ASUS Eee PC 1005HA (Seashell)

Editors’ Note: Portions of this review were taken from our earlier review of the ASUS Eee PC 1008HA.

By our count, ASUS has launched more than 20 models of its popular Eee PC netbook in the past year and a half. With that kind of practice it’s no surprise that this latest entry is one of the most well-rounded netbooks on the market. The $389 ASUS Eee PC 1005HA has a similar chassis to the elegant Eee PC 1008HA and the same Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, Windows XP and 160GB hard drive as the 1008HA and the 1000HE. And its high-capacity battery lasts just shy of nine hours on a charge, making this one of the longest-running netbook yet.

Inspired Design

A member of ASUS’ Seashell family, the 1005HA is the 1008HA’s chunkier twin. Though less svelte than the inch-thick 1008HA, the 1005HA pulls from the same gene pool with its curved panels and sharp look. Gone, however, is the uniform body of the 1008HA; no plastic covers the edges or hides the ports. Its glossy black lid (also available in blue, pink, and white) is covered in a scratch-resistant In Fusion Finish, which is far from fingerprint resistant, so you’ll want to keep a cloth handy.

The 1005HA is considerably thicker than the ultraslim 1008HA. It measures 10.2 x 6.9 x 1.4 inches, compared to 10.3 x 7.0 x 1.0 inches. The 1005HA is also a bit thicker than the Toshiba mini NB205 (1.3 inches) but has the same thickness as the older ASUS 1000HE. It also weighs noticeably more than the 2.2-pound 1008HA, but the 2.8-pound 1005HA netbook didn’t put any strain on our shoulder even with the charger (which brings the entire package up to 3.4 pounds). Plus, this machine is lighter than the 3.2-pound 1000HE.

Ports

Unlike the 1008HA, all the ports on the 1005HA are exposed and don’t require lifting a plastic covering to find them. On the left side is a USB and full VGA port (the 1008HA has a mini-VGA port, which required an adapter that was hidden on the underside of the system). On the right side are a 3-in-1 card reader, an Ethernet port, two USB ports (bringing the USB total to three; one more than the 1008HA), and headphone and microphone jacks.

Spacious Keyboard and Touchpad

The Eee PC 1005HA includes the same comfortable, spacious keyboard that is found on the 1008HA. Unlike the island–style layout of the 1000HE, there are no spaces between the raised black matte keys, which we found flat (we prefer them raised, as they are on the Samsung N120), but they did provide nice, tactile feedback. Nevertheless, we continue to prefer the feel of the keyboard on the Toshiba mini NB205. As with every netbook keyboard since the Eee PC 1000HE, the right Shift key is full size and directly below the Enter key. A touchpad on/off button sits at the top left of the keyboard.

The 2.5 x 1.5-inch pad touchpad, similar to that on the 1008HA, blends in with system’s deck and is covered with small braille-like dots. Unlike most netbooks, the pad had very little friction, and navigating the desktop didn’t require much backtracking. As with other Eee PCs, the touchpad also supports multitouch gestures; using two fingers to pinch the pad and zoom in on a Web page in Internet Explorer was easy, and the image quickly rendered in its new size. The single mouse button was comfortable for making selections, although we prefer the Toshiba NB205’s larger pad and dedicated right and left buttons.

Display, Audio, and Webcam

The 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel resolution LED-backlit display on the 1005HA allows Web pages and windows to fit to size on the screen. A streaming clip of the Daily Show from Hulu.com looked smooth, and colors were bright. Tilting the glossy screen back 45 degrees resulted in a slight glare; horizontal viewing angles were better. From afar, the inch-thick glossy black bezel (which was larger than we prefer) looked as if the screen was flush with the frame; up close, however,  you could clearly make out the raised frame.

Above the display, a 1.3-megapixel webcam provided clear images in a Skype video chat. A friend saw little motion blur when we waved quickly and made out details on our face. The speakers, located at the bottom front edge of the system, allowed us to hear his voice loud and clear from across the room. Similarly, when we listened to Frightened Rabbit’s “The Twist,” the sound was loud but provided the usual netbook tinniness.