Eee PC 1004DN With Optical Drive Could Be Coming Soon, Super Thin “Shell” Eee PC, Too

Looks like ASUS is  continuing to take the Eee PC brand to new heights.

Our friend Brad Linder at Lilliputing has spotted images of an Asus Eee PC 1004DN filed with the FCC.

Sure, the Eee PC name encompasses a number of different machines but the 1004DN should rouse Eee fans because it’s the first netbook, apart from the obscure Japan-only Mouse netbook, to feature an optical drive.

Linder suspects the drive will be a Super Multi with the capacity to read and burn both CDs and DVDs since that’s what the machine boasted while on display at CES.  He goes on to say that it might also have a peppier 1.66Ghz Intel Atom N280 and the GN40 chipset for better graphics performance.

In other ASUS news, DigiTimes reports that the company is working on a new thin-and-light machine called the ASUS Eee PC Shell. The Shell will be thinner than the fancy-pants Eee PC S101 (pictured) and include a 10.1-inch display with better specs than it’s high-end predecessor.  The Shell is also purported to have better battery life than the S101, a critical difference given the energy shortcomings of the orginal luxury Eee PC.

It’s too early to tell when/if the 1004DN will be available in the US, but we know for sure that, as of now, the Shell will be released only in Taiwan for$480-$580.  We’ll keep an eye out for both.

Hat Tips: Liliputing, Digitmes