Asus Eee PC 1008HA Shell launches in Japan, coming soon to the west

Asus has been teasing us with pictures of its new thin and light Eee PC 1008HA “Shell” netbook for a few months. Asus officially launched the nebtook in Taiwan yesterday, and Akihabara News reports that it’s already available for purchase in Japan, while Register Hardware suggests that it could be available in the UK as early as next week.

The Eee PC 1008HA sports a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a 10.2 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. So the specs aren’t particularly spectacular. But design-wise, the laptop is a big departure from Asus’s earlier netbooks. It’s thinner, lighter, and the display is on a hinge which folds down below the body of the computer, which makes the mini-laptop seem much smaller than its Eee PC cousins (although other laptop makers including MSI and HP have been doing this fold-below-the-body thing for a while now).

Of course, the slim design means that the Eee PC 1008HA won’t get the stellar battery life you find on models like the Asus Eee PC 1000HE which has 6 cell, 8700mAh battery that can run for 7 to 9 hours.

You can read more about the Asus Eee PC 1008HA on the Asus UK web site or in the Liliputing Product Database.

via Eee PC.it

Posted on Friday, May 1st, 2009, 9:12 am by Brad Linder

Mikez

A slick looking machine.
Why not give one of those away in your next contest?
Mikez

With or without the Apple sticker.
http://portablemonkey.com Peter

Akihabaranews has mixed up Taiwan and Japan. The 1008HA has not yet made an appearance in Japan in any official capacity.
matt

It's odd to me that you'd mention “other laptop makers” who have been “doing this … for a while now.” Why would you say that, rather than noting this type of hinge was pioneered by Apple? It makes for a cumbersome sentence, and I don't think you're one of those people who has a negative opinion of Apple.

Apple introduced this hinge on the dual USB iBook (the one that came out after the one that looks like a toilet seat).
J

He probably didn't mention Apple because Apple doesn't make a netbook. I believe he was referring to other netbook makers who use this type of hinge, ie HP Mini.
http://getasus.com Get Asus

Pros:
1. Battery Life – It really is that good. I can get a real world value of 7.5 to 8 hours with the WLAN on under the power saving mode. I can't even see a difference with the performance when in this mode.
2. LED-lit screen – I was expecting a basic screen that didn't look particularly great. I was surprised with the look of it, even at the low, netbook standard resolution.
3. Keyboard – The so-called chiclet keys are very comfortable, and the placement of the shift key in the correct spot really separates this model from the rest.

Cons:
1. Windows XP – Yeah, I know. Most would say this is a pro. However, I passed the XP life-cycle on desktops and I'm now having to learn the intricacies of this OS. I wish I could have have them put the Windows 7 beta on it before shipping because I did not get it in time to download, but I digress.
2. Performance – Not technically a con, but I expected a little more of a boost from the bus increase to 667 Mhz. Still, it serves its purposes as a netbook, and the upcoming performance boost in Intel's chipset will probably decrease battery life by 2-3 hours.
Canada

Off the top of my head, I see 3 bad bad bad design decisions…
– crappy Eee logo botk on the cover and under the screeen – blah
– horrible cursor keys (up/down arrow is half-size.. WHY?)
– bezel – why 10″, when 11.6 would have fitted perfectly?

Ok, make it 4, there does nto seem to be an easy access panel on the bottom…
A.

Aside from the knife edges, which make is APPEAR thinner, let's look at its specs vs. the HP Mini 1000

- 1″ thick – both
- HP: 94% of normal keyboard; Asus: 92% of normal keyboard
- HP: 2.5 lbs; Asus: 1.1 kg

Like I said – thin edges. YAWN…
James

Peter, no according to Watch Impress it is available in Japan.

http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/2009050…
James

Lol, or maybe not!

Perhaps I ought to have read the article before linking it…
cheap

according to the same portablemonkey website, B&H photo has it available for pre-order for $429.95 and it estimates availability in May. Too bad it's glossy and has a weaker battery than the 1000HE :/

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/616515-RE…
cheap

according to the same portablemonkey website, B&H photo has it available for pre-order for $429.95 and it estimates availability in May. Too bad it's glossy and has a weaker battery than the 1000HE :/

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/616515-RE…

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Shell launches in Japan, coming soon to the west

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