Asus intros netbook with desktop CPU
Category killer?
Asus has once again extended it Eee PC netbook range, this time with a machine that not only includes Nvidia's Ion graphics but also a dual-core Atom processor - a desktop chip, to be precise.
Asus' Eee 1201N: 'desktop replacement' netbook?
Including Ion means the Eee PC 1201N can drive a 1366 x 768 resolution display, in this case a 12.1in panel. The mini laptop also gets an HDMI port as a consequence.
But it's that dual-core 1.6GHz Atom 330 chip that will raise eyebrows - and, quite possibly, the laptop's temperature. The 330 was designed for mini desktop PCs and consumes 8W of power - the 1.6GHz Atom N270 most netbooks use consumes just 2.5W.
That has to have an impact on battery life. Asus said the 1201N will run for up to five hours from its six-cell, 63Wh battery pack. Other Eees with similar batteries boast runtimes of up to nine hours.
Connect to an HD TV over HDMI
Then again, the 330 does have HyperThreading, so it'll present itself to the host operating system - Windows 7, since you ask - as a quad-core processor.
The machine has 3GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive and - beyond said HDMI port and 802.11n Wi-Fi - the usual array of netbook I/O.
Asus’ 1201N will be available in the UK from the middle of January 2010. It will be priced at £399 ($661/€443). ®
COMMENTS
@ NogginTheNog
[quote]Yeah yeha maybe it's not a 'netbook' by your varied definitions, but it's an unsurprising evolution of the sector. Netbooks have been a runaway success, but the main criticism of them has been the tidgy screens, and lack of horsepower. Hey presto, what do we have here...?[/quote]
what do we have here...?
Answer: A F@cking notebook, NOT a netbook. GET IT???
E.G. If I buy a small car I don't want to be forced into buying space for a family. UNDERSTAND???
And by the way my single core NC10 runs Windows 7 just fine and has done for a while ;)
@NogginTheNog
A bloody laptop...obviously
Spinny HD as Gene Cash rightly said is a fail befoer you even start.
My 701 may have a tiny screen (and a tiny SSD), but it runs office productivity software, VLC and Firefox with no problem...its also rugged, the small screen is less prone to damage and its not gonna start throwing bad sectors if I drop it while its thrumming the HD...which is the whole point of the damn thing.
if it's light, it's a win
If this comes in at around a kilo, charger included, it's not competing against budget boatanchor notebooks, it's competing against higher end machines, the Thinkpad ultralights and high-end lightweight Macs. These are machines people buy with weight as a factor more important than cost.
If the screen opens properly it may be something I'll buy - I gave a netbook to my sister last year for Christmas, after figuring out how bad the keyboard was for the actual work I do, which involves typing but does not need a lot oomph. The screen was a problem, also, since it didn't fully open.
Sis liked it, I enjoyed playing with it, but even as a personal machine, it didn't work out.
This? This might do well for me.
Cool
However, I must say my netbook which has Core2 Duo and a 19 inch Full HD screen is better.
