For Upgraders, Asus Upgrades the Eee Warranty

Typically, manufacturers overcharge for memory, and many do-it-yourselfers will upgrade the memory on their PCs or laptops themselves, to save cash. However, Asus has placed a yellow sticker over the access panel which says "WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED." Oops.

Now the Magnuson-Moss Act does not allow what it calls "Tie-In Sales" Provisions. An example given on the FTC site says:

In order to keep your new Plenum Brand Vacuum Cleaner warranty in effect, you must use genuine Plenum Brand Filter Bags. Failure to have scheduled maintenance performed, at your expense, by the Great American Maintenance Company, Inc., voids this warranty.

Since you can't put any other memory in your Eee, this would seem to violate this provision. Because of the confusion (and consumer worry), Asus has issued a press release, which says:

ASUS Computer International ("ASUS") recently received feedback from one of its valued customers with questions concerning the purpose of a seal stating, “Warranty Void If Removed” over the access door to the single SODIMM slot on some models of the ASUS Eee PC. ASUS wishes to assure its customers that merely breaking or removing this kind of seal will not void the ASUS Limited Warranty ...

ASUS will replace the warranty label with a label to warn users that ASUS will not be responsible for the damage caused by improper hardware change (which is, of course, allowed under the Magnuson-Moss Act).

ASUS is taking steps to make sure that the seals in question are no longer used in its products that are intended to be sold in any country where these stickers are not permitted.

The Asus Eee is a definite hit. Obviously not a desktop replacement, it definitely foots the bill for usage in a coffee shop, browsing the web on the go, and more. In fact, Asus is so pleased with sales as well as confident in the Eee, that it has projected Eee sales of 3.8 million in 2008.