ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-M and 1005HA-H announced

An extension of the Asus Seashell brand

New Eee PC Seashell

The shell remains the same

Just as the Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell was launched in the UK, the company announced two more models belonging to the same family the Eee PC 1005HA-M and 1005HA-H which will be launched in July. It seems as if Asus is all set to expand the market share of its Seashell brand by giving the user a good choice of models and that too at different price points. So, it seems as if Asus is offering something for everyone.

Since the two new models are simply a brand extension that means the sleek “Seashell” design remains the same with only little alterations. The Eee PC 1005HA-M and 1005HA-H having the dimensions 262x178x26.5-35.5mm are a bit thicker than the Eee PC 1008HA whose dimensions are 262x168x18-257mm. The new Eee PC will lack the blue touch and would be available only in white and black colors.

The 1005HA-M and 1005HA-H offer a significant improvement over the 1008HA Seashell model in terms of the battery life. The company claims that the 1005HA-H will offer a whooping 10 hours of battery life thanks to the 6 cell Li-ion 2800mAh battery and the 1005HA-M is capable of running the system for 8 hours (as claimed by the company) on a single charge being powered by a 6 cell 2200mAh Li-ion battery. This means that the two new models offer almost double the battery life than that of the Eee PC 1008HA which runs on 2900mAh Li-polymer batteries capable of running the system for just 5 hours.

The common features among all the three Seashell models include:

·         1GB DDR2 RAM

·         160GB 5400rpm HDD

·         1.3MP webcam

·         Ethernet port and WiFi 802.11b/g/n

·         Card Reader (MMC, SD/SDHC)

·         Audio Jack

·         Windows XP Home Edition

Asus Eee PC 1005HA-M Seashell

This netbook is powered by the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor rather than the N280 processor which powers the 1008HA and the 1005HA-H. The screen is a standard 10-inch WSVGA with LED backlighting and a resolution of 1024x600. It has a VGA port instead of the mini VGA (on the other two models) and also has an extra USB 2.0 port taking the count to three. The 1005HA-M is said to be cheaper than the 1008HA by approx $135 and would cost around $ 405.

Asus Eee PC 1005HA-H Seashell

This netbook also has a 10-inch LED backlit WSVGA (1024x600) display with the added advantage of Color Shine anti glare technology. It is powered by the 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor which raises its cost to $473 (still approx $65 lesser than the 1008HA).  For connectivity this model has a Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR which is absent in the 1005HA-M but is present in the 1008HA. It further has 2 USB 2.0 ports and also a mini VGA port.

Both Eee PC 1005HA-M and 1005HA-H are heavier than the 1008HA by about .3Kgs. The former weighs 1.4Kgs with the battery while the later weighs only 1.1Kgs (battery included). Both these models are expected to go on sale in France this July.