14 DAY TRIAL // ASUS may be working on a drove of slates, but it definitely isn't ignoring its other outlets and has almost finished preparations for the unleashing, on the European market, of the Eee PC 1015PN netbook, an entry-level mobile computer based on the Intel Pine Trail platform.
Like Acer, ASUS is one of the major players on the netbook front and, thus, it makes a point of periodically updating its lineup with newer and better solutions.
Thus, it went ahead and took one of the latest Atom chips from Intel and paired it with NVIDIA's mobile graphics solution.
The Eee PC 1015PN has been in the making for quite some time and looks like it may finally start shipping on the European market, if a certain report is to be trusted.
At the heart of the system lies an Intel Atom N475 central processing unit, clocked at 1.83 GHz and better known for its support of DDR3 memory.
This chip is paired with 1GB of DDR3 RAM and paired with the now well-known NVIDIA ION 2 graphics processing unit.
Otherwise known as the GT218 GPU, the ION 2 enabled advanced multimedia capabilities and, on this particular laptop, benefits from the Optimus technology.
NVIDIA Optimus is a feature that automatically switches between the discrete card and the integrated graphics (GMA 3150), depending on application demand.
Other specifications include a hard disk drive of 250GB, a 10.1-inch LED-backlit TFT screen with a resolution of 1,024 x 600 pixels and, of course, the obligatory I/O and connectivity options.
For those interested in further details, ASUS threw in 802.11bgn WiFi, three USB 2.0 ports, LAN, a VGA output, a HDMI connector, audio jacks and a 6-cell 5200mAh battery.
Finally, the machine is priced at roughly 400 Euro, pre-loaded with the Microsoft Windows 7 Starter operating system and is already on such websites as the ones here and here.