Asus Eee PC 1005HAB Netbook Review: My David beats your Goliath

A few months ago, I picked up the Asus Eee PC 1005HAB Netbook to be able to do my grad school work on. I really just wanted something cheap that only needed to be able to surf the web, listen to mp3's and let me use Microsoft office (which is all most students need). At $300, did this netbook do the trick?

Oh hell yea.

Pros:

Lighten up: With a 10.2 inch screen size, this netbook's not only small it weighs less than 2.5 lbs! This makes it really convenient to carry around from work, to school, to home. Get the right case for it (I got the Targus Sport Netbook Slip Attaché Case) and you barely notice carrying it around everywhere. Or of course you could slip it in your backpack with a slip case to prevent scratches and be fine. Whatever, this thing weighs nothing!

F#$% off, Vista: Probably the main reason I decided to even try this netbook over a full size laptop is that this comes with Windows XP, not Windows Vista. I love XP, I don't care if it's outdated, it actually works unlike Windows Vista which has annoyed and frustrated me to no end. Windows XP fits the netbook like a glove and provides a smooth, user friendly experience from the first time you turn this on to the hundredth.

I hear you: Asus put into this netbook a 1.3 mega-pixel webcam and microphone so you can use this to chat with friends and family. I use Skype on this all the time (never during class, of course ;p) and am able to use it perfectly on this. Really, you're not losing any quality just because this doesn't have as fast a processor as a laptop. This worked better than my old laptops actually. And I DON'T mind :D

Like an Energizer Bunny: Asus fit a battery that lasts almost 4.5 hours in this baby. 4.5 HOURS!! I still know full size laptops from Dell and HP that are over 3 times the price of this and STILL only lasts 2.5 hours! I used this to listen to music and watch movies on trips before and this baby lasted me the entire time. Besides Windows XP being installed, this was the other major factor that made me buy this. It doesn't take that long to charge either, I usually can do mine anywhere from 20-40 minutes tops.

Your piggy bank's safe: At a price of $300, the Asus Eee PC 1005 can hold you over if you're waiting to do a full computer upgrade later on. I bought my brother one of these because his current laptop's dieing, but he wanted to wait till Windows 7 came out before buying a new laptop. At this price, if it breaks on you or if you just want to upgrade, it's like renting a pc for the period you used it. You don't have to worry about the fact that your laptops obsolete the week after you bought it because you're not breaking your bank and can buy a new one later.

Cons:

You already gotta upgrade it: Look, for the price you're paying you're not going to be getting the top of the line and nor do you need to, but 1gb of Ram just doesn't cut it. I've used this netbook to do interviews for classes just using Microsoft Word, nothing else, and it froze on me because I typed to fast, forcing me to restart. Just the other day I was doing spreadsheet formulas in excel and it needed me to stop and pause to calculate. Granted not everybody may have this problem but for what I need (which really is just mp3s, Microsoft Office and surfing the web), I'm going to tell you to ram this baby up as soon as you get it outta the box. Besides, 2gb of ram isn't as expensive as you think anymore.

Button down: With a smaller size, you're going to get a smaller keyboard. The good news is that it's only 92% the size of a normal keyboard though. While the keys are about the size of a normal size finger, you will need just a little time to get used to it. Personally, I don't mind as much but I can see where someone may feel the buttons are a little close together.

While you may need to ram it, the Asus Eee PC 1005HAB Netbook is one of the best computers I've ever owned. I still remember when I decided to buy this, I was choosing between a netbook or an iTouch to watch movies and listen to music on a trip I was going on. It's safe to say I made the right decision.

Score Ratings - HORRIBLE - Pass - Meh - Good - EPIC
Good