Moving quite rapidly, Asus has already put two of the three models, all of which recently passed through the US FCC, up for pre-order.

About three months since Asus debuted three of its next generation Eee PCs during the CeBIT in early March this year, it has invited buyers to pre-order the 1016P and 1018P models at ExcaliberPC.com. The last to pass the government regulations, the 1015P will make a dash for the markets after the first two get a few weeks’ headstart.

Priced at $429.99, the 1018P seashell model will feature a 10.1-inch screen with a 1024 x 600 display. Further equipped with 1GB DDR2 RAM, GMA 3150 integrated graphics, a 250 GB spacious hard disk and an additional 500GB of online storage via a one-year subscription, this model promises to be a treat for users. A 0.3 megapixel webcam, a multi-card reader, Bluetooth 3.0, 10/100 LAN and b/g/n WiFi will also serve to spruce things up a bit. The 1018P will also proudly offer 10 hours (6-cell) of battery life and USB 3.0- one of the first netbooks to come with that feature.

The 1016P has been presented for a slightly higher $499.99, probably owing to its 2GB of RAM and 320 GB capacity hard drive.

The features are more or less identical for the three models, but we can vouch safely for the 1016P as it has been mostly kept under the wraps. All three mini laptops will also be powered by their respective Intel Atom N450 processors, with an added option of N455 and N475 CPU choices. The 1015P seems a lot like a big brother to the previously released 1005P, upgraded with a 160 GB hard drive, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a larger touch pad, 500GB of online storage space and best of all, 14 smooth hours of battery life.

Log on to ExcaliberPC.com if you feel like being one of the first to pre-order and oh, surely let us know how you found your new Asus Eee PC.