Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows posted a review on the Windows XP N Editions

After much hemming and hawing, Microsoft finally shipped its so-called N Editions of Windows XP--Windows XP Home Edition N and Windows XP Professional Edition N--to European Union (EU) countries in mid-June. The N Editions, as you may recall, were designed to satisfy an EU antitrust ruling against the software giant which stipulated that Microsoft must ship a version of Windows XP that did not include Windows Media Player (WMP) or any associated files.

Windows XP N Editions Review