ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell 10.1-Inch Pearl White Netbook - 6 Hour Battery Life (Reg. $429.99/$429.99)

What a great machine! JerryWithaJ #05-26-2009

This is my third eee pc. I started with the original 4G with 7" screen. I wanted more storage and a screen that filled the form factor so I then moved up to the 9" 900HA. At the time of the 900HA, I opted for reduced weight over increased size and chose the lighter weight 900HA over the larger but heavier 100x series. I learned my mistake, though, because the more I used the 900HA, the more annoying the typing errors due to the smaller keyboard became. You might not think a diagonal inch could make such a difference, but it does. Since getting the 900HA, I've gotten two 1000HAs for my sons and recommended the 1000HA to my sister and all three of them love them. Still, the increased weight kept me from taking the plunge for a 10" netbook myself, that is, until the 1008HA came along.

As with everything, the 1008HA comes with pluses and minuses.

The biggest plus is the weight: 2lbs 5 oz. compared to 2lbs 7.5 oz for the 900HA and 3lbs 4 oz for the 1000HA (and 3 lbs 5 oz for the latest 1000HA with chicklet keyboard).

Another plus is the Atom N280 processor which, while not a barn burner, is noticeably faster than the N270 in other models.

There is also Bluetooth and 820.11n wireless, but those are of no real interest to me since I don't have an 802.11n router (but perhaps I should start thinking of one!).

The only clear minus for me is the port covers which make it inconvenient to connect things. They would be particularly inconvenient if I wanted to keep the teeny (1/4" extension) USB receiver from a Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks (Black) plugged in permanently. Unfortunately, Logitech does not make a Bluetooth version of the VX nano.

Then there are two things that are a positive or negative depending on your point of view.

The first is the nonremovable battery. If the battery were to die, it would have to be returned to Asus for service. I tell myself that by the time this happens I would probably be wanting to replace the machine. The reason I view it as a positive and not an outright negative is that the Li-polymer battery, which can be molded however the manufacturer wishes, helps give the 1008HA its reduced weight. Asus will shortly be introducing the 1005HA, which has a replaceable battery but is otherwise identical to the 1008HA. However, 1005HA's weight will be back up in the 3 lb 2 oz range.

The second is the glare screen. It can take some getting used to. I don't have any problems with my appearance, but if I wanted my face for wallpaper, I'd have taken my picture an uploaded it. However, so far I haven't found the adjustment to be difficult. The biggest surprise was that outdoors the glare screen on the 1008HA turned out to be easier to read than the matte screen on my 900HA! The trick was to have the screen facing the sun, but at an angle so that the sun was not reflecting in my eyes. With the back of the screen toward the sun, the 1008HA's screen is unreadable, but the 900HA's screen was no great shakes either.

I won't paint a pretty picture. I spent two days debating whether to keep the 1008HA or return it for what is now a considerably cheaper 1000HA, but I found myself getting used to the glare screen, felt I could easily live with the port covers, and decided to keep the 1008HA because of its reduced weight.

Try before you buy ryesteve #06-03-2009

Do yourself a favor. Before you order one of these, get your hands on one and try it out first. You may have heard that the display is "very glossy", but until you actual see it, you have no idea. I have never seen a screen as reflective as this one. For a machine in which the emphasis is clearly on the aesthetics, I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone thought this was a good idea.

Some may say that you'll get used to it, but my response is, why should you have to? It's not as if this machine has such overwhelming advantages, that the tradeoff is acceptable. Also, machines this portable are often intended for outdoor use; if you're one of those people with that in mind, this display is completely unusable in that kind of lighting.

So yes, it's small, light and stylish, but with a display that ranges from annoying to difficult to impossible to use, given the light conditions, I'd have a hard time recommending this to anyone.

HOW TO: Upgrade Ram and HDD, possibly replace battery? K. Gupta #06-02-2009

I pre-ordered the item and got it a week ago, and its an excellent piece of machinery. Let me say that every square millimeter (except the keyboard and the lcd screen itself) of this laptop is covered in piano black finish, which might scare some people since piano black is not too scratch resistant, but Asus apparently used some scratch-resistant coating, and it works pretty well.
For those who want to upgrade the hard drive and the ram in this laptop, its not an easy task. I was able to change the single 1GB dimm to a 2GB Corsair one (only one dimm slot, so not actually dual channel memory like every other laptop on the market, but usually most netbooks are like this.). The dimm they provide is 1gb 5300 samsung ram. The 2gb is working excellent with XP. I was going to replace XP with windows 7, but everyone online states that when you boot windows 7, it just turns to a black screen, although there is an easy work-around with a .bat file, just google :-)

How to open the netbook:

In ordered to open the netbook for those who are experienced with working in desktops/laptops and want to upgrade their hdd to ssd or replace the ram, you must first take out the four screws at the bottom of the laptop. Next, on the top edge of the keyboard, you will see 4 pieces holding the keyboard into the laptop. Push down on each metal spring with a flat-tip screw driver, and pull the keyboard out from the top left corner, there are no screws attached to the keyboard. Lift the keyboard when you have the 4 top pins pushed in. The keyboard is glued to the laptop, so dont be afraid to pull hard in order to remove the keyboard when you are sure that the 4 metal pins at the top are not in the way (there is a sticker between the keyboard and the computer where the glue is, and it will most probably get ripped in some way, but its not important. You may have to use a little glue on the keyboard to put it back on when you put it back together, but I found it unecessary). Detach the keyboard from the computer by pushing the black clip on the port of the keyboard connection upwards, this will loosen the wire from the port and then you can pull the keyboard cable out of the port. You can start lifting the keyboard first and push down on each metal spring as you go from left to right as well. Next, you will see 6 black screws, two on the left, one in the middle, and three on the right, that attach the top surface metal frame to the plastic body inside. Remove these 6 screws. Now, underneath the yellow sticker that says "will void warranty if sticker is broken or removed" is another silver screw that must be removed. You must CAREFULLY remove the sticker from the laptop, I used a little rubbing alcohol to remove the sticker from one side of the screw, and reattached it later with some glue. THE STICKER IS EXTREMELY FRAGILE, BE CAREFUL (please see the link I posted *** at the bottom of this review). After you have the all 6 screws removed, remove the blue-tabbed ribbon cable on the left side by just pulling gently on it, and do the same thing with the black cable thats in between the two screws on the right side.

Now here is the tricky part, seperating the two plastic pieces of the laptop. START AT THE SD CARD SLOT: remove the plastic sd card and using a flat tip screwdriver, slowly and gently pry the two plastic panels apart, and make your way first toward the bottom of the laptop until you reach the opposite side of the sd card, then work your way up from the sd card. These tabs that hold the computer are extremely fragile, so be gently. The two panels should eventually snap off if you have worked your way around the laptop, prying it apart with a very finely tipped flat head screwdriver. When you got the two panels apart, most of the hard work is over!

THE DIMM SLOT IS LOCATED BENEATH THE HEATSINK ON THE TOP LEFT PCB. In order to remove this PCB (the heart of the PC, because it contains the ram, the atom chip, the graphics chip, the northbridge, etc) first remove the black cable thats connected to it on the bottom left. Next remove the orange ribbon cable thats attached to on the right side (just pull up on the cable, and push it back down to put it back in later) and lastly, disconnect the black cable thats on the left side of the fan. Now starting from the top left corner of the PCB (where the charge port is), just pull up. The plastic tab piece thats about 5mm to the right of the charge port is not really a tab or anything, it just pushes down on the PCB to hold it in place, so you do not have to touch this. Just pull up slowly on the board, and eventually, it should come off. NOW THERE IS STILL A BLACK CABLE TO THE LEFT OF THE USED-TO-BE ORANGE RIBBON CABLE, I would say to leave this connected because its a pain to reconnect (must be pushed in very hard). THERE IS ALSO STILL THE BATTERY CABLE THATS ATTACHED TO THE BOTTOM UNDERSIDE OF THE PCB. To disconnect, slowly lift the pcb, and disconnect the rainbow colored wire. Now just tilt the PCB vertically so that the black cable is still connected (there is also another, very thin black cable attached to the top of the PCB board, this is the antenna for the Wi-Fi, leave it attached). At this point, you can remove the hard drive that is to the right of this PCB board. Now underneath the black sticker on the bottom side of the PCB is the ram slot, lift up on the black sticker, loosen the metal clips on each side of the dimm, and the ram pops right up. put your new dimm in, push it down, and it snaps into place. NOW REASSEMBLE THE LAPTOP!


The performance on this laptop is much better than I thought it would be. I use the bluetooth in the netbook to connect to my Windows Mobile phone and I am able to connect to the internet through AT&T 3G. I get around 5.5 hrs of battery life, which is pretty good imo. The single silver plastic bar for the touchpad is a rocker, and its EXTREMELY STIFF. This is what I hated most of the laptop, but I'm assuming with time that it will get less stiff, we will have to see.

Overall, I commend Asus for making such a light and thin portable computer with this kind of speed and processing power. By using the method above, it is also possible to replace the battery with an aftermarket one, but I have no idea about those...

** If you have assembled a desktop in the past, I see no reason for you not being able to upgrade the RAM with the above help. Fiddling with the two shell pieces takes some effort if you're interested in not breaking any of the tabs, but once the top shell is separated from the bottom it is much easier than the first part of the dissection. Overall, the process took me 1/2 an hour to take apart and put back together, but your mileage will obviously vary depending on your level of expertise. If you do manage to break a tab while removing the two shells, my friends have used EPOXY in between the two pieces to stick it back together, and you cant notice a difference. For those who venture into upgrading the RAM, good luck!

*** In regard to SPANKY who posted Comment #3 on this review (and to others who would like to know about the "void warranty" sticker): google "eee void sticker" and hit the first link.

Please do your homework before you go and criticize other people's work and giving other's wrong information. Thank you.

Nice package, and (almost) works with Ubuntu Kurt Milligan #05-29-2009

I was considering the 1000HE, but decided to wait for the 1008HA. It's a really nice package. My only real problem with it is the lack of a Linux option, but that is (relatively) easy to remedy.

For those wondering about Linux compatibility, I was able to install Ubuntu 9.04 easily enough, but none of the network interfaces worked. I then tried the "netbook remix" of Ubuntu, but this did not solve that problem.

(Note for those trying the netbook remix; it is about 950MB, and is an .IMG file, *not* an .ISO, so don't try to use a CD. It is relatively easy to "dd" the file to an SD card, however, and the Eee will boot from the SD card. It's also handy to know that you need to press F2 on boot to get to BIOS, then disable the "Boot Booster", so that next time you boot you can press ESC to select the boot device.)

Once you install, you need to grab the AR813X-linux-v1.0.0.8.tar.gz package from http://partner.atheros.com/Drivers.aspx . Untar this (ignore the gzip errors), cd src, make, sudo make install, then insmod the resulting file. That should give you wired ethernet.

To get wifi, go to Administration > Software Sources > Updates and check off "Unsupported Updates (jaunty-backports)", then do sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-jaunty . Once you reboot, you should have wireless.

Excellent Netbook hdtravel #06-06-2009

Ahhh....the 1008HA Seashell is so cool and feels so good.

If you are looking for an overall excellent netbook then this is the one for you.

It is extremely nice looking, very thin and smooth just like a seashell. The style is truly fantastic. Better looking than any other netbook out there. It will blow you away when you see how nice it looks and how awesome it feels in your hands.

Performance is snappy and the sound is quite loud from the built-in stereo speakers. It is too bad you must be a brain surgeon to upgrade the memory ( RAM ), but this is really not a big deal since things work well with the included 1 GB of RAM. Still it would be nice to have the option to self upgrade. This is a weird design flaw ASUS ! The non user replaceable battery is not a big problem either as I have never needed an extra battery for a laptop and I always get rid of a laptop to get a new model before the battery ever goes bad. The trend is to build in the batteries and the laptop can be smaller, thinner, lighter due to using custom battery packs that fit around other components in the chassis. We will just have to get used to this.

The screen is sharp and bright using the latest low-energy LED backlighting. It is glossy, but I have found no problem with this. Colors are bright and vivid. The Seashell is also an "Energy-Star" approved device since it is very energy efficient.

The keyboard is very usable and the trackpad nice. The trackpad has little raised bumps and the multi-touch works good. The button is a one piece type and you push the right or left side. The button is somewhat stiff, but on the upside this prevents erroneous key presses.

It is the best netbook out yet in my opinion.

The included case is really nice and luxurious. It is a black velvet type of material outside and very soft inside and is very well padded. It has the eee logo and a zippered enclosure. It is a true case, not just a flimsy sleeve. It is a very nice touch that they include this.

The power supply or charger is white to match the white netbook. It is a 3 piece deal with a small "brick" in the middle and 2 cords. One goes from the brick to the wall and the other cord goes from the brick to the computer. While it is ok and serves it's purpose I would have preferred a "cell phone" type of charger with only a small cube that plugs into the wall and a cord plugging into the computer. This would have been much cooler.

Highly recommended netbook. This is the BEST netbook available right now in my opinion.

Like a Macbook Air without the high price tag T. A. Dinh #05-27-2009

This is my third eee pc that I've come across in my household. The first one was the 7" inch one but I had much difficulty typing on the keyboard due to the small compact form. Later on upgraded to the 1000ha and it was a more favorable experience for the bigger screen size and keyboard. However it was still a boxy form and the battery life wasn't' good enough. It was a little like all the other netbooks and I wanted something much slimmer. I own a Macbook but I decided to carry something cheaper and not as heavy around in my bag for school. The 1008ha caught my eye when it looked almost like the Macbook Air without the high price tag.

Pros:
2lbs 5 oz. compared to the Macbook 4.5 lbs
Atom N280 processor, much faster than other netbooks on the market
Bluetooth and 820.11n wireless, latest wireless innovation installed on this netbook

Cons:
The non removable battery may bother some users who need to change the batteries, I see this as a no issue for me because I'm sure the battery life is sufficient for me for my small tasks. This battery is sure to last very long though, but when it goes into memory loss, I'm afraid what the price tag may be to fix this.

The glare and reflection is pretty bad outdoor. I was able to see myself very clearly as if I was looking into a mirror, as long as you stay indoor I'm sure you'll be safe.

Overall, I liked my purchase, instead of lugging my $1,600 4.5 lb. Macbook around, I can carry a $400 2.4 lb Eee netbook and feel less weight on my shoulders. This is almost like the Macbook Air and if your looking for the nicest netbook on the market and slimmest, the 1008ha is perfect for you.

Very good, but still a tradeoff A. Weinstein #06-13-2009

This is my second Asus. I also own the 1000HE. If I had to pick the better of the two I'd have to go with the 1000HE, but there is nevertheless a lot to like about the 1008HA.

While the two machines appear to be identical in many respects, I have found some of the "apples to apples" comparisons a little misleading. The 1000HE has a 'chicklet" style keyboard that, surprisingly, I prefer. That said, the keyboard on the 1008HA will feel right at home to anyone who's used to the laptop, and the not-quite-fullsize profile is easy to get used to.

More annoying is the multi-touch touchpad. I assumed it was identical on the two models, and I was wrong. The gesturing (iPhone-like) setup is much easier on the 1000HE, and the tactile surface of the touchpad on the 1008HA (sort of braille-like ridges) really bothers me. I actually find the surface irritates my finger tips. This is obviously subjective and I'm sure I'll get used to it, but I wish they stuck with the same version they used on the 1000HE.

The two other issues to be aware of, as many others have mentioned, is the difficulty of upgrading the RAM and install issues with Windows 7. I am running Win7 on the 1000HE with 2GB of RAM, and it's fantastic - no hardware issues and faster than XP. While driver and BIOS issues on this machine will soon be solved, the RAM upgrade is more problematic.

With all that said, I'm still giving the 1008 4-stars because if you can live with the limitations, it's a fantastic looking computer that is extremely portable (the 1000HE is a brick) and a terrific value for the money.

Excellent netbook Dein #06-18-2009

I've always liked the idea of a netbook, but never got one because everything out there was, to put it frankly, fugly. They looked cheap and clunky, disproportionately thick, more like toys than real computers. So when the first photos of this machine surfaced on the internet, I knew at once that I would finally be purchasing a netbook.

And it didn't disappoint. It was the first - perhaps still the only - netbook that can honestly be described as 'beautiful'. It's by far the best-looking laptop I've ever owned, and for a netbook of all things to claim this honor is a truly impressive accomplishment on Asus' part.

Anyway. Onto the bulleted list:

Pros:
- It's beautiful, and thin, and light. Nothing at the moment beats its form factor and 2.4lbs in the 10" category. And it's by far the best-looking netbook available today.
- Extremely fast startup, shutdown, and standby times. I don't know if this is standard on eeepcs nowadays, but the machine gets past the XP logo in less than 10 seconds and loads the desktop in less than 30 from poweron. It enters standby nearly instantly, around 1 second. In these respects it cleanly beats any computer I have ever owned by a long shot.
- Keyboard. Keys feel nice to type on, not cramped, and fullsize right Shift key.
- Battery life: around 5 hours continuous use. I can bring this thing to work without the charger and leave it on the whole day easily. 1000HE has its 10 hours, sure, but at a much bulkier (uglier) form/weight.
** I don't consider nonreplacable battery an issue. This computer being a netbook and all, by the time the battery wears out a new one would probably cost nearly as much as the machine itself! And no one carries spare batteries for netbooks.
- 802.11n, bluetooth.
- Power cable: the oft-dreaded power brick is quite small and the cables have attached velcro ties. Minor plus.
- Stereo speakers and stereo microphone: definitely an unexpected (pleasant) surprise on a netbook. Minor plus.

Cons:
- Non user upgradable RAM. With its form factor I honestly don't expect it to be upgradable, but lack of a 2GB option makes this an issue. As detailed [...] you need to remove the keyboard, chassis, and motherboard just to get to the RAM bay.
- Ubuntu network issues: should you desire to load linux, be aware that Ubuntu (and most other linux distros, I'd imagine) does not include the drivers for the Atheros Ethernet/Wlan controllers in this machine. Ethernet can be enabled by [...] and Wlan after that by [...]
- Partitions and multibooting: the hard drive comes formatted with 2 large NTFS partitions and two small hidden partitions, probably for recovery/fastboot purposes. They are all primary partitions, which means that with maximum 4 partition limit you will not have more than 2 usable primary partitions without destroying the hidden partitions. I was hoping to tripleboot XP, Ubuntu, and Win7, but it seems this is not possible.
- Price: you pay a small premium for its form factor, but without sacrificing any specs compared to other netbooks. Nowhere on the order of, say, a Macbook Air.
- No 3G radio: not really expected, but it would have been nice all the same. A usb modem would be awkward with the port flaps.


Overall a great little computer, definitely a great first netbook for anyone who's yet to try one. If aesthetic objections have kept you away from netbooks until now - too nerdy, too ugly, too unprofessional - this machine is what you've been looking for.

What a great machine! JerryWithaJ #06-10-2009

This is my third eee pc. I started with the original 4G with 7" screen. I wanted more storage and a screen that filled the form factor so I then moved up to the 9" 900HA. At the time of the 900HA, I opted for reduced weight over increased size and chose the lighter weight 900HA over the larger but heavier 100x series. I learned my mistake, though, because the more I used the 900HA, the more annoying the typing errors due to the smaller keyboard became. You might not think a diagonal inch could make such a difference, but it does. Since getting the 900HA, I've gotten two 1000HAs for my sons and recommended the 1000HA to my sister and all three of them love them. Still, the increased weight kept me from taking the plunge for a 10" netbook myself, that is, until the 1008HA came along.

As with everything, the 1008HA comes with pluses and minuses.

The biggest plus is the weight: 2lbs 5 oz. compared to 2lbs 7.5 oz for the 900HA and 3lbs 4 oz for the 1000HA (and 3 lbs 5 oz for the latest 1000HA with chicklet keyboard).

Another plus is the Atom N280 processor which, while not a barn burner, is noticeably faster than the N270 in other models.

There is also Bluetooth and 820.11n wireless, but those are of no real interest to me since I don't have an 802.11n router (but perhaps I should start thinking of one!).

The only clear minus for me is the port covers which make it inconvenient to connect things. They would be particularly inconvenient if I wanted to keep the teeny (1/4" extension) USB receiver from a Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks (Black) plugged in permanently. Unfortunately, Logitech does not make a Bluetooth version of the VX nano.

Then there are two things that are a positive or negative depending on your point of view.

The first is the nonremovable battery. If the battery were to die, it would have to be returned to Asus for service. I tell myself that by the time this happens I would probably be wanting to replace the machine. The reason I view it as a positive and not an outright negative is that the Li-polymer battery, which can be molded however the manufacturer wishes, helps give the 1008HA its reduced weight. Asus will shortly be introducing the 1005HA, which has a replaceable battery but is otherwise identical to the 1008HA. However, 1005HA's weight will be back up in the 3 lb 2 oz range.

The second is the glare screen. It can take some getting used to. I don't have any problems with my appearance, but if I wanted my face for wallpaper, I'd have taken my picture an uploaded it. However, so far I haven't found the adjustment to be difficult. The biggest surprise was that outdoors the glare screen on the 1008HA turned out to be easier to read than the matte screen on my 900HA! The trick was to have the screen facing the sun, but at an angle so that the sun was not reflecting in my eyes. With the back of the screen toward the sun, the 1008HA's screen is unreadable, but the 900HA's screen was no great shakes either.

I won't paint a pretty picture. I spent two days debating whether to keep the 1008HA or return it for what is now a considerably cheaper 1000HA, but I found myself getting used to the glare screen, felt I could easily live with the port covers, and decided to keep the 1008HA because of its reduced weight.

Product, service and warranty are terrible - BEWARE W. Pierson #08-01-2009

I received my Asus 1008ha 6-9-09 and loved it. The design, size and functionality are great. For me, this computer seemed be perfect. After five weeks of use the computer wouldn't start. When I pressed the power button, nothing happened. I called Asus support for warranty service and found out I had to pay to ship the computer back for warranty service. "You have to be kidding", I told the service person. After five weeks of use, I have to pay to send their defective product to be repaired? What's up with that? I sent the unit in for service AND THE COMPUTER STILL DIDN'T WORK. After I received the computer back from the SECOND repair attempt, IT DIED AFTER ONE DAY. This is the worst product I have ever purchased.

Best balance of portability and usability in a netbook J. Wilcox #06-19-2009

+ Great keyboard, pretty good track pad (no two finger scrolling, but you can make circular motions with your finger to scroll)
+ Fairly quick as far as netbooks go, even with 1GB RAM
+ Good battery life (4+hrs)
+ Very thin and light (portability is the point, no?)
+ Decent speakers and very quiet fan/hardware

+/- Glossy screen. The glare doesn't bother me and I'll gladly take a little glare in exchange for what I perceive as better contrast and colors.

-RAM not easily upgradeable (doesn't yield that significant a difference in performance though)
-Battery not user-replaceable (this isn't much of an issue for me as the battery life is pretty good and i don't know many people who have actually purchased an additional/replacement battery for their laptops)

Note: Some people might complain about the standard netbook screen resolution and lack of graphics processor, but I find the former to be perfectly adequate and the latter to be overkill for netbook purposes (also would reduce the battery life).

Great Netbook Sam Chung #06-11-2009

This is my first netbook. I've been using Macbook for couple years, but it was becoming increasingly heavy and slow. So sold it and got this. Like many people, I've been reading many reviews about Samsung, EeePc mainly. Since this is my first buy for netbook, I didn't know what to expect.

I decided to go for seashell for
(i) latest processor, N, Btooth, multi-touch
(ii) weight

Don't buy a laptop weight netbook. Defeats the purpose. I've received it after a week. They do USPS on computer!! Not good. Not good. My first impressions are
(i) very fast: 5 worms to boot
(ii) glossy: not bad at all. not bad at all. Actually, I like the display. This is what you get from all other standard glossy display. Outside? Don't know yet. But I expect the same thing from Macbook glossy screen. No difference.
(iii) body: not too small and it was actually heavier than I thought. If this feels a bit heavy, I can imagine what EeePC 1000 would feel like. Though I wanted to get 9.5 hrs (or close to) of battery, when I saw its weight, I decided to go for seashell. And I think I'm right on the money.
(iv) keysize are good and responsive
(v) mouse button on trackpad is stiff: hard to press, but other than that, it's fine. Multi-touch works well.

I am charging this so will see how real life battery will turn out
also, I will be using open office and google doc, so I don't see much problem for having external ODD.

Will update soon.

Best laptop I've ever had Book Maven "book mav #06-09-2009

This is the best laptop I've ever had. It's amazing. I feel sorry for the big guys. I appreciate that the number for tech support is written on the back of the machine. Try finding that number when you buy a Dell. My only complaint is that I've almost lost it twice. It's so damn small and light you got to keep track of it. I'm off to Nepal for a month and a half and I'm not even going to notice it in my pack. Oh, yeah the glossy screen is a drawback. I don't know why they did that. But I give it five stars anyway. It's that good.

Good, a few gotchas Early Adopter #08-26-2009

By now you've done the research, read the reviews, so I won't go over that again. This is overall very nice, but a few things to keep in mind:

* Trackpad. It is the same plastic material as the case, but with small bumps to tell you when you are on it and when you are off it. The bumps are low, lower than the braille you see on an ATM. To see what it is like try sliding your finger across a glossy plastic notebook lid and you'll see it doesn't slide smoothly and easily. Neither does this trackpad. Consider the cost of an external mouse, as you seriously may want one (I do).
* Glossy screen. This is a matter of opinion, but this screen is very very reflective. If you haven't seen a glossy screen one spend some time with one before you buy. I think they are rubbish, personally, and will get a screen protector. The 1005 has a matte screen, BTW.
* Keyboard. If you've never used a netbook beware that the keyboard is smaller than normal. They give some percentage smaller, but all that you'll care about is that the keys aren't where your fingers go when you are used to typing on a normal desktop or notebook.
* Speed. Atom 280 is plenty fast enough for 1 app, maybe two at once. You'll wait once in a while, but not long, and not as long as you might expect. Installing Windows 7 took less time on here than on my Macbook Pro unibody.
* Hard disk. They advertise a 160 GB drive, but don't tell you get an 80GB C: and an 80GB D:, and oh, by the way, D: is full and C: only has 70 GB free. Installing Windows from a DVD (you have to attach an external drive and make it bootable in the BIOS) let's you repartition, which I did to get 144 GB free.
* Mouse button. Rocks from side to side, left side is left click, right side is right click. The whole typing, mousing, clicking experience is different enough from what you are used to that you'll want to send Asus an email saying "why?".
* Screen. It is a lot smaller than the bezel. Plenty of room for a larger one. Not sure why they went 10.1", but it is big enough to see a web page, the fonts are decent sized, and overall it works. You scroll web pages a lot, however.
* Sleeve. This is a case that sort of fits the computer. It is designed for other machines as well, so it is not a snug fit. Really cheap fake velour material, so don't make the decision on the case because this comes with a case. I'll probably get a decent one with space for the power adaptor and toss this one and not feel bad about tossing it.
* Black case. You'll read a lot about fingerprints showing up on the black case. What they mean is you see the oil left on the case by your fingers, as you do when you touch your sunglasses lenses and then hold them at an angle. If that kind of thing bothers you, you'll hate black and should definitely get some other color.
* Forget upgrades unless you are willing to risk $200. You have to open the case and remove a sticker that lets you know you just voided your warranty to do any upgrades (RAM, HD, WiFi, etc.) Some people have gotten free repair after they killed the thing, which is as easy to do as forgetting to flip the tiny power switch inside off before touching the internals, but many haven't been so lucky. If you kill it and have to pay, they charge $200. FYI.
* Updates. There is an ASUS update program installed, but it flat out doesn't work. If you want to update your machine (BIOS, actually), you'll have to find a blog posting and go through all the steps to do it. Pretty time consuming just to flash the BIOS so the fan and WiFi work properly.
* You can put Windows 7 on here, and it will work fine with a vanilla install, as long as you go through some hoops to upgrade the BIOS first (see above). Otherwise, you get a black screen when you start Windows 7 that can only be cured by updating the BIOS.
* The only Linux build that works is an alpha of Ubuntu. The WIFI driver is the problem with older Ubuntu or other distos.

That's about it. Quirky, odd little machine, but I like it and would buy it again. It is small, light, solid, and works. Not bad for the price.

Overall very good, assuming you use it as ASUS intended. Adam Dachis "adachis #07-15-2009

I love netbooks. They're miniature computers and they're surprisingly capable for being so inexpensive. With the 1008HA you're paying a bit more for style but it certainly delivers on being a nice and attractive piece of hardware. It's also delivers all the usual things you'd expect from a netbook. There's really no point in talking about specifications anymore because there is really no practical differences between any of them. I think the most important thing to discuss is how the manufacturer has used the space afforded to them and what other functionality they've either brought or neglected to bring to the table. In my opinion ASUS does a pretty good job with the 1008HA but with the assumption that you're going to use it EXACTLY how they intended.

I'm going to gloss over a few things before diving deep. They keyboard is pretty great. I find the arrow keys a bit weird because they tried to make them bigger in an awkward way, but that aside it's a great keyboard. The HP Mini 1000 is really the only keyboard I like more, though I would say there are others comparable to this one. Though I do miss the chiclet style ASUS had been using in previous Eee PCs, this keyboard is much easier to type on. They've also made some improvements to the trackpad and one weird change. Though it's easier to click, the tracking area is a bit strange because you only know you're on it based on little raised bumps. There's no border and so you can glide off of it and sometimes not really realize it. On the plus side, although you'll find it extremely awkward and maybe even uncomfortable at first, you get used to the strange little bumps and it's not so much a problem. One of the most bizarre oversights, in my opinion, is the use of multitouch. It is a multitouch trackpad and yet it has no two-finger scrolling. You pretty much only get the pinch gesture. I can't understand for the life of me how they omitted two finger scrolling, especially when it was present in previous iterations of their netbooks. For a netbook, the screen is nice (despite the gloss). The webcam is functional but nonetheless a crappy webcam. You have USB ports. You have WiFi. You have Ethernet. You have a VGA port (in a manner of speaking). Hooray. What you get is pretty standard. How it is implemented is more interesting.

It probably goes without saying that this unit is nice and thin. People have been calling it the MacBook Air of netbooks. I'd say it's like the Air and the iPhone had a kid that somehow ended up becoming a Windows PC, simply because this thing picks up finger prints like the glossiest of Apple devices. This is the most reflective computer I've ever owned. It's kind of annoying. I'm not a huge fan of gloss, but I like it in some instances. It's too much with the 1008HA. Perhaps it's better with the white version, but the black one is just going to look like a fingerprint collage after a week of use. Nonetheless, it's still one of the most attractive netbooks you can buy. But I was going to talk about how the ports are implemented and not about the fingerprints you'll put all over them. You pull out a little door (not as elegantly as the MacBook Air, but you're also not paying an exorbitant design tax either) to reveal ports. Cool. The neat parts really exist with the Ethernet and VGA ports. The Ethernet port is too big to fit in such a thin case so when you open the port up, it sort of drops down like a staircase embedded in an airplane. It's a smart use of the space. An even smarter use of the space is where you have the VGA port. There isn't one, exactly, because you have a proprietary connector where the VGA port would go. However, underneath the case you have the adapter stored inside. You just pop it out and plug it in. Within seconds, you have VGA. I thought this adapter would be hard to get back in the case but it's shockingly simple. It just snaps back in. Very impressive.

One other thing worth mentioning is that this has a 2.5" 5400 RPM hard drive. I don't know how they fit that in this tiny casing, but they did. One thing worth noting is that although the drive is 160GB you will turn on the machine for the first time and it'll appear to be 80GB. This is because ASUS did something I'm not sure I like. They partitioned the drive in two halves so you can use one partition to quickly recover your machine in the event of irreversible failure. They've even dedicated a function key to restore with the ease of saying "Beatlejuice beatlejuice beatlejuice" (you press the key three times). While I think this is sort of a clever feature, I also think it's not really worth sacrificing half the drive space for it. It's also a little disconcerting that ASUS assumes that failure is so inevitable and so they've built-in such a simple recovery to their machine. This lack of good faith seems to be more in Windows XP than their hardware, which is understandable because, you know, XP isn't exactly perfect but it's still just weird and rubs me the wrong way. Of course you can just clear out the partition and disable it or use the partition for dual booting if you're not a huge fan of XP like me.

So let's talk about your operating system options. You don't really have any, or at least without a bit of work. On a netbook we're talking about installing Linux, Windows 7 and maybe OS X. I haven't tried running Linux yet (although supposedly Ubuntu is not that hard to install) but you'll run into trouble with both Windows 7 and OS X. First of all, OS X actually runs pretty well but is difficult to install and WiFi (and maybe Ethernet...didn't check) doesn't work. So that's kind of a no-go. Apparently some folks are working on maybe changing this without installing a completely different WiFi card ([...]) but I haven't seen anything successful yet. Personally, I'm running Windows 7 RC1 and it mostly works fine but you have to do a few things to make that happen (turn on auto-login and run a little script at startup, basically). There are instructions all over the net and it's pretty easy. Sometimes the display goes dark and you have to hit the power/sleep button now and again to get things going but it's a minor annoyance and definitely preferable to running Windows XP, I think. Installing Windows 7 means you can't use the included Eee Storage application maybe some other minor features I neglected to notice, so if you're buying the machine for all the added software benefits that ASUS provides, then you're going to want to think about how important those are before wiping out XP.

The main issue I have with the machine is how difficult it is to upgrade. It's not that it's impossible, but they really don't make it a pleasant experience and with only 1GB of included RAM you pretty much are destined to want to upgrade that, at least. Including 2GB in these netbooks is so trivial and inexpensive that I can't understand why they don't just do it. It's the one thing most everyone wants to upgrade and it tends to make the most difference. Upgrading the 1008HA is painful. I mean that because to get to anything you have to take off the keyboard and because of how it is adhered it feels like you're ripping the computer apart when you do so. It's hard to believe you're not destroying the machine in the process. It's also not exactly the most obvious experience, either. If you want to go through it, there are guides online but if you haven't upgraded a computer in any sort of real way then this is probably not the best place to start.

Overall, I think it all comes down to one thing: if you want to use this machine as ASUS intended, it's a wonderful netbook all-around. If you want to change anything, prepare to be met with resistance. Because it's such a nice piece of hardware the lack of upgrades and OS choices (without drawbacks) are a little saddening. Overall, though, if you're looking for a good netbook that's both tiny, light and attractive you really can't go wrong with the 1008HA.

Love/Hate ASUS 1008 HA Relationship James S. Potter Jr. #06-11-2009

I really like this computer and my wife is estatic about it. It runs well and is a great little computer, but had I known prior to purchase that it had to be fully diassembled to upgrade the memory or replace the battery I would have gone with the ASUS 1000HE. I am extremely disappointed that there was not a method to remove some simple cover for memory upgrade. If you do not believe me check out the following website that shows the disassembly. (Amazon removed the link)I guess it also means if the battery goes out I have to send it off for replacement vs. replacing it my self. I am computer savvey and feel confident I could do the replacement, but you would have to be a missing a few screws to completely disassemble a brand new computer still under warranty risking damage and contamination to components to upgrade the memory. Come on ASUS; you can do better than this!

[...]

Excellent Netbook D. Getz #09-18-2009

This netbook has by far the best industrial design shape and look of any netbook I have seen and touched in person. It just feels super slim in your hands due to svelte tapers and rounded edges from its thickest point. I have found that battery life is very good at a usable screen brightness, and compared to a typical laptop this seems to keep going and going. The up time, of course, does not match the 'ideal conditions' quoted battery rating, but that is a universal issue across the board with most battery operated devices. The power cord and brick are also the smallest I have owned for any laptop. The brick is maybe 1"x3"x3/4," I wish more laptops came with a truly portable power supply such as this.

I loaded the release candidate of windows 7 and immediately upgraded the memory with a 2GB stick and haven't looked back. The memory upgrade is definitely not for the faint of heart and should not be attempted by anyone that has not had experience with hardware modification. It requires splitting the machines case and removing almost all of the internal components after disconnecting several VERY delicate ribbon cables. However it was worth the trouble to me as Windows 7 works great on this netbook.

Points to think about before purchasing:
1. All of the ports have connected covers to add to the smooth design appearance of the laptop. If you intend to hook an array of devices up to it on a regular basis these covers could get annoying. Personally we don't use the netbook this way and I like the design look.
2. Difficulty in upgrading the RAM. See above.
3. The track pad and mouse 'button' on this model are different. To add to the clean design aesthetic the track pad is simply a rectangular zone of bumps on the case below the keyboard. This actually works well once the lack of an edge has been adjusted too. The tactile feedback of the bumps is something I find to be preferable to a regular track pad. The button design though would be my single biggest complaint. While it is a right click/left click setup, the buttons are on a single rocking bar/button. To perform an actual left click (the most common one) your finger generally has to rest on the left most portion of the rocker to leverage a click. Two regular buttons would be much preferred.
4. The keyboard is high quality, but a noticeable size difference from a regular keyboard. The feedback of the buttons is great, but I would not plan on writing any research papers on it.

I bought this for surfing the web and emailing anywhere, along with being a convenient vacation traveling laptop (watching movie files, offloading and viewing photos from cameras, loading music on ipods, etc.). In such an application the device is absolutely perfect.

Slow when run on battery itself R. Quach #08-01-2009

The asus 1008ha is beautiful. The design is great, small and thin, great for travel. However, I was dissappointed on its speed. It's kind of slow, especially when it run on battery. Everytime I tried to watch a video on HULU, it kept pausing. I called ASUS tech support and they couldn't resolve it neither. Test it out before you buy this model.

Great netbook Long Island MOM #07-14-2009

I've had this netbook about 3 weeks and I think it's great. It is not my main computer, and I don't have the expectation of it doing everything to the same degree. I am running Office on it, Word and Excel with no problem. I understand if you have s copy of office already you can just load your serial NO (key) into the trial version to open it up without having to reload another version.

Occasionally gets hung up on a webpage on the internet, but mostly everything loads fast. This one does not have easily accessible memory to upgrade to 2MB, which would make the internet work like a champ all the time. Need to tweak settings to get maximum viewing. (Auto hide bottom bar, hide as many toolbars as possible, adjust to small icons, set in control panel for screen to give you best performance not auto.)

The mousepad took a little getting used to, need to use a light touch, my only complaint is the right/left click bar is a little hard to push.

I went with this model because it is about 1 pound lighter than the 1000HE. I was more concerned with weight than having 9 hour battery life(I get about 5 hours on this one).

I really don't think not having a CD/DVD rom drive is a big issue. Between, downloading, flashdrives and/or external hard drives you are covered. I would put my money into a large flash drive and an external hard drive before I spent money on an external CD/DVD.

Overall great little machine.

UPDATED [with some less than exciting news--3.5 stars]: Great news about the keyboard! And other notes (Initial Thoughts Review) A. Nesbitt #06-01-2009

This isn't a full review yet, as I have yet to test things like battery life, performance, Windows 7, etc. But just a couple observations:

Keyboard:
Thank GOODNESS that the keyboard is very nicely laid out, and very comfortable. For some reason Amazon has pictures of the black one with a horrible layout in some of the pictures, including, ironically, where it says "Ergonomic Keyboard." In particular, a couples pictures show a horribly mis-shaped Enter key that also moves the back-slash key under the A-key, which is where the left shift key should be! I was planning on sending it back immediately if this was the case, and thankfully it's not. Some pictures have the correct layout, and I believe all the pictures of the white version are accurate.

Setup:
The Windows XP setup was a breeze, just taking a matter of minutes. UPDATE: I installed Windows 7 RC. Runs great, although there are "blackscreen" issues. This seems to only occur on setup. Basically it looks like it's booting up, then the screen goes blank. But if you wait a little bit and then hit the Power button again, the log-in screen comes on. Hopefully Asus releases a BIOS update to get around this. Once you're in though, I have yet to experience any issues, and it looks great.

UPDATE: A great feature I discovered is that the the HDD comes pre-partitioned, so you can leave XP on the first partition (and keep the pre-loaded software/XP) and install Windows 7 on the other. You can even pick which Windows version you want to use when you boot up--very cool! I just need to reinstall some of the drivers on Windows 7 though so I can do things like below--

Side note, it's very cool being able to do things like switch resolutions and turn things on and off on-the-fly with the Fn and F-keys. There is also a 1024x768 "Compress" mode, which helps with compatibility issues with some programs (and, while it looks a little jaggy, is much less annoying than having to scroll the screen up or down). Hopefully it'll retain those same quick functions with Windows 7 [UPDATE--it didn't. Hopefully the utility disk will install these features. I'll update again later].

Memory upgrade:
UPDATE: What a nightmare!! I first saw just the 4 screws and hoped I just needed to take those off and I was in. Wrong. The case stays tightly closed, presumably by latches. I popped some loose but eventually gave up, fearing I'd break something. What's worse, if you look online, it looks incredibly difficult--having to release certain clips near the F keys, pulling off the keyboard, moving ribbons out of the way, just to name a couple steps. The most egregious thing is that apparently there is no reason for not having a door at the bottom, as there's nothing separating the bottom from the memory (and all sorts of guts getting in the way on top), so presumably the "to save on size" argument is invalid. This is a HUGE, almost inexcusable design flaw on the part of Asus.

While I'm not the most advanced expert in the world, I've built and upgraded many a computer, and this is just too much. I'd recommend trying to find a shop that specializes in this sort of thing... wherever that is.

USB:
UPDATED: The one gripe I have about the USB besides there only being 2 ports (vs the typical 3 which is unfortunate, but I knew that going in), is that they're on opposite sides. If you have a powered USB device that might need a Y cable to use two ports, it probably won't reach the other side without an extension. And even then it's a lot of cord. Thankfully I haven't had any problems with my external DVD drive as far as installing things, although I haven't tried recording anything yet (I've heard it's a little slower if you just use one plug).

Size/Style:
Nice. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say this was the main reason I purchased this--the slim-ness/weight especially for myself. But yes, the looks are also very nice, very sleek.
I plan on taking this thing with me on a trip around the world in a couple weeks, so the lighter and less volume, the better.

Other thoughts: I've noticed a couple of just-audible beeping and clicking noises. Has anyone else experienced this? They don't make me feel too good, as I've only heard this before when things overheat, etc. Please share thoughts.

I plan on updating with more observations later. So far it's still good, but there are certainly a couple things that could use improvements.

Only worked for 3 months, and GOODLUCK getting warranty honored! mb #10-15-2011

My new eee pc only worked for three months, then it stopped working gradually over the next two months... first the power supply started to get flakey, then the wifi card stopped working, and then the lcd screen broke. In short, the laptop was a lemon.

This leads to my second complaint.... ASUS warranty and repair are horrendous.

I took the pc in for service to ASUS repair center 3 times, in 3 different countries (as I'm travelling and its supposedly covered until 'Global warranty', yeah right!) Each time I was told by ASUS it was fixed (after waiting a month+ each time.) And each time I got it back, one of the underlying problems was fixed for a few days, but then it returned to the same issue and no one ever fixed the power issue, and always something new was broken as well! It seems crazy, but ASUS could not fix the computer and only made it worse. It seems to me that the model doesn't fit back together properly once the laptop is opened, or the technitians are not trained properly to fix this model.

It's been an ongoing, frustrating saga to try and get ASUS to get my computer fixed.

I've had it for 10 months now, STILL trying to get it fixed, and it's only worked for 3 months. It's possible that I just have the one lemon in the bunch, but if you buy a computer from ASUS and you have any technical problems with it, expect A LOT of frustration cashing in on your warranty.

Build quality did not stand up over time. John DiCapua #03-02-2011

Loved this little computer when we first got it, It's beautiful and shiny and the battery life was fantastic, the keyboard is pretty comfortable to type on, the touch pad is sleek and the bumps feel nice. It is slightly quicker than other "netbooks" of its time because of the processor bump.

2 months after the warranty expired the left side of the screen has started flickering and is noticeably darker than the right side. I suspect its because the left hinge is loose and if you move it the screen has a noticeable effect. This particularly disheartening because this netbook has a ridiculously low amount of total use. It was bought for my wife who barely touches the thing and maybe has used it for a total of 30 hours of the last 2 years. No way it should have worn out that easily.

I was hoping Asus was going to be my new brand for all my laptops but this is not the kind of build quality I expected.

Stay Away from Asus! tamjm #12-12-2009

We've been waiting nearly two months to get the power cord replaced!

We bought an Asus EeePc for my 11 year old son in mid-October 2009. He was so excited to have his own computer.

After a week, the power cord failed. We called to get a replacement. It was supposed to come in a week, that turned into another week, and then a month. By then, amazon's one month return had passed because I lost track of the delay.

It's not mid-December, and we still don't have a charger. That's going on two months.

My son asks just about every day when his computer is going to work again. I call Asus every few days. They keep telling me that we'll be getting a new power cord in a few days, but they can't tell me when one will ship or confirm when new power cords will be in stock.

This is my first Asus. And my last. I've had computers at home and at work from Apple, Dell, IBM/Lenovo, Gateway, Sun, and a few other companies. Never have I had a runaround like this. Check out all the other complaints about the power cords for some models. And check out the complaints on the delays.

There are other companies that make inexpensive networks. I'm sure any of them have better support than Asus. I'm sure these work great for some people. But why take a chance that you might get one of the defective power cords and have to go through this hell.

lovely Gustavo Lomba #09-07-2009

i am very happy with my new netbook, i am still did work with i very much, i was busy but i will enjoy it specially in my holidays abroad, becuse is so small and light that you forget if you have it with you, very fast and nice sound, that was the only worried i have before i used at home but is perfect.

I am in love with my baby netbook! Betty Edit #08-29-2009

I got this computer two months ago and have hardly touched my big laptop since! This is the perfect computer for taking with you--it's tiny, light, and boots quickly. I actually bought a new purse that allows me to carry this inside; it doesn't even look like I'm carrying a computer with me! I've encountered maybe one or two bugs, but nothing that would not be uncommon to any new computer. I love the easy magnification using the touchpad, and the keyboard arrangement of wireless/touchpad/brightness/etc. is great. The keyboard is easy to type on, feels just like a regular computer. I suppose my main complaint is that the exterior is so shiny it shows every little finger smudge, but that is easily fixed by wiping with the cloth they included. Everyone who sees my computer comments on it; it makes me feel like a superstar. I am definitely in love!

ASUS Netbook Clarence H. Fong #08-27-2009

I have an ASUS F3F notebook so the conversion to this one was very easy. This was purchased primarily because of the size much easier to go thru inspection at the airports.

I expected to use this primarily for viewing e-mails while in Las Vegas. I was stunned to discover that it can do CAD drawings. I am not a touchpad user so a notebook mouse was installed. With the Samsung DVD disk the 10 inch netbook is wonderful on the road.

Good netbook Chip L "chip1978" #08-15-2009

By now, you probably have already researched other netbooks or maybe even some laptops too. The ASUS is what it is: a netbook that's very light, very portable, and it has a good battery life.

So I'll try to address the complaints I've seen. I don't consider the screen particularly glossy. I've never needed to use it outside, but inside I've never had any problem watching the screen.

I've seen at least one person complain about the "flase advertising" regarding the battery life. They advertise 6 hours - on ultra battery saving mode. Come on people, every computer maker advertises the battery life on ultra battery saving mode. In real life, the ASUS probably gets about four hours - which is still much better than most comparably priced netbooks.

My biggest complaint is the touchpad. It seems to get a little "sticky" sometimes. Sometimes it scrolls the screen when I'm just trying to move the cursor up or down.

All-in-all, this is a good value for what you get: a very light netbook. If you wanted an optical drive, or more power, get ready to spend a lot more money. I've been very happy with my purchase so far.

Awesome Netbook!! A. Monzon #08-05-2009

I had bought one for my wife and liked it so much I ordered a 2nd for myself.

Three words for this netbook: Stilysh, compact, slim. I was skeptical about getting 1008HA vs. 1005HA due to battery life but unless you travel often to Europe (which is a 12 hour travel from US) you might not need an all day computer. 4.5 Hours with mid-bright screen and running wi-fi (or 6 hrs no wifi/bt & lowest brightness) is what you get on this little machine. The covered ports are awesome and really makes this pc look expensive and original. Everyone in the office asks me about it because, compared to other netbooks, this one is really thin. Regarding the 2GB upgrade, you see when you run WinXP with customized desktops, antivirus & antispyware you're pretty much about 416MB of ram. The other 584MB you can use for PPTs, (Internet Explorer, Itunes, and Outlook) and you'll be fine. I have a friend who made the 2GB upgrade on this 1008HA and really, it doesn't feel any faster (performance wise). Windows 7 Requires a minimum of 1GB of ram for a 32BIT, so when the final release comes out it will run perfect. I'd give 5 stars just because $400 bucks really makes it worth of the price being 1/4th of a macbook air. You won't regret it.

slim, light, fast, useful, cheap SAMUEL BEAM #07-29-2009

I bought this on impulse about a month ago for an upcoming stretch of working vacations and business travel this summer, and I am glad I did. Years of lugging around various brick-like laptops, just to keep up with email and make the occasional emergency document edit or ssh session, was getting old. A friend had a Macbook Air and I considered it, but the price was absurd. This seemed like a good compromise - plus by burning DVDs we would be able to keep our 2-year-old entertained with some shows on the plane, a plan which worked very well.

Like many people, I thought the 1280x600 resolution would be a major bummer. But in reality it hardly ever matters at all, and when it does it is a small price to pay for the form factor and weight. There are certain things this is not suited for, but that is why I have twin 22" monitors at home. The screen is clear, finely detailed and has great contrast and range, if you can't deal with it then you probably need to see an optometrist. My only gripe is the gloss (found on almost everything these days), which makes it hard to deal with outdoors or by a window - but indoors it's better, so it's a toss-up.

keyboard: very well done, I couldn't improve it if asked, for the size. Might be one of the most comfortable keyboards I've ever used on a laptop PC of any size.

Battery life - 5-6 hours may be an issue for some, but personally I have found it sufficient so far, and again it's a weight trade-off I am happy to make. Did I mention it's light?

The BIG problem: Windows XP. After using OSX and Linux for the last 7 years, it looks dated and dysfunctional. It's downright sad that millions of people are still using this in 2009 and have no idea there is a better world out there.

Fortunately, Ubuntu Netbook Remix is well suited to the 1008HA, although it does currently need a bit of voodoo to get the wired and wireless networking to work (see http://www.amazon.com/review/R1FY56FWYYXMFD/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm). Conveniently, ASUS splits the 160Gb drive in half with a C: and D: drive, so it took about 45 minutes to get it all installed and happy as a dual-boot with XP. Camera and sound work and the performance is great, it wakes from suspend in about 5 seconds. Fedora 11 and Moblin are said to be working well on the 1000HE but may be a few drivers missing on this newer model, will research as time allows.

So I am subtracting one star for making me deal with Windows XP for a couple days (and pay for it), and for having such a glossy screen that picks up fingerprints.

Great netbook Nickyv "NickyV" #07-18-2009

This netbook is great it's very light and thin run window 7 flawlessly, the battery life could be better and I wish it come with better cover but Do like how quiet the netbook is you can't hear the fan at all.

Excellent laptop H. Gandhi #07-04-2009

I now use this as my regular laptop. It is light weight, stylish and after using this your regular laptop will feel like a desktop.

Screen, keyboard and overall build quality is excellent.

Review on Eeepc PC 1008HA Seashell Ricardo Vanegas "Por #07-04-2009

After reviewing all the computers in the same category as the Eeepc, I came to the conclusion it was by far the best product for the buck compared to Dell

Best Yet B #06-30-2009

Best-looking netbook on the market. Sleek, sturdy, feels more expensive than it actually is. Port covers are clever, sit flush. Speed and performance are limited, and lack of easy RAM upgrade disappoints.

Love the Seashell E. Oakley "lizardonw #06-30-2009

I did a lot of research before buying the Seashell. It was worth all the time and the extra cash. Light weight... great keyboard... works well... super battery life. What more could you ask for?

Nice and small Pavel Zelinsky #06-24-2009

GOOD: Nice and small device. Very easy to carry everywhere - only 2 lbs. Frequently do not need to carry charger because of long battery life - 6hrs max and about 4 hrs if processor-hungry applications running. Very fast - comes from standby in 5 seconds, all normal applications work without any delays - Skype, Firefox, Chrome, Outlook, Picasa, bookreaders, and etc.

BAD: Purchased with Amazon-recommended additional 2GB memory, but can not easily install because 1008HA does not have a memory door. Actually it runs well with 1GB, but I wasted money on additional 2GB. Later Amazon placed a notification on their site that 2GB is difficult to install, but still offers to buy it. Also, personally I do not like hi-gloss screens, but it is not a big issue.

COMPARED TO: Before purchase compared 1008HA to MSI netbooks and found their keyboard wierd - Fn key in place of Ctrl and too small keys "." and ","

CONCLUSION: Completely satisfied. Also, I'm considering buying 1101HA later when it becomes available to get 11" screen with higher resolution and longer battery life.

Geat! Tomas Fuenzalida Gas #06-23-2009

I got this netbook like 3 weeks ago and has been working perfectly for till today.

Pros:
- The keyboard. It's really the best netbook keyboard i've tried.
- Mousepad. The scroll works perfect and the zoom utility is great!
- Glossy screen. It looks great from every angle, great bightness and contrast.
- Speakers. They're very decent for what you can expect in a netbook.
- Software. I love the EEE SuperHybrid Engine wich allows you to change the power consumtion and performance just with the hotkeys. It also can overclock the CPU to 1.75Ghz (still trying to get more than that).
- Battery. I've used today for 5:15 and is telling me that I have 20 minutes left. Almost hits the promised time.

Cons:
- 6 dead pixels came with the screen. Also the glossy screen isn't good at all if you like using your computer on the outdoors.
- The black screen border is a fingerprint magnet.
- Wi-fi doesn't work on Windows 7.
- The battery and memory are very difficult to replace, and Asus says that if you do it you'll void the warranty.

Beware of Warranty UAC "Unhappy Asus Cu #11-18-2009

The ac adapter failed and Wendy the supervisor at ASUS gave me the run-around and will not honor the 1 year warranty. The warranty card plainly states that the warranty covers everything but, the battery or free accessories such as mice or laptop bag. She says that excludes them from covering the AC adapter that is integral to using the laptop. I contend that the AC Adapter is not a free accessory. Wendy is at the Customer Support Line they keep putting in these review responses and their job is to tell you that your warranty does not mean what it reads. I believe they have made a business decision to not stand behind these because they have a high failure rate on the AC adapter. I believe it will cost them more in unhappy customers than they gain by cheating us out of our warranty. I have bought many ASUS products in the past and thought they were a reputable company. I can not recommend them in the future.

Hinges are flimsy - need to baby it F. Hernandez "Fernie #10-03-2009

The electronics on this machine are impressive. Work well that way. But you need to beware of the very flimsy construction of this machine. You will need to baby it as the hinges on this computer are somewhat delicate. Also the screen casing came apart on me as well. This is not a good machine to have if you travel extensively and knock the computer about. It is a rather delicate piece of equipment that cannot take a lickin and keep on tickin. Moreover there is no easy way to upgrade the ram. You will have to send it in if you want to upgrade the ram.

On a positive note, the keyboard and screen are excellent. It is light and very svelte. It is a great looking machine. It responds well. I added Ubuntu to it and it really ran well. The XP version that comes with it is pretty snappy. So no complaints with the basic operation of the unit. I just need a machine that can take a bit of knocking around and this one doesn't fit the bill. My next netbook will probably be an Acer Aspire 1 which is much hardier in terms of hardware.

Nice netbook - Now runs Windows 7 Zakor "Zakor" #05-26-2009

*Update* Asus put out a Bios Update that fixed the Windows 7 Problem. (June 6-2009)*

Just picked one up and found out that IT DOESN"T RUN Windows 7 due to Video issues. I had such a great experience with an Acer Aspire One netbook that I though I would upgrade to a slimmer netbook. But after bringing it home last night I found out that there are issues with it going to a black screen when poweing on OR hibernating...
There are some clunky workarounds that work for some but it's not a good choice for Windows 7 beta or RC yet. If you're planning on a netbook for Windows 7 this isn't it yet. Hope they update the bios at some point.
That being said it's a nicely built unit and heals solidly constructed with a good keyboard. If you're after an XP netbook it's very nice.

Love it till you warranty support Katherine Ogden #09-29-2009

My husband bought one for me for my anniversary. I love it. I carried it everywhere and used it everywhere. Then the power supply failed, less than two months after I got it. Called warranty, waited days, called back, waited, faxed documents, got pissed, called again. The part is on backorder till the end of september which is what they told me on August 20. Called at the end of September, part is now backordered another two weeks. I've now called six times. Can't even get their customer support managers to call me back. Meanwhile, it's a beautiful paperweight.

Wonderful netbook, runs windows 7 awesome and I love it as much as my iphone but the company completely lets it down.

Extremely disappointed danielman #08-20-2009

I really liked this computer. I was looking for something portable, that I could carry in my bag all day and this machine seemed perfect. I tested it for some hours at home and worked very smoothly. However, when I brought it to my university, it just refused to connect to the wireless network. I spent several hours with my univ. tech support, over the phone with Asus tech support (nice people, but completely clueless) and surfing the internet and posting to forums trying to find solutions. I also updated the BIOS and all drivers. After two or three days of trying I just gave up and returned the product.

It seems that a just minority of users have reported this kind of problems, and they seem to be related with some particularities of specific access points. However if, like me, you want this computer primarily to be able to access the internet when you're on the road, I'd recommend to stay away. It's not reliable.

ASUS Eee PC 1008HA James E. Perkins #08-19-2009

ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell 10.1-Inch Pearl Black Netbook - 6 Hour Battery Life
I am very disappointed with this product. The power supply/AC Adaptor which came with the product
Failed, and as of this review(8/19). Its been 5 weeks now since I faxed my credit card info to ASUS.
I still have not received a replacement Adaptor, or an RMA number.

Awesome design - Apple should be scare Slim Fugu #06-08-2009

Just received the PC yesterday - was so excited to open the box. The look & feel of this netbook (white) is so awesome. Remind me the first time opening up the iphone. For 400 bucks - this is a great product. The speed is much better than my previous netbook ACER aspire ONE using N270 processor...

Have it for 2 days now - no problem at all. The battery lasts a 4-5 hours - good enough for me.

I still can't believe how small and light this thing is... I will take it with me every where..It comes with very attractive pouch (probably value at 20 bucks).

Apple is known for their beautiful design and simplicity. This product is getting pretty close to that. But the price is way better than MAC.

Wish list for future improvement:
- HDMI connection (for watching movie on TV)
- DTV tuner (I believe Dell will have it soon)
- Design to use standard USB charger instead of proprietary AC adapter??

Glad I waited for the white one....It took a while for it to become available.

Very Nice netbook - New Runs Windows 7 RC Zakor "Zakor" #06-05-2009

*Update* Asus put out a Bios Update that fixed the Windows 7 Problem. (June 6-2009)*
Just picked one up and found out that IT DOESN"T RUN Windows 7 due to Video issues. I had such a great experience with an Acer Aspire One netbook that I though I would upgrade to a slimmer netbook. But after bringing it home last night I found out that there are issues with it going to a black screen when poweing on OR hibernating...
There are some clunky workarounds that work for some but it's not a good choice for Windows 7 beta or RC yet. If you're planning on a netbook for Windows 7 this isn't it yet. Hope they update the bios at some point.
That being said it's a nicely built unit and heals solidly constructed with a good keyboard. If you're after an XP netbook it's very nice.

Perfect for Linux OS vansic35 #07-04-2011

After my huge HP Laptop died last summer, I decided that my basic needs of office programs (word, spreadsheet, and powerpoint), internet, and evolution/genetics simulators (Image J, Avida Ed, and DDV Sequence Alignment Viewer) did not require me to purchase a desktop nor bulky laptop. Since I wanted to switch from Windows and Mac OSX to Linux Ubuntu, I set out to find the most compatible netbook for Ubuntu. All signs pointed to the fact that nearly everything was compatible with Ubuntu on this Asus 1008HA, unlike most other netbooks where additional drivers were required to be installed. That, on top of the fact that Asus is often the first choice among programmers and people who work with computers on a daily basis and that it's around $300 to boot, it was a no-brainer. After my computer whiz friend ripped Windows from it (I decided not to dual-boot) and installed the latest version of Ubuntu, I gave it a test drive. After 9 months of ownership, here are my pros and cons:

PROS:
*Yes, EVERYTHING is 100% compatible with Ubuntu.
*FAST processor, even after nearly a year of use (around the time when normal PC's start to slow down)
*Great quality for watching videos and listening to music
*Small size does not transfer to the keyboard where it feels very natural to type. My husband complains about it after using his Mac, so it may not fit so well for men or people with larger hands.
*Very lightweight and extremely easy to transport.
*Very long extension cord is a huge plus.
*The covers over the USB ports are great as it keeps dust and grime out of the plugs and ports.
*Despite its low price and small nature, this computer feels very sturdy.

CONS:
*Very recently, the sound has been going in and out for a few hours at a time. Let me be clear that this is a Linux issue and not an Asus issue, but keep that in mind for those of you reading this for compatibility questions.
*Some have complained about the quality of the power cord, but while I have not yet experienced this, I see that replacements are less than $5 on Amazon, so it's not something I'm concerned about.

BOTTOM LINE:
Purchase this computer if you are looking for an great deal that is 99.9% compatible with Linux Ubuntu Netbook Edition, an extremely fast machine, and a sturdy portable device.

ASUS Parts wear out fast! Michael Diamant #08-18-2010

After only 8 months of occasional use, the keyboard malfunctioned. In order to repair it, I must pay for shipping (to and from), the keyboard and labor. All of this is more than 50% of what the original unit cost. Buyer beware. You are getting what you pay for,only it won't last very long.

Eee PC 1008Ha Pavel #07-11-2010

+ nice design
+ good keyboard
+ good life time
+ ubuntu 10 works well

- hard drive quite heated during work. It makes sense to replace it to ssd.
- strange arrow buttons

Just love it April #05-27-2010

Although the battery of the 1008HA is not removable, but I still got it rather the 1005.
It is thinner, lighter than 1005.
Eee pc1008HA ia my best assistant for jotting notes in class. I like to brought it to school, it's lighter than a textbook!

Update on Warranty Service & WiFi Farron D. Brougher #05-20-2010

NOTE: This is not a complete review, just some information on my recent experience with warranty service.
I quickly got an RMA number via email from ASUS after reinstalling Windows failed to restore my netbook. The repaired computer was returned to me with a new hard drive within a week. I live in CA, and I sent it to a CA service center, so your results may vary if you live elsewhere.
I and others who bought this computer experienced WiFi connection problems that a BIOS update didn't fix,nor were there any other updates on the ASUS site to address this problem. After I booted up my "new" computer for the first time, it detected my home network (draft-N) and quickly connected. Out of the box last year the only WiFi that it would connect to was G.
I'm pleased with my first experience with ASUS warranty service.
A final comment on aesthetics. The Pearl black finish looks good unless you touch it. I saw a newer version of black last week, sort of a matte finish graphite, and it doesn't show fingerprints, unless of course you're eating pizza at the same time as you're typing.

Modified my asus EEE pc 1008ha to SSD & 2GB RAM Nikalesh Ippagunta " #04-28-2010

I just modified my Asus EEE pc 1008ha, placed a 60GB SSD kingston drive, upgraded my RAM to 2GB from crucial and installed windows 7 32 bit (64bit is not supported by the processor). The gig now rocks and is really fast even with high end programs like photoshop. Anyone interested email me so i can guide you the whole process, you will lose warranty if you attempt this but if careful it is well worth the effort and risk