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First Look At Latest Ion-Infused Asus Eee PC
MojoKid writes "Atom-based netbooks have come a long way since they were first introduced. 7 and 8-inch netbooks are no longer the norm, and availability of 12-inch netbooks is on the rise. The newest member of the Asus Eee PC lineup is the Eee PC 1201N, and it really stands out in the crowd of netbook in terms of specifications. The machine features a 12.1" HD display, new dual-core Atom 330 CPU, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium, an HDMI output and NVIDIA's Ion chipset with integrated GPU. HotHardware was able to demo the system's ability to handle more advanced benchmarks, thanks in part to the Ion GPU. It's also the first netbook they tested that could actually play older 3D titles respectably. You won't get Crysis running but lighter duty titles can be played back nicely if you tone the details down and lower the resolution. The 1201N also played back 720p and 1080p content without stuttering, and the dual-core CPU allowed enough headroom to multitask while videos were playing."
The point of a netbook is size and weight, not speed. More power is nice, but the creep up towards 12" screens is annoying.
if the answer isn't violence, neither is your silence / freedom of expression doesn't make it alright
If I'm going for a portable as big as 12", it better have something better than the Atom, Ion notwithstanding. 12" is basically a laptop IMO.
This author takes full ownership and responsibility for the unpopular opinions outlined above.
But meh manufacturing. I think that's what a lot of these lower end notebooks are missing these days. I feel like everytime I pick one up I have to worry about the hinges cracking. Is there any reason why hardware companies like Asus can't use an aluminum body? When I first heard Apple was switching to it, I was ecstatic - aluminum and glass over plastic? Finally a laptop hat has some heft to it. Seriously though, it can't be a cost issue here, the market price for aluminum is $1.1475/lb today. Why don't more manufacturers use it?
12" is still easily tossable in a messenger bag. Pretty much every size laptop is going to get a slightly different market segment with different needs, and 12" and fairly powerful is precisely what I'm looking to buy in the near-ish future. It's not like Asus has stopped making the 10" netbooks, so where's the annoying?
Price (MSRP): $499.99
I say yes. More than $300 means 'a lot of money' and that means I'd better be getting a full-blown computer for my purchase dollars. This needs to include some kind of optical drive. That's what I say, what say you?
Now if they would just go back to their true *netbook* roots and also offer a Linux + SSD version!! That was a killer combination.
I will stick with my Linux EEE 1000 for now. Better value than the MS-Win version (for me), uncrashable "hard drive", great battery life, nice form factor, decent keyboard, reasonably fast, respectable screen. About the only two annoying things are the right shift key in the wrong place (which really kills me when using vi) and the battery light starting to blink at something like 75% power left (obviously a boo boo).
I agree. It is turning back into a laptop at this point.
But I think they are headed in the right direction as far as my own needs go.
I simply want an HDMI/VGA capable, networkable device to throw the web onto my television without stuttering. So far, it doesn't exist.
This sounds like it is pretty close, if not there already.
God dammit, I want to sit on my fucking couch again.
12 inches is too big for a netbook. 10 inches is pushing it as it is. Why do they think they can slap the term "netbook" on anything small and under powered as far as the typical laptop goes? Does anyone remember the Toshiba Libretto? I still have mine and THAT is the ultimate _netbook_. I thought PHYSICAL SIZE was what made a netbook a netbook! 12 inches is NOT a netbook.
That is EXACTLY what I want.
Too bad it is made by Acer. Their past history of totally fucking over customers when their cheap Mobos die prevents me from doing business with them. Ever.
I have a 12,1 computer, bought it two years ago, it's notthing new, it's not a netbook it's a LAPTOP.
I thought the whole point of the "netbook" fad was portability... I guess now everyone's so hooked on the new name they don't give a shit anymore. If it quacks like a duck it's a duck not a fucking goose.
So netbooks are essentially moving into the low end notebook space and pushing out the cheap notebooks while leaving the small netbook space empty...
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
I use one for work. If I want cpu power I ssh into a server no laptop comes close to a 4 quad Xeons.
And this server is going to help the average person play The Sims 3, how? Or make Photoshop render faster? Or help Windows Movie Maker make the movie faster?
The average person plays at least a few games or has a task that a netbook isn't going to do well. They just aren't made for those tasks.
99% of laptop purchasers should have bought a desktop and the cheapest netbook they could find
I thought the same thing, however I was proven "wrong". When my grandparents wanted a cheap computer (they basically live off of social security) I suggested the EEE 901 for $200, they already had a desktop and they really only used the computer for e-mail or internet. They said that the 9 inch screen wouldn't bother them. I loaded up Ubuntu and made the fonts -huge- for them. But for some odd reason they viewed it as "too slow" (don't know how, it was certainly faster than their low-end celeron running Windows 2K....) and the keyboard was "too small" (yet they still managed to text just fine on their phones...).
Also, laptops are cheap. my current laptop I got for $300, not on sale. Its not exactly outdated either, its got a Celeron 900 at 2.2 Ghz, a 15 inch screen, 2 gigs of RAM and a 160 gig HDD. Yeah, its got integrated graphics, yeah if I spent $150 extra I could have gotten a better machine, but as a student its a perfect laptop, Ubuntu runs flawlessly on it and everything works.
The cheapest netbook is $200, and the cheapest desktop is $200, which is $400, which doesn't save any money over my $300 laptop.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
At least where I'm concerned. I bought a netbook because it was a sub $400 dollar laptop that had several hours of battery life. I always felt that the main purpose of a netbook was to provide an inexpensive, highly portable/ultra long battery life to counter mobile wifi use...as that leads into the main purpose...being connected and doing stuff on the net. Tradeoff being, of course, lower end graphics processing and lower power processors to boost that battery charge life. 12 inches, 10 inches, 9 inches, 8 inches...that's just a personal preference that kinda sorta plays into the portability part. At some point you've got a small laptop, at another point you have a big handheld. I have a smartphone...I don't need a slightly bigger one to complement the one I use now. The netbook sits nicely between the 17" desktop replacement and the big handheld categories.
Too costly for a system that was designed to be inexpensive. If you look at the videos on hothardware about the ion platform you'll note that it is very inexpensive. 12" display is large but that's not the cost factor.
They need to reduce the cost by $300 before I'll consider buying it.
You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.
They are all laptops. A netbook and a notebook are all laptops. Netbook is a marketing term.
You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.
What's your point? Roadsters and SUVs are all automobiles. SUV is a marketing term. But that doesn't mean that it's not descriptive of a very specific type of automobile. If a vehicle is advertised as an SUV then I expect it to hold more than two people and I expect it to cope with off-road driving.
Likewise, if a notebook is advertised as a netbook then I expect it to be very light, very small, and to be designed for maximum battery life rather than maximum power. This was true of 9" models, and only slightly less true of 10" models. But 11" models were pushing it, and 12" is getting silly.