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 Php22,500 (for the 1005HA model) up to Php32,950 (for the 1008HA model). Asus is also introducing Linux OS on some models along with Windows XP.