Ever since the first ASUS EEE PC came out, netbooks have gotten bigger and lost the one trait that made them attractive in the first place: size. Why go for a 12-inch netbook when you can just get a more powerful laptop? The new Asus EEE Seashell, however, reminds me of the convenience and ease of use a netbook is supposed to provide. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a demo unit when I went to New York on vacation, and this is my review.

Design and Feel

For P23,000 (suggested retail price), you definitely get what you pay for. At 2.4 pounds and just an inch thick at the thickest point, the Asus Eee PC Seashell was incredibly satisfying to carry around. It’s thin enough for me to slip into a large purse, but not too thin to make me worry that it might break into two under more powerful hands. The sides of the Seashell stay sleek because tethered rubber stoppers hide two USB ports, Ethernet ports, and a socket for the headphone, mic, and mini VGA. I like that each of the USB ports were located on both sides of the machine, avoiding the annoying, “I can’t use my second USB device because my other USB device is in the way” issue.

I wasn’t too crazy about the glossy finish of the black demo unit because the fingerprint smudges drove me nuts, but its tapered edges and beveled-keyed keyboard felt like those of a first-class machine. The keyboard, in particular, was a delight to use. I remember how I kept making so many typos on the first generation Eee because the keys were too small and too close together. The keys on the Seashell had just enough distance from each other to avoid typos, and I liked how the keys had a satisfying click every time you pressed on one. There’s also a button on the upper left hand corner that controls the WiFi and Bluetooth, while a separate button turns the trackpad off. The trackpad itself was a little strange; instead of a smooth surface, the trackpad has a dotted texture that takes a while to get used to. Other than the odd sensation, the trackpad is fairly accurate and no trouble to use.

Performance

The insides of the Seashell pretty much resembles that of most netbooks. It runs on XP (thank God for that – I didn’t have enough time to figure out how to use a Linux machine), has an Aton N280 processor, 160GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM (which you can upgrade to 2GB), DHC port, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1. The Seashell’s real selling point, however, is its battery life. Asus claims that the its integrated lithium polymer battery has a 6-hour running time, but I only got around three hours and a half. How do I know this? I loaded two movies onto the Seashell’s hard drive – one was an hour and a half long, the other was two hours. I saw both movies on the plane and the Seashell was gasping for power by the time the credits were rolling on the second movie. Still, three and a half hours isn’t bad for a netbook; at least the battery is really light and doesn’t add any unwanted weight on your bag.

Problems

I did, however, encounter a serious problem that made it impossible for me to use the Seashell for the rest of my trip and pretty much defeated the purpose of a netbook. The WiFi refused to recognize any available networks, even if the router was right in front of me. At first I thought I was just being stupid and forgot to turn the WiFi on but according to the Asus forums, the Seashell is notorious for its WiFi woes. For those of you who experience problems connecting to WiFi on your Seashell, this advice from the forums might be able to help:

Right click on the Wireless icon in the system tray.
Left click on Open Network Connections
Right click on Wireless Network connection
Left click on properties.
On the window that opens it says connect using..and shows your wireless card with a button that says configure next to it. Press configure. On the window that opens is a tab called advanced. Down arrow to power save mode and set the pulldown to maximum. Click OK and reboot. Connect using encryption and let us know if you stay connected.

I wish I could tell you for sure if the procedure above worked, but I was too lazy to troubleshoot the Seashell myself.

Conclusion

The Asus Eee Seashell is a very tempting buy because of its sleek and beautiful form, but what might deter others from buying it is that it’s not beautiful enough to make it worth paying extra. The Seashell costs a couple more thousand pesos than its similar-performing though slightly chunky counterparts and though its compactness makes it a dream to carry around, I wouldn’t mind carrying something a little heavier if it means spending less. Then again, you can always wait for the price to drop, which I’m sure it will in a couple of months.

I don’t exactly go crazy over the latest shiny new toy produced by Apple, but it sure is interesting to follow how other manufacturers take what Apple has done and make it better. Apparently, Asus is going to come out with a super-think netbook with Macbook Air-skinny proportions. The S1008HA or the Shell is a mere one inch thick with an Intel Atom processor, a 10-inch LED backlit display, and a whole host of impressive specs like a 1 GB ram, 160GB hard drive, WiFi, and Bluetooth.

Just like its sibling, the S101, the S1008HA is bound to be just as aesthetically pleasing but easier to carry around. It is said to have a longer battery life too!

The ultra-skiny Asus EEE will cost £359 or $523. Cheaper than a Macbook Air, yeah?

Source

Asus, the producer of the world-renowed Eee PC released the Asus Eee PC box today. What an impressive desktop! When I first saw the Asus PC Eee PC Box, I thought it was a Nintendo Wii. I was about to exclaim “Oh a Wii!” thinking it was an ASUS substitute for Wii when I saw that it was the label “A Little Revolution in Desktop Computing”.

It is so sleek and elegant. Replacing the bulky and boring PCs, you can liven up your environment with a compact and elegant box. It is perfect for a Home-office set-up like mine because I want a minimalist workspace.

I am sure you will be impressed with the Asus Eee PC Box. Here are a few reasons:

1. Sleek and stylish

Merely just 1 Liter in size, the Eee Box is sleek. Imagine that it looks like slim paperback novel. You can easily reclaim the desk space previously lost to bulkier, intrusive desktop systems. You can even mount VESA LCD displays for the ultimate space-saving set-up.

2. Just 7 seconds* From Bootup to Internet

(*Actual Boot time subject to hardware configuration and product model)

With the exclusive Express Gate- ASUS’ innovative fast boot technology, you can easily access the internet , manage pictures or communicate over IM/Skype just 7 seconds after boot up. I tested this myself. It took 6 seconds to bootup but of course that would also depend on the configuration you need. I can just imagine the joy of your technophobe friends or relatives when they find out that the navigation is so much easier using the Express Gate.

3. Love your environment

The innovative ASUS thermal solution integrates a unique heat dissipation module with the AI fan- allowing quiet (26db) and comfortable computing. Compared to full-sized desktop solutions, the Eee Box’s energy-efficient performance reduces power consumption by up to 90%. The Eee Box utilizes Green Design and is made with only earth-friendly materials for reduced CO2 emissions . You can be socially responsible while working, learning and playing in style!

4. Work, Play and Watch.

Now this is the part which most of you love. The Eee box is the perfect choice for enjoying internet TV. With an IPTV player, thousands of programs are freely available–allowing users to personalize and watch lists of TV shows with ease.

5. Reliability and High Quality

I have been an ASUS user since I owned my first desktop, well at least for the motherboard. From then on, it’s been an ASUS motherboard for all my desktop computers at home. In fact, they say the Apple macbook uses an ASUS motherboard. I believe that the ASUS lives up to its name of reliablilty and high quality products.

The Eee Box, also known as the Asus B202 features a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 80GB HD, Microsoft Windows XP Home, Card Readers, LAN, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and some models with Bluetooth functionality.

Priced at 24,999 pesos, I believe it is a good deal. You get a compact CPU, a 16-inch LCD screen and a keyboard.

Contact

Jason Teh
Tel +632 631-4715 or 0922-83508500