ASUS launched a little device called the Eee PC a couple years back, it was greeted with mixed feelings. Some people loved the original Eee PC, and others thought it was more of a gimmick. It was light and it could do basic computing,but so many items were lacking that like most things.
ASUS, the same company that brought you the original Eee PC 701, has broken another barrier by releasing the first dual core netbook on the block, the Eee PC 1201N. Featuring a 1.6-GHz Atom N330 dual core CPU that has previously been featured only in low-power desktops, along with discrete Nvidia Ion graphics, 2GB of RAM, and a generous 12.1-inch display, the 1201N is the fastest netbook.
The device houses a 1.60GHz Intel Atom N330 processor and flauntsA a12.1inch WXGA display screen.It proffers 2GB in RAM and incorporates an HDD with 250GB of memory capacity.The netbook runs with microsoft windows 7home premium operating system and boasts of Nvidia Ion graphics.
With a 12.1inch LCD running at 1366x768, for me the problem of being too small is addressed. I can comfortably type on such a laptop, though I still prefer full-size ergonomic (natural) keyboards. The resolution is enough that common tasks fit within the available area. As for the performance, we have moved from a single-core 900MHz Celeron CPU to the first (only) dual-core Atom netbook. With SMT, the Atom 330 is able to work on up to four threads simultaneously, and while we still wouldn't call it "fast" it's certainly faster. The CPU also gets some help in the memory department, with 2GB of DDR2 memory in a dual-channel configuration.
Cerhaps the biggest boost in performance from the latest Eee PC is courtesy of NVIDIA's ION platform. ION is essentially GeForce 9400M (nForce 730i) for Atom, and it easily trounces the integrated graphics Intel provides in the old GMA 950 in the 945GSE - or the GMA 3150 in the new Pine Trail platform. In fact, ION is more than twice as fast as Intel's 4500MHD, and driver support is much better. You get full DX10 compliance along with CUDA, Direct Compute, and all the other GPGPU features. Granted, with only 16 SPs ION isn't the graphical powerhouse that the GT200 (or Fermi) is, but for accelerated applications it can easily outperform an Atom CPU.
The ASUS 1201N is part of the Seashell line of laptops and looks similar in some ways to various other models from that range such as the best selling Eee 1005HA.The 1201N has a chiclet style keyboard, measures 1.3 inches in thickness and weighs 3.2 points. For connectivity it has 802.11b/g/n allowing it to transfer data at high speeds if you have a compatible 802.11n router. Also Bluetooth is included in this netbook.The netbook runs Windows 7 Home Premium and a dual core Atom 330 processor keeps things running. 2GB of RAM can be found in the netbook and for storage it has a 250GB hard drive, and I assume access to Eee online storage.