AN ASUSTEK bloke said the firm will announce the US price for for its wee Eee PC on October 16.

But he said it won't cost the $199 his boss said it would when he unveiled it at Computex in Taiwan this summer. It'll cost more than that.

According to the piece at Digitimes, the $199 price will apply to "contract purchases".

Earlier this week UK educational PC specialist RM announced its version of the Eee PC, priced at £169.

The device officially launches in Taiwan on October 16 and will appear on the US online pages of such outlets as Best Buy and Newegg by the end of this month, the spokesman said.

The firm says it already has orders for over a millions Eees. µ