Asus EEE PC 1005HA Seashell Netbook Review

Asus released the 1005HA at the beginning of July and there are two versions on the market; the cheaper one, which we tested, cost as little as £264 which is significantly less than its original suggested retail price.

The netbook is part of the Seashell family and shares some of the features of the original Seashell netbook, the 1008HA which was launched back in May this year and which we reviewed back in June.

There's the familiar smooth curves with a glossy, white plastic finish (the laptop is also available in black, pink, blue). The 1005HA feels sturdy, reasonably well built and as some would say, reassuringly heavy. There's a bulge at the back of laptop where the battery is; this elevates the laptop's keyboard slightly and makes it easier to type (at an angle).

The 1005HA shows how mature Netbooks have become; granted their prices have increased significantly from the first version, but simultaneously, their specifications have been improved. The 1005HA shares most of the specs of the 1008HA (as with 90 percent of netbooks on the market).

There's the Intel Atom N270 processor running at 1.6GHz, the Intel i945GSE chipset with the onboard GMA950 graphics, 1GB RAM which you have to replace if you want to upgrade to 2GB, a 160GB hard disk drive (you can swap it for something bigger), a 10.1-inch LED Backlight display that can display 1024x600 pixels.