Intel announced today that it is working with ASUS to develop low-cost portable PCs. This project is not to be confused with Intel's Classmate PC, which as far as we know is a completely separate venture. There is no specific target price for these notebooks, however, Intel said that some might be available for less than $200.

The first Intel-ASUS laptop was announced at the end of a keynote address at Computex. Jonney Shih, CEO and chairman of ASUS, walked onto the stage with a prototype of the low-cost notebook PC. The PC itself is very small, and measures in at only 225 x 165 x 35mm. It weighs only 890 grams.

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what market segment this PC is targeted at. Intel and ASUS both claim that it is designed for developing countries, but where that would leave Intel's Classmate PC is beyond our knowledge. There have been some discussion that ASUS will be offering the PC through traditional retail channely, meaning a government contract wouldn't be the only way to get this PC.he laptop series has been dubbed the Eee, which according to ASUS stands for, "easy to learn, easy to play, easy to work." Although we might not like the name very much, the price point should make u for it.

As can be expected, the laptop is based on an Intel chipset and CPU. The notebook is more flexible in terms of operating systems compared to Intel's Classmate PC, and similar to the XO, is based on a distribution of Linux. Intel and ASUS, however, opted against making a specialized Linux distribution and instead chose to base the laptop on the well-known Linux distribution Ubuntu. In addition to compatiblity with Linux, we are being told the laptops will also be compatible with Microsoft's operating systems.

The notebook's monitor has a 7-inch diagonal length. Unfortunately, ASUS didn't go as far as to reveal the resolution of the display. In terms of storage, the notebook can be equipped with NAND memory modules ranging from 2 GB all the way to 16 GB. As of right now, the price point of the laptop is expected to be around $199. Naturally, the price will go up depending on the laptop's hardware configuration. T