End of an Eee-ra: No more 7-inch Eee PCs

Asus is to phase out its seminal 7-inch Eee PC netbooks, company chairman Jonney Shih said on Tuesday. The Eee PC 701 was the original model in the hugely popular netbook range.

During a press conference at the CeBIT technology show, Shih said that the manufacturer would concentrate on its 10-inch netbooks, which he said customers preferred. He denied recent reports that Asus would phase out its 8.9-inch netbooks.

"It seems that customers prefer to have a greater screen, which also means a larger keyboard," Shih said. "I still believe we have a good opportunity in 8.9-inch for kids, telecoms [providers] or emerging markets. The 7-inch is going to be phased out, although some emerging countries may still have some demand."

Asus has previously had to deny rumours that it would remove all its sub-10-inch netbooks from its range. In November, it said both its 8.9-inch and 7-inch netbooks would survive with refreshed specifications.

At CeBIT, which is taking place in Hanover, Germany, Asus showed off a variety of new and recently announced products. It offered up an Eee Videophone, an Eee NAS PC and several new laptops, including the Eee PC Seashell 1008HA, which is a 25mm-thick, 10-inch-screen version of the Eee netbook design.

Asked whether Asus was at risk of diluting the Eee brand, which started life with what was effectively the first mass-market netbook, Shih said Asus did not want to "treat [the brand] like a low-cost notebook concept".

"The PC has to proliferate into [other] digital appliances," Shih told CNET UK's sister site ZDNet UK. "It will enable far more people to enjoy the digital life. 'Eee' is a sub-brand to enhance the Asus brand, but also with a little bit of differentiation."