The Asus Eee PC 1008HA is one of the thinnest and lightest 10 inch netbooks available. It measures just 1 inch thick and weighs just 2.4 pounds. The netbook is a grand departure from early Asus netbooks including the Eee PC 1000HE which was one of the largest and heaviest 10 inch netbooks around.
Asus has been selling the Eee PC 1008HA since this summer, but the company recently launched an updated version loaded up with Windows 7. In addition to the updated operating system, the new model also has the latest Eee PC software from Asus as well as 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive. The original model had just 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive.
That's pretty much it for the differences, so portions of this review will be copied and pasted from my earlier review of the Asus Eee PC 1008HA. But I've updated the software and performance sections as well as some other areas. After all, it's been five months since I reviewed the Windows XP model, and the netbook space looks a bit different than it did at the time I first reviewed the Eee PC 1008HA.
One thing that immediately sets the updated Eee PC 1008HA apart from the crowd is the fact that it's one of the only netbooks to ship with Windows 7 Home Premium. Most 10 inch netbooks come with the lower priced Windows 7 Starter Edition.
The model featured in this review has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, a 10.2 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth. It's available from Amazon for $411
Design
On paper it's hard to describe just how small the Asus Eee PC 1008HA is. At less than an inch thick though, it certainly looks and feels smaller than practically any other netbook on the market with a 10 inch display. Sure, it's a little wider or a little longer than some models.
But in order to find a thinner machine you'd have to look to the Nokia Booklet 3G which has a slower processor and which costs about $200 more (if you buy the Booklet without a subsidy).
At just 2.4 pounds, the Eee PC 1008HA is also quite light, which is a welcome change from earlier Asus netbooks. At 3.2 pounds, the Eee PC 1000H was one of the heaviest netbooks with a 10 inch display and 6 cell battery.
By shaving almost an entire pound off the weight, Asus has now designed one of the lightest. Don't get me wrong, either netbook is significantly easier to lug around in a bag all day than a 6 pounds laptop with a 15 inch screen. But every ounce makes a difference, and this netbook is definitely easier to carry around.
VGA adapter
In order to keep the case both slim and tidy looking, Asus made a few interesting design choices. First, instead of a full sized VGA port, there's a proprietary display port that requires an adapter. Fortunately you don't need to go out and purchase the adapter separately as you did with the HP Mini 1000 (another netbook that was just 1 inch thick, but which has now been discontinued).
Instead, the adapter ships with the computer and fits comfortably into a small compartment on the bottom of the computer. It's a bit annoying to have to pull out the adapter to plug in an external monitor, but honestly, how often do you expect to use an external display with a netbook anyway?
Asus also chose to cover up most of the ports on the sides of the computer with plastic covers. From a distance, this makes the netbook look like it has almost no ports at all, but the flimsy bits of plastic connecting the covers to the case feel like they're bound to break within a year or so of regular use.
If you're careful, that may not happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people who regularly plug in USB peripherals or headphones find themselves with a missing port cover eventually.
Underneath the unit, you'll noti
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