Asus has officially taken the wraps off its new Eee PC 1004DN, marking the first time one of its Atom-powered netbook computers has sported an optical drive—and a Super-Multi DVD writer at that. The drive not only enables users to read and play standard CDs and DVD, but also back up data to standards CD or DVD media.
Asus is also pitching the 1004DN as a portable entertainment machine, noting that the 1004DN’s integrated 10-inch display can handle displaying 720p high-definition video. For the communications-and-accessory crowd, the 1004DN also features an Express Card expansion slot so users can hook up USB 2.0 and PCI Express devices.
Under the brushed aluminum hood, the 1004DN sports the same 1.66 GHz Intel Atom processor as its (many, many) brethren, up to 120 GB of hard drive storage, a 1.3 megapixel Webcam, support for up to 2 GB of RAM, 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth wireless networking, and a 10-inch 1024 by 600-pixel LED-backlit display. The 1004DN features Asus’s 6-cell LiIon battery that the company says can power the unit for almost 6 hours on a single charge.
Asus hasn’t announced ship dates or pricing for the Eee 1004DN, but given how rapidly Asus has been pushing out variations on the Eee design, we expect the 1004DN to hot online and brick-and-mortar retailers soon.
