ASUS Eee Pad E121 makes video tease: 12" Core i5 Windows 7 slate

ASUS is dropping some serious hints about its upcoming Eee Pad EP121 tablet, ahead of the slate's official debut at CES 2011 next month. According to the teaser video, the ASUS EP121 will have a 12-inch display and use an Intel Core i5 processor; that's up from the Core 2 Duo ULV chip we first heard back in May. There'll also be HDMI and USB connectivity, along with Windows 7.Video after the cut

Other hardware includes a USB port, SD card slot and a webcam, and ASUS says the EP121 has a multitouch display but also suggests – in the teaser at least – that it will work with a digital stylus for art work. That would hint at a dual-mode active digitizer, supporting both finger and pen control, something many people have been waiting for in an iPad rival.

ASUS is positioning the Eee Pad EP121 as a machine for content creation as well as consumption – they make a point of mentioning it will run Office and show a keyboard hooked up for easier text entry – as well as gaming and HD video. Whether it's going to be enough to make Windows 7 tablets appealing, we'll have to wait until CES 2011 to find out.

[via Notebook Italia]