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The Asus Eee PC 1005 HA-P is the best available netbook right now. Why? Read on. I have had many mini-computers, from the original Poquet PC to the Zeos Contenda, and most recently the Dell 700m. When I recently started looking into purchasing a netbook, I was impressed with the battery life of the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. However, since I do a lot of word processing, the keyboard and the touchpad buttons were a real concern. When I found out about the Dell Mini 10v coming out, I ordered one with upgrades to a six cell battery and larger hard drive. To make a long story short, the track pad buttons (inside the track pad, no less) are a nightmare and the battery protruding on the bottom is an ugly compromise. Add the high running temperature to the poorer than expected battery life, and the Dell went back.
Then Amazon posted a note on the 1000HE description that a replacement computer was coming with a link to a page for the 1005HA-P. The 1008HA was not a consideration because of the non-removable battery and significantly shorter battery life. I received the 1005HA-P on July 2. The form factor of the 1005HA as a clam shell works quite well for me. While the shiny black case is beautiful it does pick up fingerprints; however, a quick wipe with a soft cloth takes care of it. I like the solid feel and the soft protective sleeve that comes with it. The ways the screen opens (down and behind the netbook) enables a smaller footprint when the case is closed, although it limits how far back the screen will tilt. The keyboard has a responsive feel and the larger keys (than the 1000HE or my Dell 700m) along with the oversize right shift key are a real plus. Word processing is smooth and fast. I especially like the button in the upper left that disables the track pad - quite helpful to avoid unintended cursor movement. The smaller arrow keys on the bottom right are a reasonable compromise, and I like the track pad with the raised dots (unlike some other reviewers).
The Wi-Fi range was better on the Dell but acceptable on the Asus. I definitely have not experienced the problems another reviewer mentioned about the Wi-Fi. I have used it on many different routers with no problem. It runs MS Office 2007 without a hitch. Surfing the net is a breeze, but I did have one "blue screen of death" when dealing with one demanding internet site. I have experienced no other serious problems in the month since I have had it.
Battery life? I would say it is not all that far from the advertised 10+ hours, depending on your settings. The Atom 280 processor seems faster than my Dell 700m or Mini 10v (although this is purely subjective), and I do plan to upgrade the memory to 2 gigs, thankfully quite easy with the small removable door on the bottom. The bottom of the computer does get a little warm after long use, but nothing like the heat of the Dell Mini. I have not experienced the problems with the battery charger mentioned by other reviewers either. It charges quickly and shuts off when finished. I have hooked it up to a portable DVD drive and it loaded programs with no problem.
Over all, this computer is all that I was looking for in a netbook. The light weight, the battery life, the keyboard, the non-protruding removable battery, the bright screen, the track pad disable button and general ease of use makes it hard to beat. I find it extremely satisfying to use. Yes, I did have an airplane trip in the last couple of days, and was thankful for the small size when the person in front of me reclined their seat back all the way for the whole flight. I could not have continued using a larger laptop. Taking the machine through airport security is so much easier than doing the same with a full size notebook or even the 700m.
For those who are looking for a netbook for general use and internet surfing I don't believe you can find a better one out there.
Addendum: After six months using this netbook, I still find it meets my needs quite well. I did install the extra memory and the 2 gigs does seem to make it run a bit faster, but it is less of a difference than I anticipated. Battery life continues to hold up and the keyboard is a true godsend with its full size keys. I notice Consumer Reports rated the computer very high as well. The only downside I have discovered is the track pad. It can a be bit quirky depending on how you adjust the settings. I recommend minimizing the size of the scroll zones on the right and bottom, other wise you find the screen suddenly scrolling when you did not want it to do so. Also the pinch/expand feature with two fingers can be a mixed blessing. In most cases it does exactly what you want: zoom in or zoom out of a screen (very helpful on the small screen of a netbook), but on occasion it will zoom when you don't want or expect it to because of an inadvertent gesture or touch by a thumb, etc. I disabled it for a while but have re-enabled it because I truly missed the feature of easy zooming. The occasional blue screen of death unfortunately has not gone away; Microsoft attributes it to an errant driver, but I have not been able to isolate what driver is the cause. I would still give this ASUS 5 stars, but of course the market continues to come out with new models all the time. I have heard mixed reviews of the Windows 7 starter edition that comes with some models, so I would recommend sticking with good old XP. XP SP3 works quite well on this computer, so why mess with what works?
| Standing screen display size | 10.1 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1024 x 600 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1024 x 600 Pixels |
| Processor | 1.66 GHz intel_atom_n280 |
| RAM | 1 GB DDR2 |
| Hard Drive | 160 GB Serial ATA |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel GMA950 |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Graphics Media Accelerator950 |
| Wireless Type | 802.11bgn |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 10.5 Hours |
