Final thought and rating
The ASUS Seashell 1005HA netbook is the latest iteration of the Eee PC line that takes in a specification which we've become accustomed to in the last year or so. Shipping with a 10in screen (1,024x600 resolution); the now-ubiquitous Atom N270 chip; Intel i945GSE chipset; GMA950 graphics; 1GB RAM; 802.11b/g/n WiFi, SIM-card slot; 160GB mechanical HDD, and Windows XP Home, the competition is fierce because there are many clones that litter the market.ASUS knows that it has to do something special to entice buyers into paying between £40-£65 more than for other generic netbooks with a similar spec. Wrapped in a good-looking chassis, the build quality is excellent for a netbook, the keyboard is well above average, and the supplied six-cell battery offers a genuine six-hour battery life. Indeed, the entire package is more polished than the reference netbook in this market, the MSI Wind.
Had this model been released nine months ago it would have been a clear winner at £330, duking it out with the Samsung NC10 for top honours. As we move into H2 2009 netbook specialists are beginning to release 11.6in (1,366x768) models with beefier CPU/graphics and reasonable battery life. This is where the £300-£400 battle will take place, we feel, and the newer netbooks' will beat up on the Atom/GMA950 combination by harnessing either Intel's CULV, AMD's Yukon, or NVIDIA's ION platforms.
However, right now the ASUS Seashell 1005HA represents just about the pinnacle of Atom-based netbooking, so it's still a good bet if you want all-day battery life in a small, sleek form factor.
HEXUS Rating
We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
The rating is given in relation to the category the component competes in, therefore the netbook is evaluated with respect to our 'mid-range' criteria.
ASUS Seashell 1005-HA(M)
HEXUS Awards
ASUS Seashell 1005-HA(M)
HEXUS Where2Buy
The
ASUS Seashell
1005HA(M) buy links will be added when avaiable. We expect it to cost
£330, including VAT.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
