ASUS Eee 1005HAB (1005HAB-RBLU001X) Netbook

The Asus Eee PC 701 SD is a remarkable evolution of what was already an excellent product, and I already own the 701 SD.  Therefore, when I had the chance to purchase the 1005HAB-RBLK003X, (I believe this is the latest model, but Epinions hasn't added this model yet,) I knew Asus was the way to go!  For all practical purposes, Asus was the first computer manufacturer to come to market with the "netbook" size class of notebook computers: the Asus commitment to excellence continues with the 1005HAB.  Interestingly, when I went to Best Buy to purchase this product, they had it in stock, but it was not on display.  I thought this was unusual, and I'd like to note that I was looking for the Windows XP version, as I was skeptical about purchasing Windows 7.  After some consultation with a Best Buy employee, it turns out that the XP version was on the shelf, and available for about $30 less than the comparable Windows 7 model.  Actually, my Best Buy had about 19 of these 1005HAB notebooks in stock, but curiously didn't have any on display, nor was there a card referring to stock which was hidden someplace in the store.  Best Buy also does not appear to have the correct specifications on their website, as the Eee PC 1005HAB supposedly boasts 10.5 hours of battery life according to the Asus website.  I'm not sure what this is all about, but I personally prefer the Windows XP version, which I had to seek out in order to find.

My experience using this product, thus far, has been completely hassle free.  Right out of the box, the battery already has a charge on it, and the initial set up only took me about five minutes.  Conclusion: setting up Windows XP is an absolute breeze!  All I had to do was name the computer, agree to the license terms for the Windows OS, set the date, time, location, etc.  Thus far, my experience has been a great pleasure! 

The keyboard provides excellent tactile feedback, the appearance and build quality are top notch, and I would just like to say that the "Ergonomic keyboard" does provide "unsurpassed comfort" as the sticker on the PC claims.  I would also like to note that the design of the keyboard appears to be very much improved over previous Eee models, as there is less space in between the keys for miscellaneous junk to accumulate and interfere with keystroke recognition. 

The touchpad is nicely improved over many touchpads I have used recently, and improved even over previous and current Asus designs: I must say that I really enjoy using the touchpad on the 1005HAB.  Although many of the latest PC designs include super sleek, "sexy" surfaces, there is one place that a super slick surface is not necessarily practical, and that is the touchpad.  Instead of the typical touchpad found on other PCs as of lately, which are super slick, the Eee 1005HAB touchpad is thoughtfully textured, and is a joy to use.  Placing two fingers on the 1005HAB touchpad at one time make scrolling easy, and eliminates the need for a separate scroll region on the pad.

I purchased this product for several reasons, as I already have a notebook computer, but found my aging notebook to have lackluster battery life, and an unnecessarily large footprint.  The 1005HAB was attractive to me for several reasons: first and foremost the Asus reputation.  For years, my friends have raved about Asus PCs, but I had never experienced the joy of owning one until more recently.  Aside from the reputation, there are a number of other excellent reasons I have for purchasing the 1005HAB: battery life, size, weight, and build quality.

I would have to say that I love the long 4+ hour battery life, and this should allow me enough time to actually use the computer at school.  My other notebook had less than 2 hours worth of battery life, which is completely unacceptable for taking notes in class, or a long day of work, play, etc.  The 1005HAB should provide for 4 or (hopefully) more hours of battery life, thanks to the new Intel Atom family and its revised architecture, which is absolutely superb at saving power, especially when compared to previous netbooks running Intel Celeron processors.  The PC is so energy efficient, that it actually gets the EPA "ENERGY STAR" rating, and I am considering running the PC entirely from solar and or wind power from my renewable energy system at home.  What I find amazing, is that this Asus Eee PC 1005HAB is in fact so energy efficient, that the same amount of power used by my old 1.6 Ghz notebook in 2 hours could power this 1005HAB for well over 4 hours.  (Some similar models of the Eee PC 1005 sell with an 8+ hour battery pack, which could probably be purchased separately, or simply order that model instead).

The 1005HAB screen is much improved over previous netbooks as well, and allows for a full 1024 x 600 pixels to fit on one screen, which is plenty of room for viewing web pages, and likely more than enough room for other tasks as well.  Integrated wireless Internet is convenient, and the newer Wi-Fi 802.11n standard is both reverse compatible with wireless "g," and faster than previous Wi-Fi standards.  Windows XP allows for easy setup, with minimal input from the PC user, and the 1005HAB has a shortcut to turn off the Wi-Fi 802.11n on planes, etc.  The Eee PC 1005HAB also boasts 3 USB ports, a standard VGA monitor output, an SD card slot (for viewing photos from a digital camera, for example,) headphone and microphone jacks, integrated webcam, 10.2"" LED backlit screen (with "brighter contrast,") fast Ethernet LAN connector, 160 GB hard drive, 1.6 Ghz Atom processor with 512 kb L2 cache and 566 MHz front-side-bus, a "wide" touchpad, and Wireless B + G + N. 

I really cannot honestly say that there are any drawbacks to this 1005HAB, although the screen size is compact: some might find it too small, but that would mainly be users that are very visually impaired.  I am mildly visually impaired myself, and have no concerns about being able to view web pages, work on school assignments, etc.  In conclusion, I highly recommend this PC to anyone who wants a highly compact computer, and someone who is primarily going to be viewing web pages, word processing, etc., although Windows XP should offer a wide variety of useful software which should theoretically run just fine on this computer.  The only drawback, for some users, may be not having a built in CD-ROM drive, although I'm not going to miss lugging one around to use once in a blue moon.  In conclusion, the Asus Eee PC 1005HAB is highly recommended, and a very viable contender in today's highly saturated PC market.