Asus Introduces Three New Eee PC Netbooks: Seashell 1015, Diary 1016, and Prime 1018

Seemingly as prolific as a herd of rabbits, Asus at Cebit 2010 announced three new netbooks to its porfolio, the Seashell 1015, the Diary 1016, and the Prime 1018. All three will have 10.1-inch displays, but each will have its own twist on the netbook experience.

The sveltest of the three, the Eee PC Prime 1018, is just 0.7 inches thick--the same as the MacBook Air. It looks similar, too, owing to its aluminum case, although it will be available in four colors. Asus added a few new features to this netbook, including USB 3.0, a fingerprint reader, and a frameless 10.1-inch display. Judging by some hands-on pictures (thanks Joanna), the mouse buttons are integrated into the touchpad, much like the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and the HP Mini 210.

Like the 1018, the Eee PC Diary 1016 also has an aluminum chassis, and will have a battery that lasts up to 14 hours. According to Asus, the "new Eee PC Diary Series has been designed specifically for mobile professionals who are looking for a reliable and long-lasting ultraportable."

Finally, the Eee PC Seashell 1015 is a refresh of the current 1005, but will offer up to 14 hours of endurance (so says Asus), and, unlike previous Seashell models, will have a removable battery. Like the other two models introduced today, it will also have mouse buttons integrated into the touchpad itself.

Asus has yet to release specs or pricing for any of these notebooks, but it's a safe assumption that they'll probably use an Intel Atom N450 or N470 processor, run  Windows 7 Starter, and come with 1GB of RAM. More details as we get them.

LAPTOP Reviews Editor