Riding high on the success of the Eee PC laptop, Asus is set to further expand the rather abused brand with the launch of higher-end 'Ultimate' and 'Pro Fashion' models that will sell for as much as $900 - thus effectively departing from their original promise of low-cost netbooks.

These new models will purportedly launch in late September, featuring dual-core Atom processors and either a 32GB SSD or 120GB HDD. According to leaked slides, the Pro Fashion series comprises four new Asus Eee PCs - 1000HV, 1002SA, 1002HA, and T101 - while the Ultimate category will contain the S101 and S91 Eee PCs.

Speaking in particular of the high-end 32GB Eee PC, DigiTimes claims that laptop will be available for around $700-900 featuring a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display and battery life of 4 to 5 hours. With fully-fledged notebooks going for about that much, however, one has to wonder if there is a market for $900 netbooks. Time will tell.