Asus Eee PC 1101HA Seashell gets official

Asus has officially announced the latest member to its Seashell line of netbooks, the 11.6-inch Eee PC 1101HA. The netbook was spotted in the wild earlier this week at Computex, along with near enough full specifications.

The press release is pretty sparse on detail, only confirming it will have a HD (1366 x 768) resolution LED backlit display and battery life of 11 hours. It also confirms a 160GB HDD, wireless draft-N, Bluetooth, a 1.3MP webcam, digital array microphone and multi-touch touchpad. Hopefully some more detailed specifications, along with pricing and availability, will be announced shortly. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell dismantled

Netbook Italia seems to be on a mission to rip apart every netbook at the moment. Following their teardown of the Samsung N120 and Acer Aspire One 751, they have now turned their attention to the sexy ultrathin Eee PC 1008HA.

This should be a guide most owners would be interested in; mostly to work out how they can go about changing that sealed battery for example. However, it doesn’t seem like an easy operation. Opening up the base is only half of the job, you also have to remove the PCB which makes it all quite laborious. The battery takes up half the room of the chassis, not surprising as they’ve used an ultrathin Lithium polymer battery rated at 2900mAh.

To maintain the skinny form factor it appears that Asus has subdivided the motherboard into three parts to make it fit easier. To reduce vibration, the HDD comes in a rubber cage which helps against knocks whilst on the move. Having a look at the guide, you can really appreciate the lengths taken by Asus to cram all of the technology into a skinny device. We’ve included a selection of photos after the jump, for the rest head over to Netbook Italia. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell review roundup #2

I’m not sure whether there was a US review embargo that lifted today or simply the way the stars lined up, but seven reviews of the 1008HA Seashell have cropped up today. We thought we’d flag this to anyone who may be trying to decide whether this is the netbook for them. The almost universal view is that the 1008HA’s design is quite special against the bland backdrop of most netbooks. Despite the design, functionality has not been sacrificed.

In case you are wondering why we labelled the above post as ‘number two’ is that we already did a review roundup of the 1008HA Seashell a few weeks back, when a few UK reviews appeared. Six of the reviews that cropped up today were from major US publications and the seventh was from NetbookNews.de. We have listed them all after the break. Read more

Video: Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell hands-on

The Eee PC 1005HA Seashell could be a potential best-seller for Asus. It shares the styling of the 1008HA but comes with a removable battery, full-sized VGA and has no flaps covering ports. Yes, it may not be as thin or as light as the 1008HA, but it will be cheaper and should offer better battery life too. NetbookNews.de has gone hands-on with the device and posted a video and a number of photos of the new Eee PC.

They compare to the Eee PC 1008HA, Samsung NC10 and even a Blackberry handset. The video shows that the 1005HA will come with a glossy lid and display, similar to the 1008HA, I was really hoping they’d choose a matte display. Apart from a slightly protruding bottom (to account for the 6-cell battery), the two models do look very similar. Interestingly, the version they booted up was running Windows 7 Starter Edition. There’s no word on UK pricing yet, but in Europe it is expected to cost from €299 (with N270 Atom) and €349 (with N280 Atom). If you want to see some more comparison pics, then NewGadgets.de has a number of photos of the 1005HA against the 1008HA here. Check out the 1005HA video after the break. Read more

Video: Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell hands-on + 1005HA spotted

Sascha from NetbookNews has released a hands-on video of the Asus Eee PC 1008HA. The video shows us the ports on each side and gives us a close look at the bottom which hides a mini VGA connector and integrated 3-cell battery. He compares the 1008HA Seashell to the Samsung NC10 and it really shows how skinny the Seashell is. Interestingly, the 1008HA in the video was running the Xandros Easy Mode OS.

If you forward the video to 3 minutes and 46 seconds, you can spot the upcoming Eee PC 1005HA in black. You can instantly tell how much thicker it is compared to the 1008HA and it looks a bit thicker than the Samsung NC10 too.

Sascha is currently in Taipei visiting a number of manufacturers and no doubt will be attending Computex on June 2nd. There are already rumours of an Eee PC powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. He says that this will be demonstrated at Computex and have Bluetooth, 3G and GPS all in one chip. Until then, check out the hands on 1008HA Seashell video after the jump. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell now shipping in US

The Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell is now in stock and shipping at a number of US retailers. The Eee PC Seashell appears to be in stock at Newegg, ZipZoomFly and J&R (Black only). The only major retailer that’s not joining the party right now is Amazon, who still has the 1008HA on pre-order.

The great thing is that the $20 pre-order rebate is still active on all of the above orders and should be until the close of play on Monday 25th May. Having a look at the Eee User Forums, some users have already had their Eee PC 1008HA shipped already.

Fun promo videos for Samsung N310 and Asus Eee PC Seashell

More and more companies are using viral ad campaigns to help market a product. We’ve found two such examples on YouTube. The first is for the Samsung N310 netbook which has two playful characters who emerge from the skin of the rubberised lids. I’m not really sure what message they are trying to deliver for this one, it has a distinct air of Looney Tunes about it. It’s very well put together though and will probably get people talking.

The second video, for the Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell, has a clearer message. It’s entitled ‘picklock’ and I’m sure you get the idea i.e. that the Seashell is thin enough to pick open a door. Both of these netbooks focus on design and as they stand out from the netbook crowd, it’s hard not to see both models being a huge success. Check out the videos after the jump.

Update: It turns out that Asus has launched a whole host of viral videos for the 1008HA Seashell, following a similar theme as above i.e. how razor thin it is. It looks like that as well as picking locks, the 1008HA Seashell is also capable of cutting carrots, cut through some ropes that have you tied up, shaving and even be used as a frisbee. I’ve included them all below.
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Asus Eee PC 1005HA manual uncovered

News on Asus’ next netbook in its Seashell line, the Eee PC 1005HA, is coming through thick and fast. Only yesterday, we had the full official product page up and now the manual is available for public consumption. You can have a look at the schematics along with exactly what ports you’ll find on the netbook.

The manual is headlined Eee PC 1005HA / 1005HAB. We first heard of the 1005HAB when rumours of this device first circulated. However, up until now we don’t have any confirmation as to how the 1005HAB will differ from the 1005HA. We already know of the 1005HA-H and 1005HA-M models that were detailed by Asus France last week. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell unboxing video

The Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell has already received a number of reviews from publications around the web, however up until now we’ve not had the ritual unboxing video. Notebook Italia comes to the rescue with a well made video. Don’t worry about knowing Italian as the video is set to the backdrop of some funky music.

The 10-inch (1024 x 600) Seashell is set to become a best-seller for Asus with its 1-inch thickness and 1.1kg weight. The specs aren’t too shabby either, with a 1.66GHz N280 CPU, 1GB RAM and 160GB HDD and wireless draft-N. Asus claims that its in-built battery should last for around 6 hours.

They unbox a black 1008HA Seashell as well as highlighting the accessories in the box. The Seashell itself looks very slimline indeed although you can tell the glossy surface will be a fingerprint magnet. They also have a number of high-res photos on their site if you need a closer look. When watching the video, which is attached after the break, do press the ‘HD’ button for even more clarity. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell product page live, full specs revealed

The Asus Eee PC 1005HA Seashell netbook was officially announced last week by Acer France. The netbook now has its official product page listed on the Asus Global site including full technical specifications and official press shots.

Whilst the product page doesn’t explicitly mention two different 1005HA SKUs, as mentioned by last week’s announcement (1005HA-H and 1005HA-M), the specs do suggest that this will be the case. There is an option for N270/N280 Atom CPUs, a 1.3MP or 0.3MP webcam and two different 6-cell battery options. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell Promo Video

Asus has released a promotional video for the newly released Eee PC 1008HA Seashell netbook. Set to a funky music back drop, you won’t learn too much more than you probably already knew. However, it sets out the 1008HA Seashell in various angles and clearly tells you some if its key features. We are very much looking forward to getting hands-on ourselves at some point soon. Check out the video after the jump. Read more

Asus France to phase out Eee PC 1000HE netbook

We recently reported that Acer UK are planning to slowly withdraw the best-selling Asus Eee PC 1000HE to re-focus the Eee PC line-up to just 3 models by July. These models will consist of the recently launched Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell, 1005HA and an as yet unannounced model.

Well it appears that the same may be happening in France, after Blogeee got confirmation that the Eee PC 1000HE will also be phased to make way for the new range of netbooks. Unlike the UK, it appears that the marketing for the upcoming Eee PC T91 convertible tablet will be unchanged for France.

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell guts exposed

The Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell netbook had already hit the FCC over a month ago, however at the time there was limited information. There were no test photos of any kind (internal or external) and not even a manual. A confidentiality agreement deprived us of all the juicy details.

Moving forward six weeks, the 1008HA Seashell has already been released in the UK and US shipments are expected next week. One would think there is little else to find out. However, the FCC site has now updated the 1008HA page to include all of the test pictures including its internals exposed. Read more

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell US pre-orders start at $399.99

Asus is currently running a promotion in the US and Canada, whereby if you pre-order the Eee PC 1008HA Seashell netbook you will receive a $20 discount. This means that you can pick up the 1008HA Seashell for the discounted price of $409.99 in the US or CAD$509.99 in Canada.

Having a look at a few US retailers, pre-orders at most of the major sites seem to be open. Amazon has both the black and white versions on pre-order at the discounted price of $409.99. Newegg only has the white version on pre-order but at the normal price of $429.29. However, ZipZoomFly has the cheapest pre-order price I’ve seen at $399.99. According to Engadget, Asus expects retailers to deliver the white Seashell by the 27th May with the black version following a day later. Check out a screen grab of the promotion after the break. Read more

Asus UK refocusing Eee PC line-up to just 3 netbooks by July

We have often lamented the sheer number of different Eee PC netbooks that Asus offers, complete with confusing naming structure. It becomes difficult from a marketing point of view given the confusion it causes to the public and it can even end up diluting the brand. It seems that Asus UK agrees, it will be offering just three Eee PC netbooks to the general public come July according to Reg Hardware.

Asus’ John Swatton told them that only the 1008HA Seashell, the 1005HA (which was only announced today) and an as yet unnamed model will complete the UK line up. It does beg the question, what happens to the Eee PC T91 net tablet? According to Swatton, the 7-inch and 9-inch models will be reserved for sales to schools and other large organisations. Somehow, I find that hard to believe, especially given the amount of interest surrounding this particular 9-inch convertible tablet. Will Asus really restrict the sale of the T91 to the public? It seems a very odd move if true. Read more

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