$700 laptop launched in Australia

It doesn’t seem that long ago that $1500 was considered a good price for a laptop, and $1000 a bargain. But $700? Forget about it.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that $1500 was considered a good price for a laptop, and $1000 a bargain. But $700? Forget about it.

Today there are a fair few laptops priced below the $1000 mark. On Friday, another joined their ranks – the $699 ASUS Eee PC 1000H.

Asus shook up the laptop market late last year when it launched a very basic, super-cheap laptop for $499. This time it has taken a more conventional strategy, adding more features but at a price closer the rest of the pack.

The 1000H comes with a 10 inch display with 1024×600 resolution 80GB hard drive, 1.3M pixel webcam, built-in stereo speakers and microphone, three USB ports, a battery with 4.5 hours running time and runs on the Microsoft Windows XP operating system.

For the size conscious, the 1000H is 266mm wide and 191.2mm deep and weighs in at 1.45 kilos – not too heavy, but might leave you with a bit of a sore shoulder if you lug it around in the laptop bag all day.

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