Asus 1008HA Seashell Netbook : Macbook Air's Lost Half Brother

(6) Pay more attention to details. The flaps covering the input for example are a good idea but slightly kitsch. Ditto for the power charger, it would be great to have one cable that integrates the transformer and the rest of the electronics.

(7) the keyboard has US keys which is a significant flaw in our eyes.

(8) the laptop's finish could be improved to make it less prone to scratches and fingerprints.

Don't get me wrong, the 1008HA is a great piece of electronics but it is painful to see such a wonderful device fall short of excellence. The 1008HA is Asus's 15th netbook (or so) and by now, the Taiwanese manufacturer certainly knows how to manufacture and bring together the best bits of a netbook. It certainly knows or otherwise, Apple wouldn't have allowed it to build Macbooks.

The 1008HA is available from laptopsdirect for £370 in 3 different colours but excludes P&P. Play.com has it for £374 with free delivery.