Asus Eee PC 1201N netbook officially announced

After months of speculation, Asus has officially announced the Eee PC 1201N netbook. This 12.1-inch netbook is powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz 330 Atom processor, Nvidia ION graphics and Windows 7 Home Premium. The 1201N will sell for $499 (in black and white) when it launches in the middle of December.

You won’t find any surprises in the specifications, which are the same that we’ve covered previously. You’ll get a 12.1-inch LED backlit display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Models will come with either 2GB or 3GB DDR2 RAM and a 250GB/320GB HDD. 500GB of free online storage for 12 months is also provided via ASUS WebStorage. Wireless connectivity is taken care by Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1. Other features include HDMI out, a 0.3MP webcam, card reader and three USB ports.

We do get new information on the battery though, the 1201N will launch with a 6-cell 63Wh Li-ion battery that Asus claims will last for 5 hours. I’d take this number with a pinch of salt as this number is measured using MobileMark. This benchmark allows manufacturers to set the display to around 20-30 percent brightness and turn Wi-Fi off. I would imagine real world numbers to be around an hour less.

In terms of design, the 1201N fits in the Seashell family, therefore it looks very similar to the smaller 1008HA and 1101HA netbooks. However, this comes with a chiclet keyboard, rather than the flat keys seen in the smaller models. At its thickest point, it measure just 1.3-inches in thickness and weighs 1.46kg (not far off the Eee PC 1000HE).

The Eee PC 1201N will come preinstalled with ArcSoft SimHD, which upscales standard definition video content to high definition. Combine this with Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and you have one of the most powerful netbooks to date.

A few smaller retailers are already listing the Eee PC 1201N, so it can’t be too long before the bigger ones have it up too. There’s no word on the UK release at this point, but we know Asus are planning to put a press release at any point now. For hands-on impressions and photos head over to Laptop Mag and PC Mag.

Update: UK launch details have been announced.

Asus Eee PC 1201N Technical Specifications:

• 12.1″ LED-backlit WXGA screen (1366 x 768)
• Genuine Windows 7
• Intel Atom 330 Dual Core processor
• NVIDIA ION Graphics
• DDR2 SO-DIMM 2GB/3GB
• 250GB HDD/320GB + 500GB* ASUS WebStorage
• 802.11b/g/n @2.4GHz, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Battery life: 5hrs; 6-Cell 63Wh Li-ion Battery
• 0.3M Pixel Webcam (with digital zoom function)
• Hi-Definition Audio CODEC
• Stereo Speakers
• High Quality Mic
• 1 x VGA Port (D-sub 15-pin for external monitor), 1 x HDMI, 3 x USB 2.0, 1 x LAN RJ-45, 2 x Audio Jack (Head Phone / Mic-in), Card Reader: MMC/ SD(SDHC)
• Dimensions: 296mm (W) x 208mm (D) x 27.3~ 33.3mm (H)
• Weight : 1.46kg (3.22lbs)
• Colours: Black, Silver