Asus is launching its much-heralded £199 (inc Vat) ultra-mobile in Britain in time for the Christmas market.

The Eee PC 2G Surf has a 7in screen, 256MB Ram, a 2GB solid-state disk (SSD), weighs 0.92Kg and runs Linux, though it is described as Windows XP compatible.

A £219 sister product, the Eee PC 4G, differs in having a 4GB SSD and 512MB Ram. Also its batteries have a slightly higher capacity, providing a claimed 3.5 hours of use between charges, compared with 2.8 hours for the cheaper model.

Both support Wifi and hard-wired Ethernet links, stereo audio with on-board speakers, and come with 40 applications.

An Asus spokesman said they should be available by the end of the month at outlets including Micro Anvika, Dabs, Expansys and PC World.

The machine was first shown at Cebit earlier this year, when Asus chairman Jonney Shih predicted that it would sell 700,000 this year.

Notebook prices have plummeted this year, making the price less extraordinary than it was only a few months ago – especially if you add the cost of Windows XP.

Asus spokesman Ben Berraondo said today that the company would not offer a version for Windows XP.

However, paradoxically, small notebooks tend to cost more than large ones and the tiny Asus could kick-start the market for ultra-mobiles, which have been too expensive for large sales – especially as they tend to be a second machine.

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