Asus to launch 11.6-inch Eee PC later this month

Continuing with the trend towards larger-screen netbooks, Asus is planning to launch an 11.6-inch Eee PC model before the end of the month. Exact specifications on the new system remain unknown – the company could follow Acer’s footsteps and use a more efficient Zxx-series Intel Atom processor, or perhaps step up to one of the chip maker’s CULV parts, which offers better performance than Atom but should still keep prices low.

Its launch will not see Asus immediately shift to the new form factor, as the company still expects its 10-inch netbooks to account for the majority of the shipments this year. According to Asus president Jerry Shen, those will make up for approximately 50 percent of total shipments in 2009, while the new 11.6-inch models will become popular enough to account for 30 percent of all shipped units.

In addition to its plans for the netbook business, Asus also plans three ultra-thin notebooks based on Intel's CULV Core 2 processors later in the year. According to DigiTimes, two of them will come out in July in 13.3 and 15.6-inch flavors, while a 14-inch model should arrive later in 2009.