NbC: Asus Eee PC 1101HA video hands-on
June 26, 2009 at 12:25 pm
At yesterday’s Asus press event, we also managed to spend some time with the company’s first 11.6-inch Eee PC. The Eee PC 1101HA is certainly a very attractive device. I had always imagined that the move to a larger display size would mean a bulkier and compromised netbook. However, that wasn’t the case, the 1101HA felt only marginally bigger than current 10-inch netbooks.
In fact playing around with the model left me convinced that this particular size could become a sweet-spot for netbook manufacturers. You get a full-sized keyboard and high resolution display in a package that is not that much bigger than current 10-inchers. The keyboard came with flat keys and felt very responsive with the right amount of feedback. I was disappointed that it only had a small right shift key, especially considering the amount of space available. Read more
NbC: Asus Eee PC T91 tablet netbook video hands-on
June 26, 2009 at 11:45 am
The Asus Eee PC T91 is certainly one of the most eagerly awaited netbooks on the horizon. We managed to get hands-on with the 8.9-inch convertible tablet at a press event yesterday held at Lamborghini London. Overall our experience of the unit was a positive one, although we do have some reservations about the interface.
What strikes you when you first catch eyes on the T91 is just how small it is. The model doesn’t have the curves that you see on the Seashell Eee PC range, the T91’s design is more ‘boxy’, but that doesn’t detract from the styling. We found the T91 to be very solidly built, with the hinge mechanism feeling quite sturdy, something that’s crucial for such a device. We noticed no creaking when pressing on the case and, despite its size; I felt that I could comfortably put the T91 into a bag without worrying about its fragility. Read more
Asus Eee PC 1101HA product page live, no Z530 Atom SKU
June 26, 2009 at 10:54 am
The product page for Asus 11.6-inch Eee PC 1101HA is now live on the Asus Global site. The full specifications have also been listed and disappointingly, it looks like it will only come with a 1.33GHz Z520 Atom processor. When the 1101HA was originally spotted, it was believed that two SKUs were planned – one with the Z520 Atom and another with the more powerful 1.6GHz Z530 Atom processor.
This news was confirmed to us by Asus at a press launch in London yesterday. John Swatton, Marketing Specialist for Asus UK, told us that as things stand there is no plan for a 1.6GHz Z530 SKU. However, he did stress that roadmaps are changing continually and this may change in the future.
Some may view this as disappointing news as, despite having a high-resolution 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) display, the 1.3GHz Z520 may not be powerful enough to watch HD content. This is a problem that plagued the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire One 751, that many felt was underpowered. Despite this, the form-factor of the 1101HA is very good and could ultimately become the new netbook standard in our eyes. We’ll be posting our hands-on impressions later, but until then you can see the full list of specifications after the break. Read more
Asus Eee PC 1101HA Seashell gets unboxed
June 24, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Asus’ first entry into the 11.6-inch netbook segment is the Eee PC 1101HA Seashell. As it belongs to the Seashell family, its styling is very similar to the 1005HA, which doesn’t have the port flaps that adorns the super-skinny 1008HA. Electric Pig has just gone hands-on with a unit and posted some unboxing pictures.
The version they unbox has a 1.33GHz Z520 Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and a 160GB HDD running Windows XP. I’m a bit concerned on the lack of detail regarding the 1101HA SKU that comes with the more powerful 1.6GHz Z530 processor. There is an Asus press event tomorrow, where I should be able to get hands-on with both the 1101HA and 1005HA and hopefully get some answers.
Crave has also gone hands-on with the device and you can see some of their pictures here. The Eee PC 1101HA is expected to launch in early July and will cost £379 as hinted at by Amazon UK, before they withdrew the product page. For more details on the 1101HA, the English manual is now available to download.
Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell Review Roundup
June 23, 2009 at 11:38 pm
The Asus Eee PC 1005HA netbook was officially launched in the US market today. Two SKUs have been announced, the 1005HA-V and 1005HA-P. The 1005HA-V comes with the 1.6GHz N270 Atom processor, a smaller capacity 6-cell battery and no Bluetooth. The 1005HA-P has the faster 1.66GHz N280 processor, a higher capacity 6-cell battery and Bluetooth. Overall, the Eee PC 1005HA is part of the Seashell family and therefore shares the design seen in the super-thin 1008HA Seashell.
It differs mainly be having a removable battery as well as a full-sized VGA port. You won’t find any flaps covering the ports on the 1005HA either. To account for the removable battery, the 1005HA is marginally heavier and thicker than the 1008HA. A number of publications released their reviews of the 10-inch Eee PC 1005HA netbook today. Read more
Asus Eee PC 1101HA English manual live; set your own overclock
June 23, 2009 at 6:28 pm
As we have started to see pre-orders for Asus’ 11.6-inch Eee PC 1101HA Seashell netbook open here in the UK, it was a matter of time before the English manual went live. We’ve been pouring through the pages and some quite interesting titbits have come through. The most intriguing appears to be that Asus has opened up the BIOS to allow its users to manually overclock the 1101HA.
Asus already has a utility called the ‘Super Hybrid Engine’ which has several different modes (Power Saving, High Performance, Super Performance) that automatically under/overclock the CPU based on your needs. This new BIOS option allows you to configure what overclock value you want when you switch to Super Performance mode. Read more
Video tutorial: Upgrading RAM on an Eee PC 1008HA Seashell
June 22, 2009 at 4:04 pm
The Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell is beautifully super-slim 10-inch netbook. However, to maintain this slender form-factor the engineers have done a fabulous job in carefully cramming in all of the components into its chassis. We know that this is a sealed unit, which means that there are no access panels to change the RAM and it also has a sealed battery.
For those Eee PC 1008HA users who are wondering just how you go about changing the RAM, then check out a couple of videos after the jump. We already showed you the 1008HA teardown in pictures, but the video may be a little clearer.
Amusingly, instead of using a wrist strap once inside the Eee PC, the guy in the video decides to use bright yellow kitchen gloves to avoid static. The first video goes through opening the 1008HA and swapping out the RAM. The second video goes through putting everything back together. Check out both videos after the break. Read more
Asus Eee PC 1101HA & 1005HA UK pre-orders open
June 22, 2009 at 11:50 am
We already knew that the Asus Eee PC 1101HA was due to hit Europe at the end of June for €399, although the UK price was still a mystery at the time. However, Amazon UK now has the Eee PC 1101HA up for pre-order and will cost you £379.00, which seems about right looking at the European price.
Amazon has the Eee PC 1101HA available to pre-order in black
This is the case for the Eee PC 1005HA, where both the 1.6GHz N270 and 1.66GHz N280 Atom SKUs are available to pre-order from Amazon. The N270 Atom 1005HA models will set you back £329.00
Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell pre-order up at Amazon.com
June 21, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Whilst we recently reported that pre-orders for the Asus Eee PC 1005HA were already live at BeachCamera, it appears that they have now pulled down their product page. Not to worry though as Amazon.com
Only the 1.6GHz N270 Atom model is available for pre-order, it is expected that a 1.66GHz N280 model will be available at some point. The Eee PC 1005HA Seashell is similar to the 1008HA apart from having a removable 6-cell battery as well as being slightly thicker and heavier.
Asus UK: Eee PC T91 delayed due to “logistical mishap”
June 20, 2009 at 5:31 pm
The Asus Eee PC T91 was meant to be released at the end of May/early June in the UK. However, as things stand the 8.9-inch convertible tablet still hasn’t been released. Apparently the delay has been caused by a “logistical mishap” in the retail distribution channels according to AsusTablet. As to exactly what this means remains a mystery for now, but let’s hope it’s nothing due to problems with the T91 itself.
When we spoke to Asus UK last week, we were told that the Eee PC T91 would launch in “early July”, with anything up to the second week of July intimated. However, AsusTablet claim that now that this problem in distribution is out of the way, the units should start shipping on Monday 22nd June. We’ll try to get clarification from Asus directly on Monday on shipping dates.
Thanks Brianna!
Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell gets video unboxing
June 17, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Whilst we await official UK launch details for the Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell netbook, Liliputing has just gone hands-on with the device. The 1005HA Seashell differs from the 1008HA model by having a removable battery, a full-sized VGA port and no plastic flaps covering its ports. It also is slightly thicker and heavier than the sexy 1008HA.
Despite this, the styling is distinctly similar, as is the keyboard and touchpad (which also uses a dimpled surface). The latter felt a little less bumpy than the 1008HA, which may make it easier to use. The keyboard is not chiclet but has flat keys and a full-sized shift key. It comes with a glossy lid and, disappointingly, a glossy display – a trend that many netbook manufacturers seem to be following right now. In terms of upgradeability, there is only an access panel for RAM, no HDD access here I’m afraid.
This particular model was powered by a 1.66GHz N280 Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and a 160GB HDD. The battery is rated to last for around 10.5 hours. Check out the video after the break. Read more
Asus’ Android Eee PC needs more development time
June 17, 2009 at 4:34 pm
At the Computex show in Taiwan a few weeks back, an Asus Eee PC was snapped powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip and running Android. What was interesting is that this Eee PC was demonstrated on the Qualcomm stand and no similar demo was made by Asus. We now have word as to why that was.
Jonney Shih, Asus Chairman, said that Asus had originally planned to showcase an Android-based Eee PC at Computex, but their feeling was that it still needed more work. Asus felt that more development time was needed with Android to make the most out of the netbook experience. Read more
Disney launches Netpal netbook for kids with Asus’ help
June 16, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Disney is launching its own branded netbook called the Netpal, which is effectively a re-skinned Asus Eee PC. The 8.9-inch Netpal will be targeted for kids between the ages of 6 to 12. The design appears to be reasonably subtle for what is a children’s netbook, you get a reasonably discreet Disney logo on the lid of the case.
However, you’ll find the kiddie-theme in a special user interface which fits over Windows XP. This will come with several themes that kids can change including Toy Story and Cars. As you can imagine with a kid-targeted product, security is of the utmost importance. You’ll find the usual parental and email controls and sites can only be surfed that have been approved by parents.
A number of widgets are also available including a radio, digital memo pad, calculator and stopwatch. The Netpal is powered by an unspecified Atom processor and will come either with a 160GB HDD or 16GB SSD. The Netpal weighs between 1.0-1.2kg (2.2-2.6lbs). The netbooks will come in “Princess Pink” (with florals) or “Magic Blue” (miniature Mickey Mouse icons) colours. The Netpal is set to launch in late July and will retail for $350 from Amazon.com and Toys R Us.
Update: Laptop Mag has gone hands-on with the Netpal and they found it to be very durable and the keyboard is spill-proof. They have a video on the site that’s worth checking out too.
Via USA Today [via GadgetMix].
Asus Eee PC T91 starts shipping in US this week?
June 15, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Whilst Asus’ 8.9-inch convertible tablet, the Eee PC T91, won’t be released in the UK until early July, it may end up seeing a US release this week according to what one dealer has been told. AllAsus was told that the T91 will start shipping from 15th June in small quantities.
I’m a bit dubious about the news, as from what I can tell it has still yet to appear in any of the major US retailers. However, the T91 netbook did recently appear on the official US Asus site and it is already appearing on the Asus Event comparison chart. Hopefully, this means its release can’t be too far away.
Whilst an official US press price has yet to be revealed, AllAsus has it listed for $529. The UK SKU will launch for £450 and should be here within a month’s time at the latest.
Update: Thought this was too good to be true, Liliputing has had confirmation from Asus that the Eee PC T91 will not hit US shores until the end of July.
Via Netbook Market [via Engadget].
Asus Eee PC 1101HA hitting Europe at end June for €399
June 15, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Since Asus announced the 11.6-inch Eee PC 1101HA Seashell at Computex Taipei we’ve not been privy to too many details, including price or availability. However, Netbook Italia has found out that the 1101HA should start to hit retail in Europe by the end of this month with a starting price of €399.
We know that two versions of the 1101HA are planned, one with the 1.33GHz Z520 Atom CPU and one with the 1.6GHz Z530 Atom. For now, there only seems to be confirmation that the Z520 model is planned, but I’m hoping that the Z530 SKU will also be making its way shortly thereafter.
The 11.6” (1366 x 768) Eee PC 1101HA comes with 1GB RAM, a 160GB HDD and Intel GMA 500 graphics. Other features include Wi-Fi (including draft-N, Bluetooth 2.1, a 6-cell battery and a 1.3 MP webcam. A black and white model is planned and we look forward to the first impressions in a matter of weeks. Click through for a list of specs. Read more
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