Asus Seashell review: Eee PC 1008HA
Surely not another Asus Eee PC netbook. Sasha explains why this one stands out from the crowd.
Stunning design goes hand in hand with fine usability, but the non-replaceable battery and high price count against it.

A three-cell battery normally heralds disaster in the battery life stakes, but imagine our surprise when the Seashell lasted for an impressive 5hrs 39mins in our light use test. Of course, enabling the wireless and surfing the web will leave the figure dwindling to nearer the four hour mark, but it is an impressive performance for such a conservatively rated battery.
There are no compromises when it comes to usability, though. The keyboard is sensibly laid out - the cursor keys squashing down to make way for a nice wide right-hand shift key - and each key responds with a reassuringly positive action. Only the half-height Enter key on our US model gave us any cause for complaint, and that will thankfully be making way for a proper, full-height Enter key in European models.
The trackpad is worth singling out for praise, too. The single button which rocks left and right might not be everybody's cup of tea, but the dimpled finish to the pad feels great under the finger and the buttons responds with a firm, crisp click.
Powering the 1008HA is a host of familiar faces. Intel's Atom is present in its 1.66GHz N280 incarnation, and the 1GB of DDR2 memory and 160GB hard disk are standard netbook fare. Consequently, there weren't any great surprises when it came to benchmark results; the 1008HA earned a solid 0.42 in our benchmarks.
The glossy 10.2in panel doesn't make any great departures from the norm either. Its 1,024 x 600 resolution is unremarkable, and image quality is good without being exceptional. Brightness is a touch lacking and colour reproduction a little cold, but it's up with the best that netbooks have to offer.
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
Sasha is a freelance journalist who's been writing about tech and consumer products for over two decades. With a career that started at the dawn of the millennium on Computer Buyer magazine, he passed through the official Intel Centrino magazine, Mobile Computer, before rounding off his print career on PC Pro magazine where he reviewed a broad spectrum of hardware and software before eventually specializing in laptop and monitor reviews. After the best part of a decade, he defected to the desks on the other side of the office and spent many years working on Expert Reviews before finally going freelance in 2024. Nowadays, he splits his time between reviewing tech and home appliances, falling off mountain bikes and cleaning up his kids' playroom.
-
Is ChatGPT making us dumber? A new MIT study claims using AI tools causes cognitive issues, and it’s not the first – Microsoft has already warned about ‘diminished independent problem-solving’
News A recent study from MIT suggests that using AI tools impacts brain activity, with frequent users underperforming compared to their counterparts.
By Ross Kelly Published
-
Hackers are using Microsoft 365 features to bombard enterprises with phishing emails – and they’ve already hit more than 70 organizations
News A new phishing campaign uncovered by researchers at Varonis shows threat actors are abusing Microsoft 365's Direct Send feature to launch phishing attacks.
By Emma Woollacott Published
-
Plans announced to resurrect former steelworks as a ‘green’ data center
News Plans have been put forward to transform the former Ravenscraig steelworks in Scotland into a green AI data center.
By Ross Kelly Published