At 9 inches wide and weighing in at just 2 pounds, Asustek's pint-size Eee PC doesn't look like a heavyweight contender.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Nevertheless, based on this table and other mounting evidence, first and second generation Eee PC owners shouldn't feel any compulsion to rush out and upgrade to Atom on day 1.

ENGADGET: Secrets of the Atom cracked, Wind PC revealed

While we told you earlier this week that the Ion 2-powered ASUS Eee PC 1201PN wouldn't be arriving until late May, a number of European sites have gotten early review samples of the 12-inch "netbook" -- if you choose to call it that -- and have discovered that it doesn't use NVIDIA's Optimus automatic graphics switching technology.

ENGADGET: First wave of Ion 2 ASUS Eee PC 1201PNs lack NVIDIA Optimus

Fan of ASUS' affordable, yet competitively specced Eee Pad Transformer, but still haven't committed your credit to its 10.1-inches?

ENGADGET: ASUS' next gen Eee Pad Transformer to pack NVIDIA's quad-core Kal-El, launch this October?

That's good news, seeing as the Pine Trail-based Eee PC 1005PE we just reviewed didn't offer much of a performance benefit over the older Diamondville chips and definitely couldn't bust through the first few seconds of a YouTube HD clip.

ENGADGET: NVIDIA Ion 2 coming in early 2010, compatible with Pine Trail

Well, the model number is a possible clue -- ASUS' Eee Slate B121 has a 12.1-inch panel, so P1801-T may point to this device having 18 inches of screen.

ENGADGET: Mysterious ASUS P1801-T visits the FCC, might be the finished Transformer AiO (updated)

The touch-enabled Eee PC model(s) could come in the form of a convertible tablet although Shen wouldn't specify -- he only promised more details in Q1, presumably at CES. Unsurprisingly, ASUS has no plans to put Vista onto Eee PCs at all.

ENGADGET: ASUS CEO: Windows 7 touchscreen Eee PCs in mid-2009, $250 model on the way