When the first Eee PC, a Linux-based system with a 7in screen called the Eee PC 701, became available in the UK late last year, it was priced at £209 and subsequent netbooks from the likes of MSI, Acer, HP and Toshiba have seen prices rise to as much as £400.

eee pc $200However, Asus is now promising to deliver on its original plans for a $200 ultra-portable, ultra low-cost laptop in the first quarter of 2009.

The company has yet to reveal further details of the device, or whether it will be on show at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.