Photos: Eee PC 'Ultimate' S101 takes netbooks through puberty

Asus has decided the current Eee PC is a little too plasticky to be taken seriously by be-suited CEOs and will launch a swanky, seductive new Eee laptop aimed at people who could end your life with a click of their fingers.

These, ladies and gentlegeeks, are exclusive pictures of the Eee PC 'Ultimate' S101 -- obtained by one of Crave's shady industry contacts. It's wider than the Eee PC 1000, but it's also a tad thinner, so you can use it as a makeshift blade when your bodyguard is felled by nefarious terrorists. It also has a lovely metallic brown finish, so it'll go perfectly with your Ferragamo nuxy trim loafers.

Final specs are unconfirmed, but we know for a fact it'll use an Intel Atom CPU, 2GB of RAM, Windows XP and a choice of 32GB or 64GB solid-state hard drives. Our spies say the screen will be a 10.2-inch LED backlit model -- not the 10.1-incher seen on most netbooks.

There's also talk of the Eee PC S101 getting a name change before it hits the street in the first week of October, but we reckon it'll just as likely retain the Eee monicker. After all, Asus certainly isn't afraid of throwing the Eee name about (Eee TVs, anyone?). Prices are unconfirmed, but we're hearing reports that the 32GB model will cost $699 (£380), while the 64GB model will cost $899 (£480).

Is it a step too far? Isn't the Eee supposed to be super small and dirt cheap? Have a look at the pictures over the following few pages and let us know what you reckon in the forums. We'll have a full review in a couple of weeks. -Rory Reid

Given the size of the laptop (and it really is a laptop, not a netbook) the keyboard's bound to be fairly large and comfortable. Also, notice the presence of the 'home' key instead of a Windows Start key. That, friends, suggests the machine will ship in a Linux guise.

Yup, that's Linux, alright. We apologise for the quality of these images, but if you squint, you can still make out a webcam and a super-stylish aluminium hinge below the 10.2-inch screen.

No, this image has nothing to do with the actual S101. It's just there to highlight the fact that the machine is aspirational, stylish and, er, brown.