ALTHOUGH THE RUMOURMILL has been a-buzz regarding Asus’ S101 “high-end” netbook, it seems that there’s another high-end netbook in the works, something named the Asus N10. At least according to Digitimes, and a French blog named blogeee.

The new product, like the S101, will break away from the usual netbook naming convention and from the EeePC brand altogether.

The 10.2-inch netbook will be powered by the notorious Atom processor – which is yet to prove its worth – and even sports HDMI and VGA connections. The site also mentions a 1024x600 screen res (which stands to reason as others refer to a nonsensical 4:3 1024x768 resolution on a widescreen panel) a 320GB HDD and Altec-Lansing speakers. Pricing will be off the charts for a non-SSD netbook-class device: $650.

The specs are eerily similar to the also Eee-deprived S101 kit that has been discussed in the media lately, except this unit doesn’t sport an SSD drive. It could also be that these are just one-and-the-same and marketing has just given a little spin on the product.

The site has little more in detail other than some decent photography pointing out all the connectors on the N10, including the HDMI and VGA outputs. HDMI would suggest some superior graphics performance, but there is nothing of the sort in the Atom’s 945G legacy.

What I can’t get out of my mind is how familiar the design looks when compared to some HP models out there: the glossy black + grey looks, the Altec-Lansing speakers, the keyboard arrangement… you could’ve stamped “HP” on it and no-one would be the wiser.

Who knows? µ

L’Inq
Blogeee.net