If it looks like a netbook, feels like a netbook then it probably is a netbook right?
ASUS don’t think so. They’ve just launched a new 10.1″ “notebook” – the ASUS 1015e – in the USA for a bargainous sub-$300 price tag.
And if that doesn’t scream netbook to you then the middling mobile specs, small screen, integrated graphics, purportedly long battery life and option of a Linux OS might!
The 1015e comes in two flavours: Windows 8 and Ubuntu. Both sport the same base specifications:
- 10.1″ Screen @ 1366 x 768
- Intel Celeron 847 CPU @ 1 Ghz (Dual Core)
- Integrated graphics
- 2GB RAM
- 320GB HDD
Though models with marginally more RAM and HDD space are said to be floating around.
Additional extras include integrated speakers with something called ‘SonicMaster’ (i.e. marketing nonsense); a 720P front-facing webcam; and, if you’re using the Windows 8 version, a smartphone-like 2 second start-up.
Ports wise you’ll find a pair of USB 2.0 slots, a lone USB 3.0 port, VGA and HDMI, card reader and Ethernet.
On specifications alone the ASUS 1015E is easily of the fastest netbooks ever released. It’s also one of the lightest, weighing just 2.8 lbs with its (default) 6-cell battery, or 2.4 Ibs with a 3-cell battery fitted.
So far there is no word on from where and when the Ubuntu version can be purchased, or whether the “non-netbook netbook” will be available outside of the US.