Most netbooks from Asus look good but are made to be more practical than fancy. Thus, some design elements might not be just as perfect as you’d want them or the actual product might not be just as slim. And in order to satisfy their more pretentious client, Asus have the 1008HA Seashell.
This one is their ultra-fancy 10″ netbook that combine the overall quality and performances of the standard Asus 10″ netbook with a slimmer, lighter and even better looking body: the 1008HA weights just 2.4 pounds and measure up to 1 inch in height.
The lighter and slimmer case brings along a smaller battery though, thus you can only expect up to 6 hours of life from it. Also, the price is 10% higher for the 1008HA when compared to the standard 1005HA.
Pros:
- very slim (up to 1 inch) and light (2.4 pounds)
- fancier looking than the standard 10″ netbook
- 10 inch display and 1024 x 600 px
- powerful enough hardware for everyday applications: N280 CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 160 GB hard drive
- good connectivity: Wi-Fi draft n wireless and Bluetooth 2.1+
- available in Pearl black or Pearl white
Cons:
- battery life is OK, but not great: up to 5 hours in real life tests (6 hours on paper)
- screen is glossy so using it in strong light conditions won’t be pleasant
- the device is 10-15% more expensive than a standard 10″ netbook
- this device lacks the RAM bay on the back, so upgrading RAM memory can be painful
Conclusion:
All in all, the 1008HA Asus EEE PC is a very interesting device. Might not be picked by most users, but if you’re looking for something lighter and fancier than the standard netbook, you should give it a try, if you afford the extra price. You won’t be disappointed, that’s for sure.
Where to buy:
This one usually retails for around $430, but i could find on Amazon both the white and black versions with a 5% price cut, for just $407.90 .
