ASUS EEE PC 1201PN UP FOR PRE-ORDER FOR $499

The Asus Eee PC 1201PN is expected to start shipping on June 11. ExcaliberPC has started taking pre-orders for the Eee PC 1201PN for $499.

The Eee PC 1201PN is supposed to succeed the Eee PC 1201N which had a dual core Atom 330 processor and Nvidia ION graphics. Unlike its predecessor which sported a desktop processor, the Eee PC 1201PN has a 1.66GHz Atom N450 processor and second generation ION chip.

Other specifications include 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, HDMI output, Bluetooth, and Windows 7 Home Premium. The notebook is capable of playing 1080p HD video and some 3D games. It has a 6 cell, 47Whr battery.

It is still not clear whether this machine will feature NVIDIA's Optimus technology for automatically switching between integrated and discrete graphics depending upon what task you are performing.