Asus will release its first Eee PC with an optical disc drive next month, according to a report out of China.
The word comes from "sources at retail channels," according to Digitimes, which says the Eee 1004DN will launch in mid-April. The netbook will reportedly run on Intel's Atom N280 CPU and will include a 120 GB hard drive. Unfortunately, details pertinent to the DVD drive, such as read/write speeds and battery life while playing movies, hasn't been disclosed.
I've got my doubts about Digitimes' accuracy, as it's been called in to question before on other matters, but we're only a half month away from seeing if this one pans out. Surely we can hold our attention spans for that long.
If true, Asus wouldn't be the first manufacturer to bring a netbook with DVD capabilities to market. Japanese manufacturer Kohjinsha has done it with its SX line (pictured above), and JVC made a mobile mini notebook with DVD as well. But the Kohjinsha model isn't available outside of Japan, and JVC's offering is dated. There's certainly nothing around to match the 1 to 2 GB RAM capacities and big screens of today's netbooks.
Baseless rumor or not, the question remains: Is a DVD drive necessary inside a netbook? Surely, it'll increase the size, weight and cost, but it would turn the machine into a capable entertainment device. Asus and other manufacturers may someday find a market for netbooks with optical drives, but I'm happy using an external drive for the very few times I actually need it.
