Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell Review
Design and Build Quality
;)
;)
Click Any To Enlarge
At a glance, you might think that the 1005HA is simply a 1008HA with its ports unveiled. But if you dig deep, you'll realize that these are actually two different machines entirely. First off, the 1005HA weighs in a bit heavier at 2.8 pounds , while the 1008HA tips the scales at 2.42 pounds. With more weight comes more plastic, and there's definitely a difference in thickness. The 1008HA managed to slip in at just 1" thick, while the 1005HA measures in at 1.4" thick. Sure, 1.4" thick is still pretty thin in the grand scheme of things, but it's a sizable increase (percentage wise, anyway) from that other "Seashell."
;)
;)
Click Any To Enlarge
Thankfully, the increase in thickness doesn't go to waste. One of our gripes with the 1008HA was the proprietary VGA dongle; in order to access the VGA output, you had to pop out a dongle underneath and connect it that way. With the 1005HA, the VGA port is standard and ready for your plug right there on the side. For those who'll be connecting their netbook to TVs, external monitors or projectors for presentations, the 1005HA makes your life a lot easier.
;)
;)
Click To Enlarge
Elsewhere around the edges, the 1005HA maintains most of the same trimmings as the 1008HA, albeit in uncovered fashion. You'll find an extra USB 2.0 port (this one has 3 compared to just 2 on the 1008HA), the same 1.3MP webcam, a single Ethernet jack, a built in multi-format card reader, an AC input and audio input/output (3.5mm) jacks.
;)
;)
Click Any To Enlarge
The overall build quality is as expected for a "Seashell" Eee PC. The whole machine felt suitably sturdy, if not a bit hefty compared to the ultra thin 1008HA. As with most netbooks, we also found the top lid to be just a wee bit flimsy (mashing down in the center produced some slight flex, but nothing too terrible), while the sides and bottom were adequately solid.
;)
Click To Enlarge
As for ports that we wish were here, we'd love to see yet another USB socket (though having 3 is nice), and an HDMI and ExpressCard slot wouldn't hurt either. Not that we'd necessarily expect these on such a thin and light netbook, but they would've definitely been nice additions. Even by netbook standards, however, the Eee PC 1005HA isn't overflowing with connectivity options. If you need a 56k modem, ExpressCard, HDMI/DVI socket, 4+ USB ports or a PCMCIA socket, you'll need to look elsewhere.
;)
;)
Click Any To Enlarge
The keyboard within is the same as on the 1008HA, so 92% full-size. It's definitely roomy for a netbook, but we wouldn't want to type up this full review on it without taking a number of breaks. The 10.1" LED backlit display (1024x600 pixels) is also the same, which we found to be plenty bright and crisp for the price. The trackpad is the same dimpled one found on the 1008HA, and while it supports a few finger gestures, it's not a full-on multi-touch pad. In other words, you can't do a two-finger Webpage scroll, but you can slide up and down pages by sliding your index finger over the pad's right side.
