Asus Eee PC 1215B
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The latest generation of the Asus Eee PC has ditched the very slow Intel Atom processor in favor of the new AMD E-350 Fusion platform which makes the netbook a more attractive option to buyers who are looking for portability and more power. The model is priced at only $449 which makes it a lot more affordable than the Samsung Series 9 or the Apple MacBook Air which both cost over $1,000.
For this money you get an AMD E-350 processor clocked at 1.60 GHz and 2GB of DDR3 at 1,333 MHz memory. It has a 320GB hard drive that rotates at 5,400 rpm and integrated graphics in the form of an ATI Radeon HD 6310. The netbook measures 11.7 x 8 x 0.9-1.5 inches and it tips the scales at 3.4 pounds (3.8 pounds if we add the AC adapter).
Asus Eee PC 1215B (Source: asus.com)
The design of the Asus Eee PC has received some subtle changes in the last few years, and this latest 1215B model confirms the fact that the netbook needs an aesthetic upgrade very fast as it looks outdated and boring. The matte black plastic finish that attracts smudges was suitable for the low-cost Intel Atom-powered model, but asking a higher price and fitting the netbook with a more mainstream processor should also bring a change in the design department. As a matter of fact, the new 1215B looks virtually the same as the 1215N that Asus launched back in August last year.
The Asus Eee PC 1215B features a regular island-style keyboard that looks and feels just about the same as the ones fitted to other models from this lineup, and quite similar to that of the HP dm1z. The one Asus fitted to the Eee PC has an additional vertical row located on the right in order to accommodate the Page Up and Page down buttons, along with other navigational buttons.
Asus Eee PC 1215B (Source: asus.com)
The 12.1-inch display has a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels which is the standard nowadays for laptops that have a screen that measure from 11 to 15 inches. It manages to be quite good for viewing 720p content and also gives plenty of space for web pages and documents.
As far as ports and connectivity is concerned, the Asus Eee PC 1215B comes with VGA out and an HDMI port, along with stereo speakers and headphone + microphone jacks. It has two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port and an SD card reader. The networking area is covered by Bluetooth, Ethernet and 802.11n Wi-Fi.
The battery of this Asus netbook will last for a little over 5 hours during a video playback test, which is 17 minutes less than the aforementioned HP Pavilion dm1z.
