It was only a matter of time before tablets replaced the underpowered netbooks that were all the rage back in 2007. And after five years of badging every one of its Intel Atom-powered PCs with the Eee moniker, ASUS (2357) is calling it quits on the netbook category that it pioneered. Digitimes reports that ASUS has ceased production of all Eee PC netbooks and will transition to marketing its family of Transformer tablets to fill the 10.1-inch netbook void.

The writing has long been on the wall for the netbook’s death. With thin, light and powerful Ultrabooks and tablets capable of processing high-definition games and videos without any slowdown, there just isn’t a need for netbooks anymore.

As Digitimes writes, “Asustek CEO Jerry Shen recently confirmed that the company will stop production of Eee PC netbooks using Atom-based processors such as the N2600 due to impact from tablet PCs and notebooks, as well as a sharp drop in demand in emerging markets.”

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