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 ASUS Eee PC 1015PN-PU27-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black) The Asus Eee PC 1015PN-PU27 belongs to a new breed of netbooks that run on dual core processors and come with faster DDR3 memory modules. The 1015PN is powered by an Intel Atom N570 dual core processor and it comes bundled with 1GB of RAM. It has one SODIMM slot that supports up to 2GB. This netbook comes with a 10.1-inch LED backlit display that makes for good image quality for movies and images. It comes with NVIDIA’s ION graphic solution for the Atom series built in, making it quite a capable netbook that can handle high resolution movies and also some of the modern games at low resolutions. It also comes with the NVIDIA Optimus intelligent graphics switching technology for better battery life. Features & Specifications: • Operating System: Windows 7 Starter Since the 1015PN is from the SeaShell series, it inherits the sleek design cues that have made the series popular. The netbook has a plain black matte finish along with a slim profile that makes it look quite good. The keyboard has Chiclet keys in a layout that utilizes every bit of space possible to make individual keys larger. The keys are shaped well and have a good travel, making for comfortable typing. The touchpad sits flush with the rest of the palm rest and has the same finish. It is demarcated by sliver strips on either side and sports a single bar click button. It supports multitouch and enables you to zoom in and out through gestures. The 10.1 display is LED backlit and quite bright under most average indoor scenarios. Coupled with the NVIDIA ION graphics, it makes for a good entertainment netbook with high-resolution movies and 3D Gaming support. The dual core Atom processor supports a good bit of multi-tasking. You can easily have a good multi-tab web surfing experience whilst playing music in the background and perhaps one more lightweight application open. The processing power is also good enough for you to do some photo editing and similar processor intensive work. Increasing the RAM will also help in getting more performance out of the processor and graphics chip. The Eee PC 1015PN-PU27 comes with 250GB of local storage and a complimentary 60-day trial of ASUS Web Storage cloud storage service with 500GB storage space. The battery life is rated at up to 9.5 hours, which in real life scenarios can come down to around 7-8 hours and hence makes for all day mobility if used judiciously. On the wireless front, it comes with Wireless-N WiFi support (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth 3.0 support. There’s also a 10/100 Ethernet port for LAN connections. There’s a 2-in-1 card reader with MMC and SD card support. There’s a VGA port, 3 USB 2.0 ports and the usual audio ports. It comes bundled with Windows 7 Starter Edition, which is usually the only complaint that consumers have about this netbook because of the OS’s limited functionality. However, most are able to find a way around it using tools found online. Other than that, consumers reported being quite happy with the netbook with special praise directed at the processing, graphics, battery life, keyboard and overall design.
Acer is not cutting its main netbook competitor any slack and is going to release its own dual-core Atom netbook soon. This development comes from newly leaked development details from deep inside Acer. The new model is going to be called D255 and it is going to go on a head to head collision course with Asus’ Eee PC 1215N. The Eee PC 1215N is a fairly new model from Asus and it is their first to sport the new dual-core Atom N550 chip. Atom of course, already had a dual-c0re chip before this — the N330. But that was not meant for use in portables, for power consumption issues of course. Intel has been hard at work developing a chip that will work well for netbooks and still be able to run twin cores simultaneously. The Atom N550 has two chips running at 1.5GHz each and thus gives the whole system a significant power boost. The difference will especially show in multi-tasking performance, which is a processor oriented job. However, other than the processor details, little else is known about this forthcoming Acer netbook model. It is believed that the D255 will actually resemble the D260 in terms of the other hardware features and looks. The D255 is expected to have different color options and perhaps a chrome trim. So nothing out of the ordinary is to be expected from this release. There’s one thing that might differentiate the two competing models from Acer and Asus respectively, quite distinct from each other. Whilst Asus’ model uses the NVIDIA ION 2 graphics to deliver superior graphics and 3D performance, Acer’s model might be paried with an ordinary Intel onboard graphics. But less graphics performance also means longer battery life and vice versa. So it might be a close one after all. [via]
The rate at which the netbook market is moving, buying one is becoming more like trying to hit a moving target. The Asus Eee PC 1201PN was looking pretty sweet when it was announced. Powerful new Atom Processor, NVIDIA Ion, etc. But now we have word that Asus is bringing out a better model called the 1215N that will have the yet to be released Atom N500 dual-core processor and NVIDIA Optimus intelligent graphics switching technology along with the ION. If that is tempting you to wait the thing out, you are surely not the only one. But there is a problem here. It seems like the 1201PN and the 1215N are due to be out at the same time this year. The 1201PN is supposed to be out in May/June and the 1215N is supposed to be out around June. If that is the case, I cannot see how Asus intends to differentiate between the two offerings. Thsi kind of confused product release is not going to go down well with the market. Of the many things that they teach you at marketing boot camp, I am sure “do not confuse your customers” is amongst the top 10 tenets. Still, it seems like nothing can detract Asus from their throw it all on the wall and see what sticks approach. In the meantime, Asus is also going to coming out with their own tablet computer in competition with Apple’s iPad. That is going to dilute the company’s marketing efforts further mote. However they intend to handle it, I do not know but I do think it is time for the company to cut down on their ever mutating line up netbooks and offer a few models that are solid contenders. People like clearly defined lines. Release of both models will vary by country. The announced time frame likely applies to Asus’ main markets like parts of Asia and Europe and also perhaps US.
The U230 uses a 1.6GHz processor with RS780MN and SB610 chipsets. That means you have full HD support along with DirectX 10 support. Graphics is worked through the ATI Radeon HD 3200. Early reviews has put this as performing quite well against Intel Core 2 Duo models, which is actually a huge achievement. And seems to allow basic casual gaming, which is another big plus over most current Atom-based netbooks that do not have the ION chipset. Another good news is that the platform supports up to 4GB of RAM. So if you are considering running 64Bit systems on the device, you might want to have a look at this. The battery life is pretty low but then that can be overlooked because of the U230’s form factor. This netbooks from MSI has a think form factor that is a lot like the U200 or U210. So to maintain the thin profile, the battery has been skimped upon. IT still gives you 3 hours of battery life which is not too bad. The display will surely please you. At 12.1” and 1366×768 pixels, it is completely ready to handle your HD viewing needs. You get to choose from various different SATA HDD sizes and there is also a 4-in-1 card reader. There’s an HDMI port, if you have been wondering about that and there are the usual set of ports like VGA, USB and audio in/out. If you want more battery you can go for the optional 6 cell batter but it will probably stick out of the bottom.
A) The ION has been around for a long time now and it is almost time for ION 2 to emerge into the mainstream. B) The ION actually adds the missing piece of the puzzle by giving Atom exactly what Atom needs – raw, graphics cheap. The companies that have brought these netbooks are actually spending any money on that. They are just waiting for the boom to hit? Not exactly. Their main problem is that netbooks carry too little a profit margin. That is bad enough for any company. But then something else happened. ION came along and showed everyone that it is actually possible to achieve great graphics and HD video capabilities on netbooks running on Atom dual core CPUs. In fact, it can play most recent 3D games at respectable details and frame rates. Suddenly, everyone realized that they do not have to spend all that much to get decent performance. They can get the usability of a $800 desktop from a $450 netbook because they don’t need the surplus performance that remains when they use their main systems. So once people begin to understand that ION netbooks are actually extremely cheap and powerful solutions, they will stop buying the high-end systems. And it is through these higher-end devices that companies and vendors actually make their profit. So they will never shoot themselves in the foot and promote something that will eat away their profit. The ultimate loser is actually the consumer, who is losing out on a great piece of technology.
Thankfully, that changed after the NVIDIA ION came along. But Lenovo chose to put the ION LE version in to the S12 and hence caused it to become a minor setback. nOw that upgrade season is here again, Lenovo has decided to make amends. The main reason for using ION LE over ION was ensuring that the battery life was not hampered. But the consumers want both power and battery life and Lenovo understands that now. The company has stepped up and made the S12 into one of the first ION (full version) equipped netbooks made by a major manufacturer. It has a similar, albeit a bit lower battery life but it can now crunch HD video and handle graphics. Around the launch of Windows 7, the newly configured S12 was launched in Japan. A day later, it was made available in the US as well. The price on the website is currently $599. This is a steep price to pay for a netbook but it has only just been launched here. There is an 11 business days waiting period as well. So the right thing to do would be to wait for it to show up on Newegg or Amazon and then snipe it for a much lesser price. Given the way these things work, the price will probably come down to near $500 very soon to make it more appealing.
We have seen very few ION netbooks from major manufacturers but smaller companies have no problem whatsoever in bringing out ION powered netbooks. One such company is Weibu. The N10A from Weibu is a 10inch netbook that uses the NVIDIA Ion chipset to give users the power of enhanced graphics and hi-def video on a form factor that has in the past been associated with poor performance and almost no graphics power. The N10A uses an Atom 230 single core processor and packs in 2GB of RAM, a 150GB HDD, an HDMI out and a 1024×600 resolution. The clear advantage of the ION platform is of course more graphics and video power but the tradeoff has always been power efficiency. With more processing to feed, the battery is depleted faster than non-ION Atom machines. This is one of the reasons cited as to why major manufacturers are not bringing out ION netbooks. However, there is another angle that is being suggested and is worth considering. Before ION came, the only way to get more processing power was to move up from the netbook segment to the more expensive notebook segment. In such a situation, consumers had a clear incentive to buy a notebook as their primary and keep their netbook as secondary. Now that netbooks can playback HD videos and play basic 3D games, that incentive is no longer there. But we are seeing a slow roll out of ION netbooks from some of the major manufacturers and there is a lot of demand for it. So we are likely to see more Ion enabled netbooks. As for the N10A, it is being sold only in Japan for about $556, which only slightly more than an Asus Eee PC. |
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Intel’s competitors are finally catching up to Intel, slowly but surely. The MSI Wind 12 U230 is a netbook that runs on the new Congo platform. This new processor is supposed to consume about 60% less than ‘standard netbooks’ by which they probably mean Atom by Intel.
The long promised ION netbooks are emerging, but really slowly. So far we have one from Samsung and one from Asus. But other than that, there are no other models. This is worth noticing because of two things.
The Lenovo IdeaPad s12 is a popular netbook model. It had the right balance between power and elegance and it was priced correctly as well. But the one thing that held it back was the same thing that held all the other netbooks back – the complete and utter lack of graphics prower.
NVIDIA’s ION chipset for Intel’s Atom has been around for quite some time now. We are already seeing motherboards based on the ION chipset. The ION has also seen a lot of penetration on the nettop and HTPC segments and users are enjoying usable graphics and HD video at a much lower cost and power consumption. But that netbook manufacturers are taking their time to bring out devices that have the Ion.
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