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Gadgets ASUS Teases with Eee PC 1008HA Pics
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - March 3, 2009 8:08 PM

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28 comment(s) - last by glennpratt.. on Mar 5 at 12:49 PM

Eee 1008HD Detail Card (Source: Asus)

Eee 1008HA Front (Source: Asus)

Eee 1008HA Profile (Source: Asus)

1008HA is thinner than the celebrity status of most Dancing with the Stars cast members

Netbooks are very popular right now; all around the world as consumers flock to the low cost systems that offer portability at the expense of performance. Still many users are able to do all that they need on a small netbook and the class continues to grow impressively.

ASUS today unveiled some images and scant details on a new Eee netbook called the Eee 1008HA. ASUS is holding back the bulk of the details on the 1008HA, but did offer up a bit of information on the little machine.

ASUS says the netbook is only 1-inch thick and weighs 1.1kg. The computer is painted in pearl white and features a desktop application bar ASUS calls Eee Docking offering one-click access to a suite of software including Eee Sharing and Eee Arena. Eee Sharing promises to make synchronizing the Eee with other computers easier and Eee Arena offers access to thousands of songs, radio stations, games, magazines, and other content.

The keyboard is a 92% scale unit with a properly placed right shift key. Other features include a multi-touch track pad, webcam, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and both 3.75G and WiMAX connectivity. It would be a safe bet to assume that the machine is using the Atom N280, however, ASUS may be using something completely difference since the CPU isn't mentioned. The screen size isn’t mentioned so this may be a larger 12-inch size netbook.

ASUS points out that this is a future product and is not being launched at this time.

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Mac Air

By dcalfine on 3/3/2009 9:13:02 PM , Rating: 2

It kinda looks like the Mac Air. I dunno why anyone would model anything after that though… ASUS has made basically the same computer at a third the price. Big surprise.

RE: Mac Air

By teldar on 3/3/2009 9:39:22 PM , Rating: 4

Except the Mac Air does have a Core 2 Duo, yes? So this has (probably) got nothing in comparison for computing power.
Not that it doesn't look like a good netbook.

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RE: Mac Air

By MonkeyPaw on 3/3/2009 9:44:42 PM , Rating: 5

It also looks like it might have the dreaded glossy screen as well, and that pretty much removes it from my buy list. If anyone has ever tried to use a glossy screen notebook outside, it's pure hell. If I wanted to see my reflection, I'd save money and just buy a mirror. I want to see what's on my PC, so it's matte all the way. Eee's have been great about that so far, so hopefully it's just an illusion of a glossy screen. :)

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RE: Mac Air

By theapparition on 3/4/2009 1:53:28 PM , Rating: 2

I love the Truebrite screens myself. To each thier own.

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RE: Mac Air

By omnicronx on 3/4/2009 5:03:44 PM , Rating: 2

But the glare is just ridiculous, as the op mentioned, outdoors glossy screens are essentially unusable. In fact even when inside, if your computer is facing a window I find it is also very hard to see.

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RE: Mac Air

By glennpratt on 3/5/2009 12:49:40 PM , Rating: 2

This argument will never die, everyone has a different view.

Glossy screens reflect point sources, so if you have a glare, just move the screen a little. Matte screens reflect everything, so if your in a bight situation your out of luck - at work we have some identical HP models with glossy and matte screens. Matte cannot be used in sunlight. As someone who uses notebooks outside frequently for work, I use only glossy screens.

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What about the 1004dn?

By GaryJohnson on 3/3/2009 9:28:23 PM , Rating: 2

Now that was an impressive one: a 10" with an optical drive. And I'm betting this is a 10" also, given how the 10" eee model numbers start with a 10 and the 9" ones start with a 9.

RE: What about the 1004dn?

By teldar on 3/3/2009 9:37:36 PM , Rating: 2

It does appear that the bezel around the screen is maybe a little larger than he 10" eee? Maybe this is a 10" screen in a 12" case. Would give a little more room for the equipment and room enough for a decent battery.

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RE: What about the 1004dn?

By segerstein on 3/4/2009 2:56:11 AM , Rating: 2

A thin 9" with a SSD would be really something to look forward to. I don't like HDDs because of their noise.

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RE: What about the 1004dn?

By whirabomber on 3/4/2009 8:13:10 AM , Rating: 2

I'd buy a (another) netbook next year - then ION 2 chipset should be out by then so we can play Crysis (@30fps) on our 10" netbooks. Aside from "trying on a netbook" the technology just isn't there.

If you are wating for the "best netbook on earth" to come out, you just need to wait for the next netbook as it will always (mostly) be better than the last "best netbook on earth". Just go find one that is comfy to use, does what you want it to do, and costs what you want to pay. Then set your standards for what performance/features benchmarks the next "best netbook on earth" will need to be worthy of the jump. For instance my graphics card jump benchmark is 2x my current fps at 1x the price I paid for the graphics card that is being replaced. For a netbook I'll shoot for time/price/performace. Currently I'll look at getting a new netbook in about 1.5-2 years for $350ish that graphically will be able to run Crysis at 30fps.

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RE: What about the 1004dn?

By Alpha4 on 3/4/2009 1:51:17 PM , Rating: 2

From what I understand the Ion 2 platform will mostly be an adaptation of the existing one to allow different CPUs such as a Via Nano or even a Core 2 duo. The graphics will still be driven by a 9400gs (albeit with a 40nm die shrink). I've not seen any benchmarks that demonstrate it can handle Crysis anywhere near 30fps, unfortunately.

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RE: What about the 1004dn?

By omnicronx on 3/4/2009 5:11:54 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
I've not seen any benchmarks that demonstrate it can handle Crysis anywhere near 30fps, unfortunately.

Nvidia and Via demonstrated it last year at Computex. Although I very much doubt it performed very well as benchmarks for other games on the Ion 1 platform that are not nearly as intensive as crysis are barely playable even with a dual core 330 atom.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ion-2-Platform-to-S...

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RE: What about the 1004dn?

By GaryJohnson on 3/4/2009 2:05:47 PM , Rating: 2

The current 9" aspires are 1.14" thick and come with SSDs or HDDs, so what your looking forward to is already out there.

I bought one of the SSD models because of the better durability. But the SSDs they put in these have really awful write speeds. To the extent that I would have put up with a HDD's noise and fragility for the extra speed.

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Another netbook, another puzzle

By Gholam on 3/4/2009 7:51:05 AM , Rating: 3

Why, oh why hasn't ANYONE made a netbook with a trackpoint? It suits the limited space form-factor perfectly, and (properly made) it's much better than any touchpad, much less the abominations that are squeezed into netbooks.

RE: Another netbook, another puzzle

By Bubbacub on 3/4/2009 6:40:02 PM , Rating: 2

sony have - and it priced sooooo high that even steve jobs thinks its a rip off

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RE: Another netbook, another puzzle

By noirsoft on 3/4/2009 7:19:03 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
Why, oh why hasn't ANYONE made a netbook with a trackpoint?

Because trackpoints are worse than trackpads in all situations for most people. I personally refuse to buy a notebook that has a trackpoint, even if it has a trackpad as well.

Yes, some people feel as you do, but the majority don't. Trackpads won.

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USB?

By descendency on 3/3/2009 9:39:16 PM , Rating: 3

Where is the USB? ESATA? VGA/HDMI? LAN?
I think it's under the flap, but if it's not, that's a deal breaker.

A computer without ports is worthless.

RE: USB?

By GaryJohnson on 3/5/2009 5:15:32 AM , Rating: 2

Some reviews suggest the 'flap' is there because this is a prototype. The real version will have exposed ports like most netbooks.

But seriously, you think they'd actually put out a netbook without at least USB ports?

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Screen Size

By Supa on 3/3/2009 9:42:19 PM , Rating: 3

If the keyboard is a 92% scale, then the screen size is definitely 10".

I just wish they can fill up the panel, and minimize the side bezel with an 11 incher without increasing the overall size.

A resolution of 1280x800 would also be a lot more usable, something similar to Dell mini 12.

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RE: Screen Size

By Trikat on 3/3/2009 10:58:28 PM , Rating: 2

I believe the 1000HA (etc) has a 95% standard keyboard scale so if this one is 92% it looks to be a 10". :)
(Plus other sites have stated 10"! Hehe)
I also wish they had a larger actual screen size since the 10" has been painfully small in some situations.
Another thing that comes to mind is the battery life. All I could find was some new industrial design to give longer battery life. "Longer battery life" is compared to what exactly?
I wouldn't mind taking this over other netbooks since it looks a lot cooler. Too bad i'm pretty frugal and wouldn't pay more than $300 for one (rebates are my friend), so this is out of the question.

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don't think so

By DeepBlue1975 on 3/4/2009 1:21:21 PM , Rating: 2

12" chassis and only a 92% sized keyboard? I don't think so.
Increasing the chassis by that margin and according to the photo, the keyb still ocupies 100% of its width, so the 92% figure should have been higher if the chassis were indeed a 12" instead of a 10" one.

12" would be too big for a netbook IMRVHO.

RE: don't think so

By piroroadkill on 3/4/2009 5:31:22 PM , Rating: 3

I agree, IMRVFHAPWO

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by the way...

By ashegam on 3/3/2009 9:40:02 PM , Rating: 2

would a spining laptop HD fit in that case or is it probably an SSD?

RE: by the way...

By GaryJohnson on 3/3/2009 10:23:53 PM , Rating: 2

1.8" drives are 8mm thick (.314 inches). From the pictures the lower half looks to be at least half of the 1" total height. So I think it would fit without any problems.

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Tired of ....

By taisingera on 3/3/2009 10:30:18 PM , Rating: 2

all the little tweaks all the companies do to the netbooks just to make them seem newer and better. It is still the same poor performing hardware. Sure, you can do internet and maybe some office tasks, but it feels like you're using a 6+ year old laptop with low resolution.

RE: Tired of ....

By mindless1 on 3/4/2009 1:50:57 AM , Rating: 2

There is no need for more than a 6 year old laptop for internet and most office tasks. Want faster, larger screen instead of low cost, weight and size? Maybe some day they'll make such a product just for you, or maybe they already have and some people want this instead.

A netbook makes you "tired of" is insane, whether it be a product you aren't forced to buy, a headline or comments you don't have to read. Even so, I'd have to agree about the low resolution being pretty limiting, websites and office suites started being designed within the idea everyone was getting ever-larger monitors and now we have the opposite happening in the mobile sector.

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not suprised

By ashegam on 3/3/2009 9:38:40 PM , Rating: 2

Considering how well the 1000HE is selling I'm surprised they even released what little info they did. the 1000he is selling like hot cakes and last thing they need right now is to let everyone know something better is coming out.