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Given that it's April 1st, I tend to be pretty sceptical about any "hot" info that comes my way, but in this case I thought it warranted following up on. In an attempt to sound like a real news hound, I'm going to say that a source close to Asus let slip some juicy details about the forthcoming Eee PC models.

Of course we've known for a while that a new Eee PC with an 8.9in 1,024 x 600 screen was on the way, but we weren't sure about the full specification or the pricing. The information I received indicates that there are two SKUs based on the new screen size, one sporting Windows XP and the other running the more familiar Linux environment.

Looking at the XP version (Eee PC 900 Win) you'll get 1GB of memory and 12GB of storage space - essentially triple the amount of storage seen in the original Eee PC. It also appears that the XP machines will ship with Microsoft Works pre-installed, taking care of your productivity needs.

But it's the new Linux offering (Eee PC 900) that looks really tempting. By using an open source operating system, Asus has managed to offer 20GB of solid state storage, which isn't far off what you used see in an ultra-portable notebook a couple of years back. Obviously you still get 1GB of memory to play with, which will go even further using Linux instead of XP.

The webcam has also been upgraded on the new models, with 1.3-megapixels at your disposal, instead of the measly 0.3-megapixels seen in the original machine. So if you're into producing your own webcam shows, or like to see what your long lost relatives in Australia look like, you'll be happy.

Both new SKUs will be available in white and black, with corresponding W or BK at the end of the model name to differentiate them.

But the biggest news is the pricing. Both the new XP and Linux models will retail for around £329, which makes either, but especially the 20GB Linux SKU, a complete bargain. Obviously I wasn't able to get definite confirmation of that pricing, but a source did indicate that £329 is a "pretty good estimate".

So, now we know what the new Eee PC will be delivering and how much it will cost, there's only one thing left to do - get your credit card out!

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