Asus N-series laptop makes an appearance

There's nothing like a bit of competition, especially when it comes to netbooks, but Asus now seems to be competing against… itself.

Information about the company's very own Eee PC-killer has trickled on to a number of websites.

Asus has coined the mini-laptop the N10 and emblazoned it with a whole host of features.

Not only does the N10 have the usual ports – Ethernet, audio and USB – it also includes an HDMI connector and speakers by Altec Lansing. Not bad for a budget PC.

Security-wise, the netbook comes equipped with a fingerprint reader, and there's also a switch to turn W-iFi on.

The power under the bonnet is supplied by Intel's new Atom chip, and offers around 320GB of storage. All of this points to a notebook that aims a tad higher than your traditional Eee PC.

Battling with itself

TechRadar spoke to Mike Browne from What Laptop magazine about the N10 and this is what he had to say: "The average buyer is starting to get option-overload from the sheer number of sub-notebook machines Asus has announced over the last few months.

"Clearly Asus is aiming the N10 at a more sophisticated user than the Eee PC, but it runs the risk of battling with itself over the same market share, and damaging both brands as a result."

New Eee PCs

Browne could well be right as Asus has officially announced two more new Eee PCs. The new models come in two colours: the Eee PC 901 XP is styled in cherry red; the Eee PC 900 XP in purple.

A look at the specs shows that the 901 has an Atom processor, while the 900 has to make do with just an unspecified Intel chip.

Storage is made up of SSD (16GB for the 900 and 12GB for the 901), while both machines are fitted with a 9in 1,024 x 600 LED-backlit screen.

Pricing and release dates are yet to be announced.