Netbook Review – Acer, Asus Netbook Review

ASUS 900HA Netbook Review – 5.5/7

It’s been more than a year since the release of the ASUS Eee PC 900HA. At that time, this 8.9″ screen netbook was one of the more favoured ones around. Since its still available for sale, we thought we’d do a fresh review keeping in mind all the new competition it faces.

The 900HA has a very solid build for its small size. There is little flex and its substantial hinges make sure the screen stays locked in place. The user serviceable components of the 900HA can be accessed very easily on the underside of the netbook. Changing RAM or upgrading a hard drive is as easy as pie. Unhinge, change, hinge. The specifications of the 900HA don’t feature anything out of the ordinary.

ASUS 900HA Netbook Review – Top Features

• Excellent display – The screen is matte and anti-glare, with a resolution of 1024 x 600. It displays colors and contrasts really well. The horizontal viewing angles are especially great and the vertical angles are good as well.
• Very nice touchpad – The trackpad has a widescreen aspect built in, making scrolling easier. There is also the multi-touch feature a la the macbook, where you can zoom in/out by pinching/warding movements and scroll up or down with two fingers used together.
• Good system performance – Surprisingly, the Atom N270 and 1GB of RAM function quite fast. The system boots up in just 30 seconds running Windows XP, and most programs run zippily. We watched 720p videos quite comfortably, and played old (pre-2004) games like Call of Duty and Quake III without lag problems.

ASUS 900HA Netbook Review – Drawbacks and things to keep in mind

• Small keyboard – Yes it’s an 8.9″ netbook, but that doesn’t discount from the fact that using this tiny keyboard takes some getting used to.
• Thick – In this day and age, people are obsessed with size 0s (which is the Sony Vaio X series tagline). The 900HA is portable enough, but is actually a bit thicker than other 10″ and even 12″ netbooks out there.
• Price point – The 900HA is available on amazon for over $300 and with 1GB RAM, a 160GB HDD, about 5 hours of battery life and a weight of 2.5lbs (not much less than 10″ models).

ASUS 900HA Netbook Review – Ratings

1. Price and Value for money – 0.5 Star. As we mentioned above, the price point of $310 puts it square in the middle of netbooks with similar or better specifications. And for only a few dollars more, you can get a Windows 7 netbook.
2. Speed and Performance – 1.0 Star. The bootup times are awesome, applications run without a problem and this is quite a zippy little netbook. We don’t know how ASUS did it, but we appreciate it.
3. Screen – 1.0 Star. The 8.9″ screen may be small, but its quality cannot be disputed.
4. Keyboard, Touchpad, Useability – 0.75 Star. We really like the touchpad, but the keyboard is a bit too small.
5. Portability and Battery Life – 0.75 Star. At 2.5lbs, the 900HA is in the lighter category of netbooks. It’s a bit on the thicker side though. The battery lasts about 4 hours.
6. Looks and Design – 0.75 Star. We quite like the retro-style interiors of this netbook. The lid is smooth and glossy, which looks nice but picks up fingerprints.
7. Connectivity and Extensibility – 0.75 Star. The ASUS 900HA features a good range of peripheral connections, but doesn’t have WiFi n capabilities.

This gives the ASUS 900HA a rating of 5.5/7 stars.

ASUS 900HA Netbook Review – Our Recommendation

While we think this is a very good netbook, the fact remains that it doesn’t have any differentiating factors anymore. If you see it and like it, or are in the market for a netbook with a smaller than 10″ screen, go right ahead and buy it.

The ASUS 900HA is available on amazon for $309.95

ASUS 900HA Netbook Review – What have buyers said on Amazon?

Pros:

1. “I’ve installed Office 2007 Pro on mine, have used it to edit a few complex spreadsheets, and have even worked off some pretty large databases I’ve designed for work, and have been able to do what I need to just fine and without much of a delay.”
2. “Asus customer service far exceeded my expectations. A quick phone call and I had an authorization number and sent it off. I had it back, good as new within a week. I’ll even give them extra points for being environmentally aware. They shipped it back in the same box with the same packing materials!”
3. “Great little netbook. I really like it. It is compact, yet powerful enough to get the job done.”

Cons:

1. “The right shift key is located outside the directional buttons, so your little finger has to reach out and avoid them, or you suddenly find your curser has jumped to another place. The space bar does not always work with a touch on the end, and requires a firm stroke in the middle of the bar.”
2. “Very noticeable constant fan noise even when just web browsing. ( louder than my other laptops ). Had to download freeware eeectl to throttle down the fan.”

ASUS 900HA Netbook Review – Technical Specifications

• OS: Windows XP Home
• CPU: Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor
• RAM: 1GB DDR2 RAM (Upgradeable to 2GB)
• Storage Space: 160GB SATA HDD (5400rpm)
• Screen: 8.9 inch WXGA 1024 x 600 LCD display
• Connectivity: VGA output, Ethernet, Headphone & microphone slot, Multi card reader, 3 USB ports, 802.11b/g WLAN
• Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion battery (4200 mAh)
• Weight: 2.5 lbs

Filed under: Asus Netbook Review