Thread: Asus Eee PC 1008HA Laptop

The 1008HA is part of Asus's "Seashell" line of cosmetically enhanced netbooks, that have the same guts as the older versions. This Eee PC has an ultra-sleek design. It is just 18 Asus Eee PC 1008HA mm slim at its thinnest point. The beautifully-contoured body has a shell-like appearance and is covered in a piano black shade. The glossy body, as expected, is victim to fingerprints. At an ultra-light 1.1 kg, th is is one of the lightest netbooks in this test. It can easily be slid away into the side-pocket of an overnighter bag. This is probably the first netbook that comes with a non-removable lithium-polymer battery; just like the Macbook Air or the newer Macbook Pros. This could prove to be a limitation for those who like to carry spare batteries along with their portables. To achieve the streamlined design, Asus has neatly covered all the ports, thus protecting them from dust.

Opening this baby reveals the typical 10-inch screen with a web earn atop. We felt that the screen lacked the brightness that most of the other brands gave. We wouldn't really call this a deal-breaker though. The keyboard has large QWERTY keys that are good to type on. While trying to fit such large keys, the Up Down, arrow and top-row function keys are shrunk considerably. We would have appreciated if at least the Up-Down keys were a little bigger. The touch-pad also receives the much-needed' improvement over earlier . models in terms of accuracy. It dotted-texture also provides a better feel and grip while navigating. The real kill-joy for us was that the multi-touch scrolling option, available on many previous Eee PC models, has been replaced with the traditional side-scrolling mechanism.