Consumers can easily get confused by the similar features on netbooks. However, it is impossible to overlook the Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell. This is the newest netbook from Asus that is designed to deliver the optimal balance of lightweight functionality and style.
Design and build
The 1005HA is a cheaper version of the 1008HA Seashell. Its chassis is similar to its pricier cousin, but the body is a little thicker and features a removable battery. While the 1008HA has plastic covers for every port, the 1005HA ports are easily accessible so you will not have to struggle every time you plug in a USB device. This laptop is not as thin as the 1008HA, but it makes up for its size with the removable battery option.
Looking at the top of this laptop will make it easy to recognize its “Seashell” heritage. Despite its low price, this laptop is able to retain its solid build and quality components. The glossy black plastic will not flex and the keyboard feels quite firm, two uncommon features for budget notebooks. Although it is not the most rugged netbook on the market, it has a solid build considering it costs less than $400.
A nice improvement from previous Seashells is its easy-access cover for RAM. If you want to upgrade RAM in your laptop, simply remove one screw at the bottom of the machine. It would have also been nice to have an easy-access hard-disk panel, but the majority of netbook consumers only focus on upgrading their RAM.
Screen
The Asus Eee PC 1005HA has a fairly average screen with 1024×600 native resolution and LED-backlit display. The glossy screen provides excellent contrast and colors, but suffers from glare when placed under strong lights or outdoors. The vertical viewing panels are fairly average with minimal distortion when viewing the screen from above.
Touchpad and Keyboard
The 1005HA features the same sized keyboard as the 1008HA. However, the keys are slightly smaller and there is only minimal spacing between them. The touchpad allows you to use multi-finger gestures like pinching to zoom in and out. The right and left mouse buttons are located underneath the touchpad, but there is no separation between them.
Performance
It is difficult to get excited over the performance of a netbook since all of them have virtually identical specs. Regardless of the little spec differences, all Atom processers have nearly the same speed for real-world use. The Atom CPU is efficient for everyday activities like watching movies, listening to music, checking email, Microsoft Office, and web browsing.
One interesting feature about the 1005HA is its overclocking application. The “Super Hybrid Engine” will allow you to cycle through various power profiles to increase battery life by under-clocking your processor. It also offers the option of slightly overclocking processor speed from 1.66 GHz to 1.70 GHz when using larger applications.
Unfortunately, gaming is not possible with the GMA 950 graphics adapter. It is powerful enough for watching DVD movies, but the display will be choppy for 1080p and 720p resolutions. However, the 1005HA has still been able to squeeze out some fairly solid ratings for their integrated graphics card.
Battery
Asus claims that the 1005HA provides “all-day computing” with 10.5 hours of battery life from a single charge. To get the maximum time, you will need to disable Wi-Fi, turn down the screen brightness, and allow the netbook to go into sleep mode every once in a while. Even with the main components switched on, this machine run for over 9 hours.
Conclusion
The 1005HA may seem like just another netbook, but by looking closer you’ll see that Asus has clearly refined their netbooks in every way. There is not much exciting about this machine in regards to specs, but its high battery life and overall performance is impressive. In summary, the Asus Eee PC 1005HA is a great netbook for under $400.