Laptop Thoughts: News & Reviews on Laptops, Netbooks, Slates, and More.

"You'd think after running into ASUS's next generation Eee PC 1018P and 1015PE over five months ago at CeBIT, our excitement may have waned for the stylish netbooks. Oh, but it's actually the opposite, and when the brand new netbooks arrived last week, we grabbed the X-Acto knife (safely, of course) and eagerly unboxed them to see if the aluminum clad little laptops were as svelte as we'd remembered them."

ASUS has been very successful with their netbooks, and this duo will probably continue the trend. Pretty standard components for this class of computer, some slight differences, and the two models went back and forth in the 'which model is better' tests. It seems to me that the whole netbook genre is getting a bit stale, and, frankly, ASUS has (and has had) so many of them that it's difficult to keep track of them all. These two add aluminum-cladding, slide covers over the videocam, high quality fit and finish, attractive design, but otherwise don't offer much to set them apart from other netbooks in the $350 price range.

"In another ding against Windows 7‘s ability to play ball in the tablet arena, the ASUS Eee Pad 101TC, an iPad-league device slated to run a scaled down version of Windows called Embedded Compact 7, will now land on the streets with an Android operating system instead."

Seems like Windows Embedded Compact 7 needs more horsepower than currently available in this generation of tablets (Intel Atom) so Android seems to be the choice for this and other devices competing with the iPad. Using Android should also lower the price a bit, in May 2010 the expected price was 'under $500' with Windows EC7. Shipping is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2011.

"Asus have just released some of the most unique looking laptops you will ever see, with more of their acclaimed Bamboo series. The Asus U43F-BBA5 and Asus U43JC-BBA7 are two members of the growing Bamboo series, which was first realised a couple of years ago and is still being extended in 2010."

image source: Asus

Can a laptop be too retro? Asus' newly refreshed Bamboo series offers two new versions that may (or may not) resonate with North American buyers. Processors offered include a choice of Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, and an option for TurboBoost, along with Intel Integrated Graphics on the U43F-BBA5, or Nvidia GeForce 310M 1GB with Optimus technology and integrated Intel GPU.

Some software differences exist between the two models, but similarities include: a 14-inch LED display at 1366x768 resolution; 320GB/500GB SATA HD; 4GB DDR3 RAM; webcam; 802.11b/g/n; an 8-cell battery with "Super Hybrid Engine" technology estimated to provide about five (5) hours ten (10) minutes usage; the usual complement of ports; dual layer optical drive; and Windows 7 Premium 64-bit. Unfortunately there does not appear to be an option for keyboard backlighting.

These 1.25-inch thick, 5.1-pound laptops are available online from Best Buy in North America (but currently on backorder) for $949 and $999 respectively.

"The phrase "netbook powerhouse" would typically be considered an oxymoron. That was before ASUS announced its Eee PC 1215N bumpin' a 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Atom D525 processor with NVIDIA Optimus to intelligently switch between its NVIDIA Ion discrete and integrated graphics."

ASUS has always been good at anticipating the changing needs of netbook users, and the new Eee PC 1215N continues the trend, further blurring the thin line between netbook and laptop. Details are a bit sparse today, but this "network powerhouse" sports a dual-core 1.8GHz Intel Atom D525 processor, a 12-inch 1366x768 display, NVIDIA Optimus to allow switching between integrated and NVIDIA ION graphics, and hardware decoding for H.264, MPEG2 and VC1 HD Videos to allow 1080p video playback in 16:9 format. Read more...

"At $500, the 1201N hits the upper end of the netbook range. But that buys you Ion graphics, dual-core processing power, 2GB of RAM, a real version of Windows 7, and a screen that can display 720p video. Next-gen Ion systems will have better battery life, but will they be dual-core? We’ve gotta give Asus credit for releasing a 12-inch netbook with moxie and proving that Atom isn’t dead yet."

A lot of netbooks have really become commodity items with not much differentiating the different models. The 1201N, breaks that mold and provides a dual-core machine where most other models are trying to eek out every last minute of battery life instead. So, if you aren't away from a power outlet for too long and can stand just a little more than 3 hours of battery life, you can pick up a netbook that doesn't come with a crippled version of Windows 7 and could actually run some less intense games.