Those who have been waiting for dual-core netbooks with HD capable hardware will be happy to hear that Asus has stepped up to the plate at last. As some have noted, the idea of a ‘netbook powerhouse’ sounds like a contradiction in terms, but not any longer as Asus has introduced its new Eee PC 1215N netbook with dual-core Intel Atom processor and Nvidia ION.

The newbie.

The 1215N comes with Nvidia Optimus technology allowing it to automatically switch between its Nvidia Ion discrete and integrated graphics as per the requirement with due care taken for power consumption as well.

The new netbook also has a 12.1-inch HD ready display supporting 1366×768 and equipped with 1.8GHz Intel Atom D525 processor. It holds up to 2GB RAM and this time Asus offers up to 320GB HDD but there’s no option for SSD.

As TechTree notes, “Apart from 720p HD graphics supporting Nvidia ION graphics, this netbook features HDMI out for connecting it to external HD displays enabling full 1080p HD playback. Yet another surprise comes in the form of Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 3.0 support for better connectivity.”

Additional features are Asus Vibe, a hideously-named repository for various apps and LocaleMe, an application that points of location using Microsoft Bing maps.

As with any Asus press release there is unfortunately zero info on when it will go on sale or for how much. Cheers lads.