Asus Eee PC 1008HA "Seashell"

Anyone who has followed Asus' continually expanding Eee PC line will understand just how significant a diversion the product we'll be looking at in this showcase is for the company. Since the very beginning, Asus' pioneering netbooks designs have looked about like the Eee PC 1000HE that we reviewed back in February. Simple, if not boxy enclosures were a given, and while you may find a few curves or accents here or there, you could tell that style was not always in the foreground with these utilitarian, low-cost notebooks.

Today, we're looking at the very first Eee PC netbook that looks nothing at all like its predecessors. In fact, we'd wager that Asus included this machine in its Eee PC line simply because of the brand recognition. Although, Asus isn't content with labeling this only an Eee PC. The Eee PC 1008HA is the first member of the burgeoning "Seashell" line, a family that already includes this machine and the to-be-released 1005HA. The 1008HA was originally unveiled in March at the CeBIT conference in Germany, but the ultra-slim laptop has just now started filtering out to the US market.