CES: Asus' S121 Upscale Netbook Has SSD, Windows 7

Asus is billing the S121 as an "Ultra Slim Netbook." Indeed, the specs of the S121 prove it will be convenient to use, coming in at less than an inch thick, weighing about 3 pounds and measuring 11.7 x 8.3 inches. The SSD will feature 512 GB and was built using technology developed by Asus itself, Computerworld reports. The Asus S121 will feature a 1.33GHz Intel Atom microprocessor.

Another interesting note to come out of Asus' CES introduction was the expected battery life of the S121. The netbook is powered by twin batteries that should provide up to 10 hours of life for the machine while it's not plugged in, PC Magazine reports.

It appears that the Asus S121 will be for sale sometime in the next month, but because the netbook features an SSD, customers can expect a much higher price point, probably around $1,650.

The Asus S121 was debuted at CES with Windows 7, which likely won't be available for quite some time. The S121 will be on the shelves long before Microsoft finishes tinkering with its latest OS, meaning that some kind of operating system will have to be installed. However, Microsoft has stated that it was involved in the development of the Asus netbook. Customers are likely hoping that some version of XP will show up on the netbook instead of Vista.

It's interesting to note, however, that the Asus S121 has the specs of an ultrathin notebook, as opposed to a netbook. Netbooksare generally designed as lightweight, low-cost laptops used to surf the Web and run a few applications. While the Asus S121 certainly fits the bill of being lightweight and portable, it is more robust than most netbooks currently on the market—and it definitely sports a higher price tag than a typical netbook.