Now that 10-inch netbooks are de rigeur, PC makers are looking to bridge the gap, at least physically, between these secondary PCs and full-size notebooks, and the most obvious way to do that is by increasing the screen size to 11 or 12 inches. Somewhat surprisingly, ASUS is late to this game, having been beaten by Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung. However, that doesn’t mean the $429 Eee PC 1101HA should be dismissed. On the contrary, this 11.6-inch netbook has much that we like about recent ASUS netbooks—including superb battery life and a stylish design—but its performance could be better.
Design
The largest member of ASUS’ Seashell family, the Eee PC 1101HA is an up-sized version of the 1005HA. Though less svelte than the inch-thick 1008HA, the 1101HA has similar curved panels and a sharp look. Gone, however, is the uniform body of the 1008HA; no plastic covers the edges or hides the ports. Its glossy lid, only available in black, is covered in a scratch-resistant Infusion Finish, which is far from fingerprint resistant, so you’ll want to keep a cloth handy.
At 11.3 x 7.6 inches, the 1101HA is roughly an inch narrower than the Lenovo IdeaPad S12, and has nearly the same footprint as the Acer Aspire One 751h. However, the 751h is thinner, staying at a constant 1 inch thick, whereas the 1101HA tapers from 1 inch at its front to 1.4 inches at its rear. Still, the 1101HA’s six-cell battery is better concealed, and doesn’t protrude like those on the 751h and S12.
Tipping the scales at 3 pounds (and 3.4 with its power adapter), the 1101HA is the same weight as the Aspire One 751h, and didn’t put any strain on our shoulder as we carried it in a messenger bag.
Ports
On the left side of the 1101HA is a USB and VGA port. On the right side are a 3-in-1 memory card reader, an Ethernet port, two USB ports (bringing the USB total to three), and headphone and microphone jacks.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The Eee PC 1101HA includes the same comfortable, spacious keyboard that is found on the 1008HA. Unlike the Aspire One 751h, there are no spaces between the raised black matte keys, which are more akin to those on the IdeaPad S12. The keys provide nice, tactile feedback. In a slight regression to earlier Eee PCs, the right Shift key is undersized; however, it is in the correct position. ASUS should have made better use of available space; while the notebook is the same width as the Aspire One 751h, the 1101HA’s keyboard is just 10.2 x 3.8 inches; on the Acer, it’s 10.6 x 4.2 inches.
Similarly, ASUS could have used the larger chassis to incorporate a more spacious touchpad; as it is, the touchpad is the same size (2.5 x 1.5 inches) as that on the 1005HA. Also like its smaller brother and the 1008HA, the touchpad blends in with system’s deck and is covered with small, braille-like dots. 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 Firefox 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 mini NB205’s larger 3.1 x 1.6-inch pad with dedicated right and left buttons.
Display, Audio, and Webcam
The 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768-pixel resolution LED-backlit display on the 1101HA allows Web pages and windows to fit well on the screen. A 720p video (“Super Speedway”) was crisp, and colors were bright. Unfortunately, playback was less than smooth (more on that below). Tilting the glossy screen back 45 degrees resulted in a slight glare; horizontal viewing angles were better. From afar, the glossiness of the black bezel made it look as if the screen were flush with the frame; up close, though, you can see that the bezel is slightly raised.
Above the display, a 1.3-megapixel webcam provided clear images in a Skype video chat. Our chat buddy was able to see fine details on our face, and saw little motion blur when we waved quickly. 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 The Killers’ “Shadowplay” streamed from Pandora, the sound was loud enough for a few people clustered nearby, but provided the usual netbook tinniness.
