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Asus says Netbooks can be upscale with the S121

Rather than being part of the well-known Eee PC line, the new Asus S121 is being called an "Ultra Slim Mobile Notebook."

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
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Dan Ackerman
Asus S121
Asus

Asus is still chasing the "upscale Netbook" market with its latest shiny little box, the S121. Rather than being part of the well-known Eee PC line, the S121 is being called an "Ultra Slim Mobile Notebook," and uses Intel's Atom-based Menlow platform--essentially an updated version of the Atom CPU currently used in most Netbooks.

To fancy it up, Asus is including a 128GB solid-state hard drive, Swarovski crystals in the display hinge, and a leather palm rest. The whole thing is a bit less than one inch thick and weighs a modest 2.6 pounds, making for a nice step-up alternative to the standard plastic Netbook.

It will also include (as have a few other recent Asus systems) a Linux-based quick-launch environment for easy access to the Web and documents without booting up the full OS. Final price and availability details of the Asus S121 should be forthcoming.