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Asus could unveil 7-inch tablet at CES next week

The PC vendor may take the wraps off at least one 7-inch tablet at CES, according to Web site Notebook Italia, which offers tidbits and an image.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
Asus could unveil a 7-inch version of its 10-inch Transformer Prime at next week's CES.
Asus could unveil a 7-inch version of its 10-inch Transformer Prime at next week's CES. Asus

Asus may pull the curtain back to reveal a new 7-inch Android tablet next week at CES, but just which one remains a mystery.

Leaking a few details and a possible image of the prospective tablet, Italian tech news site Notebook Italia (English translation) said that Asus plans to unveil a $299 7-inch tablet.

Dubbed the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Mini 7, the new tablet would follow the company's recently launched 10-inch Transformer Prime. The 10-inch version can move beyond its tablet roots with the addition of a physical keyboard dock. Its 7-inch cousin should offer a similar keyboard dock, according to Notebook Italia, though one smaller and likely less comfortable.

But the Italian site also claims the scoop on news that Asus could finally release a refreshed version of its Eee Memo Pad.

First announced at last year's CES, the Memo will offer a 7-inch 1,280x800-pixel capacitive screen and likely come with Android Honeycomb. Powered by a Qualcomm 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragron processor, the tablet will provide anywhere from 16 to 64 gigabytes of internal storage and come with both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.

Though it obtained a photo of an Asus 7-inch tablet, Notebook Italia is unsure whether it reveals the Eee Pad Transformer Prime or the Memo Pad. Asus did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment. But we'll know for sure which tablet gets the nod when CES kicks off in Las Vegas next week.