Blogger Dave Zatz hit up the Pepcom show in New York last night where he got to see the new Asus Eee PC 1002HA up close and personal. As an added bonus, Asus plopped it down right next to an Eee PC S101. Can you tell which is which? Here’s a hint: The S101 starts at $699 while the 1002HA will start at $499? Yeah, I had a hard time telling the difference too, but the Eee PC S101 is on the left and the 1002HA is on the right.
On the inside, the two netbooks aren’t that different. They’ve both got a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, and 10.2 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel displays. The S101 comes with a solid state disk with up to 64GB of storage while the 1002HA has a 160GB hard drive, which probably accounts for the bulk of the price difference.
Dave tried to shoot a brief cellphone video, with mixed results. You can check it out after the break.
Both are SO much more sophisticated than the current crop of Eee PCs. Sexy! If someone can get OS X working on the S101, I might be in. It’s not the cheapest netbook, but it’s less than half the price of a MacBook Air. 😉
The S101 appears glossy on the inside and the 1002HA, matte. Is the 1002HA glossy on the outside or does it have a more subdued outer finish than the S101?
Joanna from Laptop Mag tells me the 1002HA has a brushed metal finish on the outside, which should help reduce/eliminate fingerprints.
That sounds good, but then there’s the right shift key placement. I think I would have to have a chance to type on a netbook with that placement before I should buy, and there aren’t any 10-inch ones available yet down here in Alabama. If something more compelling doesn’t come out soon, I’ll probably get the Samsung LC10. Maybe the 1959-modern design will grow on me 🙂