If true, it would be a big blow to Acer and leave the ION netbook market pretty much to Asus. It’s not clear whether this cancellation is on a global basis, although if those technical issues are true, then I don’t see why region would make a difference.

As a quick recap, the Eee PC 1201PN comes with a 12.1-inch (1366 x 768) display and is powered by a 1.66Ghz N450 Atom processor and next-generation ION. It is believed that this model does not come with Nvidia’s Optimus technology, although we’ll have to wait for official confirmation of this. Other specs include 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD (5400RPM), HDMI, W7 Home Premium, Wi-Fi (b/g/n) and a 0.3MP webcam.

Via Netbooked.

Judging by the pictures it comes with a matte (smudge-free) lid, matte display, chiclet keyboard, large touchpad with single rocker bar, HDMI, three USB ports and a 6-cell battery. You will only be able to upgrade the RAM as no access panel has been provided for the hard drive. Pricing is expected to be around the €400 mark when it launches in H2 2010. Other specs are unknown right now, but we’ll update this post as soon as we have them. In the meantime, check out some pics after the break.

Via NetbookNews.de.

This particular model has 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Wi-Fi (b/g/n) and Windows 7 Home Premium. Hopefully this means the 1201PN will be landing in other regions very shortly.

Via Netbooked.

This will be welcome by many, however personally I hope the M11x also gets Nvidia Optimus technology at the same time. The inclusion of the intelligent GPU switching tech should mean a longer run time. We’ll keep you posted on developments, but in the mean time check out the video interview after the jump (the reveal is at 2:20).

Via Engadget.

The tablet wasn’t spotted booting into Android, but a 3D game was being demonstrated, most likely to show off Tegra 2’s gaming prowess. A couple of sites including Engadget and NetbookNews managed to go hands-on with the device and we’ve attached some video hands-on after the break.

The Eee PC 1215N tested came with the 1.66GHz dual-core D510 Pine Trail processor that is normally found in nettops. It was initially thought that the netbook would come with the upcoming 1.5GHz N550 dual-core processor that would have had greater power efficiency, but maybe Asus have decided against waiting for the new chip.

Graphics duties will be taken care of by next-generation ION and the included Optimus technology means that Intel’s GMA 3150 will take care of less-intensive duties. The 1215N will also come with a single USB 2.0 port and two USB 3.0 ports (as you can distinctly tell from the pictures from the blue internals). It will come with a 4400mAh battery.

Asus has also made some significant changes to the exterior. It now comes with a matte lid and palm rest and a much larger touchpad adorned with faux-chrome trim on the left/right sides. The 1215N also appears to be slightly thinner.

In terms of benchmarks, the Eee PC 1215N scored 5,806 3DMarks in the 3DMark03 test. This compares to 4,482 for the Eee PC 1201PN and 3,593 for the Samsung N510 that we tested earlier in the year. That makes it a nice c30 percent improvement over the 1201PN (single-core Pine Trail and next-gen ION). The 1215N scored 3.2 in Windows Experience Index (WEI).

Via NetbookNews.

Aigo is planning a similarly sized 7-inch tablet that will also run Android 2.1, but will be powered by the Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset. It comes with a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 512MB RAM, and 4-32GB of internal storage. It also features an HDMI port, an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, 3120mAh battery and card reader.

Lastly we have the Jumper JK01-TT 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) Windows 7 multitouch tablet. It is powered by a 1.66GHz N450 Atom processor, 2GB RAM and a 250GB HDD. Other features include HDMI, a 3000mAh battery, three USB ports, 2MP webcam, Wi-Fi (b/g) and a 4-in-1 card reader. It costs $671.65 from Ownta.com.

The Asus Eee PC 1215N netbook will come with Intel’s new dual-core Atom netbook processor, next-generation ION and Optimus technology. It is expected to launch in July. No other specs are known at this time.

Update: Notebook Italia is also confirming the existence of the Eee PC 1215PN, although they say it will launch in June, rather than July. They also confirm the Optimus-less 1201PN and say it will launch in May.

His source for this news is Nvidia France, who has suggested that next-generation ION graphics is not synonymous with Optimus technology. If true, this is completely against my understanding of the next-gen ION part. ION 2 was presented to us as having embedded Optimus technology. At no point was it suggested that it is a feature that a manufacturer may or may not include.

It was also the main reason why we were looking forward to it so much, the technology gives users a great compromise between battery life and performance. We await to hear official word from Asus, but if this is true it will kill one of the biggest USPs the Asus Eee PC 1201PN netbook had.