar technical specs, the two also have similar price ranges, especially now that Asus has effectively increased the Eee PC's since its initial announcement. The Classmate PC lists for USD300 for its target market while the Asus Eee PC starts at USD249 (at least for the US market).

What this means is that if ECS were to streamline the physical appearance of its Classmate PC and make it more appealing to adult users, as well as reduce the price, it will have a formidable rival to the Asus Eee PC. Moreover, since the Classmate PC has been in production for a while now, ECS will have the advantage in procuring the critical components that are currently in shortage.

Thus barring any legal impediments, ECS is actually in a good position to sneak up on Asus. Back in late 2001, ECS defined a new market segment with the introduction of its Desknote (iBuddie) series - which are desktop replacement laptops without built-in batteries. The next year, Asus came out with its Degatto line, essentially the same configuration as that of the Desknote, to compete head-on with the latter. Since then, the two companies have been consistently introducing notebook models with similar configurations and price points.

Incidentally, the two companies also compete directly in the motherboard business, being two of the largest manufacturers in the world. So it would be interesting if their rivalry heats up the notebook segment once again.