Looks like we spoke too soon when we declared the ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell a mostly tape-free zone. Netbook Italia have dismantled the skinny ultraportable, and their photos show there to be plenty of masking tape of the sort that so disappointed in the MSI X-Slim M340.
Cover the children’s eyes, it’s a pair of Eee PC’s getting close and snuggly. In actual fact, this is the ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell – in white – and the Eee PC 1005HA – in black – showing that a removable battery does not a porker make. NetbookNews grabbed some comparison shots of the two netbooks, basically identical machines aside from a few millimeters thickness.
More comparison shots after the cut
ASUS’ Eee PC 1000HV has been benchmarked, putting its discrete ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics to the test. Based on the same Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz processor as the 1000HE, the 1000HV uses its graphical grunt well: it racks up a CrystalMark R3 score of 37,430 versus the 1000HE’s 28,923.
Benchmark breakdown after the cut
The SlashGear team have been surprisingly mobile this week, with part one of our Lincoln MKS road-test, and toting Sprint’s version of the MiFi 2200 portable EVDO hotspot around. We still found enough time to get frantically excited about the Palm Pre, though, which we now know will launch on June 6th for $199.99.
That excitement is tempered with the ongoing rumors that stocks may be severely curtailed on launch day. Not only have Best Buy and RadioShack insiders been talking of minimal handset numbers come June 6th, Sprint’s own CEO is warning that the Pre will likely be in short supply for the first couple of months. The concern is that all of Palm’s momentum since CES back in January could fizzle out, as Apple are expected to announce a third-generation iPhone two days after the Pre’s launch.
An unannounced ASUS netbook has turned up for pre-order online, packing discrete ATI graphics. The ASUS Eee PC 1000HV pairs Intel’s Atom N280 1.66GHz processor with an ATI Radeon HD 3450 video card with 256MB of its own memory; it also has a 10-inch 1024 x 600 display, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard-drive.
We may have already seen unboxing photos of the ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell, but if you’re a fan of those new fangled moving-pictures then you’ve likely been waiting for an unboxing video. Happily Notebook Italia have delivered, with a good overview of the netbook and its accessories.
Unboxing video after the cut
ASUS’ latest super-skinny netbooks, the Eee PC 1005HA series, have now got their own product page, after launching late last week. The listing confirms that the 1005HA will slot into the “Seashell” range, as with the 1008HA, and have user-replaceable batteries and a choice of Intel Atom N270 or N280 processors.
ASUS’ Eee PC 1002HAE only launched in Japan a few days ago, but already the Portable Monkey team have managed to sneak one away and flaunt it video. The 1002HAE takes the existing 1002HA and redresses it in a lighter casing and with a fashionable chiclet keyboard.
Hands-on video after the cut
Video reviews are tricky things: remembering the specifications, trying to cover all of your points, not standing in the way of the product or forgetting to show it at all. They’re even harder when you’re trying to record in something other than your native language, which is why I’m sparing a thought for this poor Polish guy and his attempt to compare the ASUS Eee PC 701 with a Polish NTT netbook.
Video review after the cut
Back when the ASUS Eee PC 1008HA cleared the FCC in early April, what we didn’t know was that the company’s confidentiality agreement had hidden away the usual array of external and internal photos. That agreement is obviously up, however, as a flock of breakdown shots together with the “Seashell” netbook’s user manual have appeared on the FCC site.
JP
