The latest incarnation of the Asus Eee PC has been given a different and quite stunning look. However, it’s a pleasant mini laptop under the surface as well, with quite a few added features.
The first Asus laptops with the Seashell design were released last fall; by and large they were great-looking computers, but they weren’t 100% perfect. One positive aspect was the sleek design that made it both convenient to work on, easy to carry and quite handsome. The negative was the poor performance and the non-replaceable battery.
Both of those negatives have now been remedied by Asus, and without compromising on the good parts. The 1008P Asus Eee PC or Eee PC Seashell Karim Rashid Edition for less short, is both smarter and faster than its predecessor.
Groovy Surface
What first catches the eye on this particular model is the peculiar surface. Karim Rashid is an industrial designer known for his daring style and outlandish ideas, and when he takes on a computer chassis, no exception will be made. The entire computer is covered with a wavy grid pattern and a slightly glittering finish. It is sold in two different colors – copper brown and screaming hot pink.
If you want a computer that screams “Look at me!” a hundred yards away you should definitely go for the pink option. The brown one is a lot more subtle, but still highly original and would definitely look out of place in the board room. As a pure fashion accessory it clearly hits the jackpot, but is it also a decent worker underneath?
Improved Pinetrail Platform
Not bad as it turns out. Its new Atom N450 “Pinetrail” CPU and integrated graphics gives it a decent performance boost. While it’s clearly no performance laptop, the Windows 7 Starter operating system, which requires considerably more power than the old XP Home, works really well. Word processing, web browsing and other basic tasks all run perfectly, but running the latest games is of course out of the question.
In terms of design, Asus has corrected a few problems that its predecessor had. Ports that are hidden under the covers along the sides are a bit easier to reach, although some of larger USB sticks will still be hard to fit. On the downside, the fan noise in the Eee PC 1008P, although not really loud, is still clearly audible, and a rather noisy hard drive adds some additional sound. The mouse pad on the other hand, is great and offers multi-touch features like those found on Apple laptops.
Excellent battery life
The battery is now replaceable, and in addition you also get an extra battery to bring along and double your battery life. Not that it’s really needed – a single charged battery can run for five or six hours, or even seven with aggressive power savings. In other words: with the extra battery you’ll be safe for a full day’s work.
Just like most other new Asus laptops, the 1008P comes with some added fluff. That includes Asus Express Gate mini operating system and 500GB of web-based storage space. All in all, it’s a good netbook with a decent price tag, and if the unique design appeals to you, there’s not much to be said against it.
Amazon Marketplace product page for the Eee 1008P
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