Asus has created quite a storm when it first released the EEE PC 700 last year. The 7″ wonder broke new grounds and created a new and abundant market for UMPCs (ultra mobile PCs). It’s cheap, it’s light and it’s actually useful.

Banking on the little guy’s popularity, Asus is set to release the next model in the EEE PC series. The EEE PC 900.

Note: I’m actually glad that I couldn’t buy the EEE 700 last xmas. 7″ will kill my eyes.

While there’s still no official word on what’s under the hood of the slim machine, many speculate that it’s going to be either a traditional Mobile Celeron processor (like the EEE PC 700) or one of Intel’s new Atom processors (better architecture, less power consumption). I’ll keep you updated on that.

What we know for sure is that the new model will have a 1024×600 resolution on it’s 8.9″ display. Because of this, the Eee PC 900 is slightly larger and thicker than it’s predecessor but I’m pretty sure that the minor change in dimension won’t turn it into a bulky machine. According to Engadget, the larger display will have a negligible impact on battery performance with battery lifetime quoted at 2.5 to 3 hours. The EEE PC 900 will also feature 1GB of memory and will be available in storage capacities up to 12G (still not enough for windows guys? It’s big enough for me)

ASUS says that the Eee PC 900 12G will launch in mid-2008 with a price tag of €399 ($600 USD) and will be available with the choice of Linux or Windows XP (You can be sure Vista won’t run on this baby).