Asus EEE PC 1201PN – new gen ION, but this time affordable?
For months, the Asus EEE PC 1201PN was perhaps the most eagerly awaited netbook on the market, mostly because it was one of the first expected to ship with the new generation Nvidia ION on-board. The device was first showcased in march at CeBIT and ever since, we’ve been craving to see it in stores.
Asus EEE PC 1201PN
From the pictures we have of the device, it will come with a glossy plastic exterior, but with some kind of blushed aluminum aspect (check the photos yourself). Asus plans to make it available in a couple of different colors, like silver, black or blue. Inside you get a 12 inch display (HD ready – 1366 x 768 px), a full-size chiclet keyboard and a nice trackpad, with only one click button though, very similar to the one Asus uses on other mini laptops.
In terms of features and hardware specs, the EEE PC 1201PN shines:
- Intel Atom 1.66 GHz N450 processor + GMA 3150 + Nvidia GT218 (Nvidia ION)
- 2 GB of memory
- 160 – 320 GB hard-drive + 500 GB online EEE storage
- Wi-fi N + Bluetooth
- 3xUSB ports, webcam, card-reader, VGA + HDMI output, etc
- 6 Cell 6300 mAh battery
This will allow decent performances, although the processor is quite poor. However, early tests show that the device will cope well with 1080p self-stored content and will even deal with some 1080P Flash clips (although they might skip some frames). As for games, titles like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Sims 3 will run decently. Overall, performance in 3D applications is 20 to 50% increased from the previous Ion generation. Remember that what we have here is the top Nvidia ION implementation with 16 CUDA cores.
Glossy exterior with a nice aluminum-like finish
The 1201PN has its drawbacks though. First, the single-core Atom N450 is a bottleneck for performances in everyday tasks. Also, the first versions of this Asus EEE PC won’t offer support for Nvidia Optimus, the smart management system for the hybrid graphic solution implemented on the ION, which changes automatically between the two options (GMA 3150 and GT218), according to the applications you’re using. Without it, autonomy suffers on the 1201PN, and although you get a big 6 Cell battery, you can only squeeze around 3.5 hours out of it.
Still, these lacks will mean that the Asus EEE PC 1201PN will be quite affordable. It is expected to start shipping in June and it will probably cost around $499 in the States. So a pretty fair price for a nice looking and solid built 12 incher, more powerful than the standard netbook on the market.
Bellow there’s a clip with the Asus 1201PN from CeBIT in March (says that it has Optimus, but future details proved it won’t).
Asus also plans to launch a future version in the 1201PN series later this year, with dual-core Atom and Ion with Optimus. In the meantime, you have the option to go for the better Asus EEE PC 1215N , with all these plus aluminum casing. This one should be available by July and will cost probably around $600 .
Photos via NetbookItalia
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