The new Asus Eee PC 1201N - most interesting netbook till date?

The latest Eee PC finally arrives where all should have

Lets first know a bit about the system - the Asus Eee PC 1201N sports a 12.1” (1366 x 768) display panel, 2GB DDR2 RAM, and 250GB HDD + 500GB web-based storage. It is based on ION platform and powered by the Intel Atom N330 dual core processor with a clock speed of 1.6GHz. Sounds impressive by the netbook standard! although this system probably will fall right in the middle of the netbook and notebook category, size-wise.

Folks at Hothardware had a chance to review a piece and they were hugely impressed by probably one of the most powerful netbooks ever born, if you can call it a netbook of course! But if you keep the family nomenclature aside for a while and concentrate only on the system, the first thing is the inherited Seashell design with tapered front that gives a very sleek look to the machine. Then suddenly you’ll remember you’d seen it before. You have seen a quite similar model actually – the 1005HA, only smaller and less powerful. The glossy exterior although will attract fingerprints but it is always makes for a better eye-candy. The interior is glossy as well, but the full-size keyboard and textured trackpad will probably take your attention away. The texture means a better control on your straight swipes but not for multi-touching. The silver single mouse-button situated below the trackpad gives out a style-statement, although I personally prefer the ole two button arrangements. Overall the build quality is excellent.

The hybrid engine really makes your life easy as you can choose between a performance mode and a power-saver mode. This is particularly true for the ION platform as it comes with good enough power for a netbook, but many a time you’ll want the battery to stretch a little more. Bootup was quick and the system in general is fast and more responsive thanks to the 2GB RAM. Unusually, unlike other premium Eee PCs, the 1201N doesnot include an SSD.

The 1201N can play HD video effortlessly – as reported by Hothardware. The 2GB memory and particularly the ION help. It plays games like Enemy Territory: Quake wars as tested by Hothardware. In other performance testing also this baby comes right at the top.

Overall Hothardware’s tests have revealed that the Eee PC 1201N is probably the netbook on steroid, but then someone might argue that it is more of a notebook than a netbook. Even compared to some of the 13-inch notebooks, the 1201N goes a long way. And for $499, it is a steal.