14 DAY TRIAL // Since Samsung has so candidly decided to start shipping a number of mobile PCs, it makes sense that its rivals would do something similar. As such, that some of ASUS' own mobile computers have become available for pre-order may not come as any sort of particularly shocking news. Indeed, this is what occurred, if a certain report from Netbooknews is anything to go by at least.
Two of ASUS's upcoming netbooks have shown up on online retailers. The models in question go by he names of Asus Eee PC 1016P and 1018P and are part of the so-called 'Seashell' series. Both stick to the regular 10.1-inch display size and employ the Pine Trail platform, although only the former really makes the best of the Intel Atom N455 central processing unit.
The 1018P, though its name looks as though it implies a higher performance, is actually the lesser of the two. Though its LCD panel has a decent resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, and the GMA 3150 integrated graphics is, more or less, common among netbooks now, the laptop only has 1GB of DDR3, 10/100 LAN and a 250GB HDD. The Eee PC 1016P, on the other hand, takes things up a notch by pairing the aforementioned CPU with not one, but 2GB of DDR3 memory. The latter also boasts an USB 3.0 port, Gigabit Ethernet, a 320GB HDD and a 48W/h battery.
The rest of the specifications are the same on both sides. 802.11 b/g/n WiFi is present, as is a multi-card reader, a 0.3 megapixel webcam and 500GB of ASUS web storage. As for battery life, both siblings last for up to an impressive 10 hours, though the 1018P makes do with a 6-cell 44W/h battery instead of a 48W/h one. Finally, the Asus Eee PC 1016P and 1018P are pre-loaded with Windows 7 Professional and Starter, respectively, and can be pre-ordered for $499 and $429, respectively. They will start shipping sometime during the ongoing third quarter.
UPDATE (July 21, 2010): The 1016P is now listed with Windows 7 Professional