14 DAY TRIAL // Asus has just announced a revised version of its popular Eee PC 1001PX netbook, called the 1011PX which features a slightly faster Intel Atom processor as well as higher capacity hard disk drive together with its trademark carbon fiber case.
The original version of the 1001PX was powered by a single core Intel Atom N450 processor which had its frequency set at 1.66Ghz and supported Hyper-Threading, SSE3 and SSSE3 multimedia instructions as well as up to 2GB of DDR2 667MHz memory.
In comparison, the newly released Eee PC 1011PX, goes for an Intel Atom N455 processor that features almost all the same specifications as the N450, but adds a DDR3 memory controller to the mix.
This should, in theory, decrease the total power consumption of the platform, but I doubt anyone will be able to offer better battery life from N455-powered netbooks considering the chip has a 1W higher TDP than that of the N450 (6.5W vs 5.5W).
The rest of the system's specs include 1GB of DDR3 memory (DDR2 in the previous model), a 5400RPM 250GB hard disk drive (compared with 160GB in the Eee PC 1001PX) as well as 802.11 b/g/n and 10/100Mbps Ethernet connectivity.
In addition, the netbook also packs a 0.3MP webcam, a 10.1-inch display which features 1024x600 (WSVGA) resolution, three USB 2.0 ports, a multi-format card reader, a VGA video output and an audio jack (headphone and mic-in).
The operating system of choice is Windows Starter 7, Asus also adding a series of proprietary utilities such as the Super Hybrid Engine and the Eee Docking tools.
According to the Notebook Italia website, the new netbook will be officially unveiled during the CeBIT fair which is scheduled to take place in Hannover, Germany, in early May.
The netbook will be called the Asus Eee PC R011PX, in some European counties, and the 7-cell model is expected to retail for the equivalent of $449 US (VAT included).