Asus unveils 1005HA, 1008HA Eee PC Shell

Asus Philippines today unveiled two new models under the Eee PC Shell line — the entry-level Eee PC 1005HA and high-end Eee PC 1008HA. The line is slimmer at the edges and was patterned after the clam shell design.

Actually, the netbook is still around 1-inch at its thickest; only that they slimmed it up around the edges and changed the matte finish with a glossy one. Still weighs over 1kg (2.42lbs).

The specs didn’t change that much –10.1″ LED-backlit (1024×600), Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD (plus 10GB Eee Storage online), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, 1.3MP webcam and MMC/SDcard reader.

Will be available in the market by June and will come in various colors — white, black, blue, pink, sapphire blue, ruby red. The over-all look and specs are very similar to the Asus S101H launched earlier.

There are initially two SKUs — the 1005HA which has the basic specs, a removable 6-cell battery that protrudes at the back and the more elegant 1008HA which has a built-in battery (not user-replaceable), a mini VGA connector tucked at the back and the ports at the sides are hidden by a sliding latch (see photos).

The Asus Eee PC Shell will have a suggested retail price of around Php22,500USD 383INR 32,504EUR 365CNY 2,792 (for the 1005HA model) up to Php32,950USD 561INR 47,600EUR 535CNY 4,089 (for the 1008HA model). Asus is also introducing Linux OS on some models along with Windows XP.