ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell up for pre-order, early adopters score a $20 discount

ASUS is just about ready to push its new thin and light Eee PC 1008HA Seashell netbook into the delicate hands of consumers, and a nice stack of retailers just got the thing for pre-order. There's currently a $20 drop in the (fairly steep) $430 pricetag for folks who brave the pre-order, and ASUS expects retailers to deliver the white version by around the 27th, with the black version following on the 28th of this month.

[Templarian Posted May 18th 2009 4:22PM]

crab: "guys come here look how thin this is".

[ravissimo Posted May 18th 2009 4:31PM]

that's what she said

[ndrwme Posted May 18th 2009 5:12PM]

Very good Photoshopping skills.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 6:02PM]

I pinch...

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 9:31PM]

looks like a patriot crab to me. i just bought one last week and he is awesome.

[ravissimo Posted May 18th 2009 4:22PM]

if it weren't for the 1024x600 resolution, i'd so be all over this... waiting for the higher resolution + ion netbooks...

[Slick Posted May 18th 2009 5:35PM]

Agreed.. as soon as Ion gets in there I'm going to buy a 10" netbook of some variety..

On a side note once these little machines have a graphics engine worth a damn PC gaming could really get a boost in sales.. obviously not on higher end games (like "insert name here"), but games with seemingly endless popularity and no so demanding system requirements such as CS & CS source, WoW, etc.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 10:32PM]

@ Slick

"once these little machines have a graphics engine worth a damn PC gaming could really get a boost in sales"

That would be great and all, but if you wanted a gaming computer, you might not want to have a 10" screen.
Playing CS 1.6 on my Eee PC 901 was like "shoot in the general direction (in front) and you might get a shot in."

[rento Posted May 18th 2009 4:28PM]

Eeeek the Asus got crabs!!

[AM ERROR Posted May 18th 2009 4:30PM]

AHAHAHAHAH!!

$20 savings for a limited time....

Then it will be $100 savings after that for this overpriced POS!!! AHAHHAAH!!!

nubz!

[jeremymc7 Posted May 18th 2009 4:34PM]

Maybe, just maybe, IF battery life (Non user swappable, oh please) wasn't a lame three hours (max?). The screen res isn't that nice, but fairly stock these days.

Only thing different here is slimness at a fairly reasonable price.

[Ma2T Posted May 18th 2009 5:32PM]

I don't like the fixed battery either. I have been looking at the 1005HA, http://www.netbooknow.net/asus/eee-pc-1005ha/ . Similar design, but has a removable battery, upto 6-cell 2800mAh, meant to be good for 10 hours.

[(Unverified) Posted May 22nd 2009 1:38AM]

Sad day, I sent you the link to the promo on Sunday but no link love :( In any case, I've found it available on both ZipZoomFly and Amazon:

http://www.netbookreviews.com/asus-eee-pc-1008ha-on-zipzoomfly-409/ (Found that one yesterday)
http://www.netbookreviews.com/asus-eee-pc-1008ha-available-on-amazon/ (Amazon joined the party early this morning)

I think I'm going to buy it for sure. Who really cares if you can't remove the battery? Netbooks are so cheap by the time I want to upgrade to a new one in a year and a half I can just sell it on Craigs List or just flat out buy a new one.

[superhobo Posted May 18th 2009 4:50PM]

Must be a hermit crab.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 5:03PM]

Newegg is not part of the promotion ( I just called). ZipZoom Fly is actually selling it for 399.99.

[ndrwme Posted May 18th 2009 5:14PM]

They too stingy to tack on another $10 to the discount to make the price an even $400?

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 5:21PM]

I'll wait for the 1005 with removable battery.

[dr steve brule Posted May 18th 2009 6:08PM]

sand around my laptop makes me cringe

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 6:57PM]

ENOUGH WITH THE EEEPC'S ALREADY WORRY ABOUT YOUR MOBO LINE

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 7:37PM]

I still think this is better than the 1000HE if you want something that is lighter and don't intend to travel much.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 7:44PM]

Wait for better processors for these netbooks to come out next year. There is a big inventory and these will be real cheap when the mini-dual processors come out.
http://jamesmsingleton.com

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 7:46PM]

Side note: I sent this tip into Engadget on Sunday but no link love :( sad day.

http://www.netbookreviews.com/asus-eee-pc-1008ha-on-zipzoomfly-409/ (May 17th)
http://www.netbookreviews.com/asus-eee-pc-1008ha-available-on-amazon/ (Earlier this morning on the 18th)

Realistically though I still don't understand why people are so concerned with the built in battery. The netbook is only $409. Use it for a year and then when better integrated graphics chipsets are around and higher resolution screens just sell it on CraigsList for $300.

Perhaps it's just me but I don't take netbook purchases as seriously (other than making sure I pick a good model up front) because of the fact that they're so inexpensive.

Thoughts?

[LloydChiro Posted May 18th 2009 7:53PM]

Yea, it's basically a disposable computer, just like any other computer, but with a netbook, you already anticipate it being obsolete, and you don't worry about losing a $2000 purchase in a few years. The $2000 laptop will be obsolete too, but that's harder to think about.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2009 10:32PM]

"The netbook is only $409. Use it for a year and then when better integrated graphics chipsets are around and higher resolution screens just sell it on CraigsList for $300."

With how quickly prices change, that's not going to work. I bought an Eee PC 901 a bit after it came out. Came up to about $650 with tax on Newegg. Few months later, the price dropped to $450. I sold it last month, and the best price I could get was $230 off of Craigslist. Which was horrible considering the start price, but great considering Newegg has it brand new for $280. These things get cheap, FAST.

[Hydra Posted May 18th 2009 8:43PM]

No it doesn't come with crabs you have to buy the Asus Eee pc 1008HACrab Edition.1

[GoonieGooGoo Posted May 19th 2009 3:05AM]

Will the Asus locate the Crab's weakpoint in time for E3???

[sibyy Posted May 19th 2009 5:55AM]

Ok, am I the only person who thinks $400 for this is a great bargain! A few years ago you'd have to spend a fortune to get anything as portable as this. I know it's underpowered but on a trip you don't really need to do any hard-core computing.

Saying that I'm still gonna wait for an Ion powered + HDMI + 1280wide resolution netbook since I already own Mini 9. If I had to make a purchase now though I would have gone with this.

[PeterFnet Posted May 19th 2009 4:39PM]

all fun on the beach until it gets warm and the cooling fan kicks on. You'll never get all that sand out.

[(Unverified) Posted May 26th 2009 2:55PM]

Just picked one up and found out that IT DOESN"T RUN Windows 7 due to Video issues. I had such a great experience with an Acer Aspire One netbook that I though I would upgrade to a slimmer netbook. But after bringing it home last night I found out that there are issues with it going to a black screen when poweing on OR hibernating...
There are some clunky workarounds that work for some but it's not a good choice for Windows 7 beta or RC yet. If you're planning on a netbook for Windows 7 this isn't it yet. Hope they update the bios at some point.
That being said it's a nicely built unit and heals solidly constructed...