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Asus Eee PC 900HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 10 GB Eee Storage, XP Home) Black
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2 new or used available from $275.00
Average customer review:
Product Description
Netbook Eee PC 900HA offers more options to users for unique user experiences. Long hours of battery life, built in high speed connectivity and exclusive 10GB file-encrypted Eee Storage with easy accessibility makes it the ideal traveling companion for outdoor activities. The 8.9 display provides comfortable viewing, and a full QWERTY keyboard makes for easier typing and relaxing usage. Built-in camera ensures users stay in touch with the important ones. User friendly XP pre-loaded. ZBD Guaranteed for best quality LCD. Content includes Eee PC, battery, AC Adapter, Sleeve Case, Manual and Recovery CD.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #657 in Personal Computers
- Color: Shiny Black
- Brand: Asus
- Model: EPC900HA-BLK006X
- Platform: Windows
- Format: CD
- Dimensions: .79" h x 6.69" w x 8.86" l, 2.18 pounds
- Memory: 1000MB DDR2 SDRAM
- Hard Disk: 160GB
- Processors: 1
- Display size: 8.9
Features
- XP-Preloaded with 160GB large HDD. (Partitioned into Two 80GB drives)
- Asus Super Hybrid Engine and 4 cell high density battery pack allow for longer battery lifespan. Super Hybrid Engine offers a choice of performance and power consumption modes for easy adjustments according to various needs.
- High Speed Connectivity Anywhere with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g.
- Exclusive 10GB Eee Storage with easy accessibility anywhere online.
- Free 1 YR Warranty (6 month for battery, 30 day ZBD Guaranteed) and sleeve
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Product Description
The new Eee PC 900HA offers you more options for your mobile computing needs, providing the power of a full-sized laptop--with the latest Intel mobile processor and a 160 GB hard drive--in a compact body with an 8.9-inch screen. Designed specifically for mobile devices, the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor uses a brand new design structure new hafnium-infused circuitry--which reduces electrical current leakage in transistors--to conserve energy, giving you more time away from the wall outlet. Coupled with the Asus exclusive Super Hybrid Engine, you'll also enjoy up to 5 hours of battery life with this Windows-powered laptop.
 The Asus Eee PC 900's 8.9-inch screen is easier on the eyes, and the integrated webcam makes video chats a snap. |
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It comes preinstalled with the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system, which offers more experienced users an enhanced and innovative experience that incorporates Windows Live features like Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Live Mail for consolidated email accounts on your desktop. Complementing this is Microsoft Works, which equips the user with numerous office applications to work efficiently.
For journalists, photographers and other professionals who need to use a computer in the field to create, to communicate and to collaborate with other colleagues, the Eee PC's combination of power, extreme portability and rugged build makes it the ideal computing solution. The keyboard is 95 percent the size of standard notebooks, making it more comfortable to type for larger hands.
It's also a great choice for young students, with a built-in Dictionary that's great for homework, and it includes two modes of intuitive graphic user interface design to accommodate both experienced and inexperienced PC users. The Eee PC also handles your digital images, movies, and music as well as Internet radio.
Nicely light at just 40 ounces (2.5 pounds), the Eee PC 900HA has an 8.9-inch wide TFT LCD with a 1024 x 600-pixel resolution (WXGA)--making it more comfortable on eyes than its predecessor. In addition to its 54g wireless LAN (802.11b/g), it also offers wired Fast Ethernet (10/100) connectivity and a 56K modem. You get three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output for connecting to external monitors, headphone and microphone jacks, and a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot (compatible with MMC memory cards). It's equipped with a 0.3-megapixel webcam (placed in the bezel above the LCD) and integrated microphone, allowing you to snap still photos of yourself while on the go for sending via email or join video chats with friends and family.
Battery-Sipping Processor
The Intel Atom processor uses a brand new design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and it uses just 2.5 watts of power--less than 1/10 of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor--for excellent battery management. This 1.6 GHz Atom N270 processor also includes a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for faster data transfer on demanding mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache (which temporarily stores data).
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- High Performance Mode (high performance with some power savings)
- Super Performance Mode (maximum performance)
- Power Saving Mode (maximum power savings and minimum noise)
Online Storage from Asus
With this Eee PC, Asus also provides 10 GB of online storage (easily accessible via a desktop icon), which enables you to download up to 5 GB of data per day. It also provides secure file encryption and accessibility from both Windows and Linux platforms. Whether you want to share images with friends and family or store big business presentations, you can now access your data with ease and not worry about space constraints. The Eee Storage service is complimentary for the first 18 months, and it must be registered within the first 6 months after date of purchase.
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- Operating system: Windows XP Home
- Internal memory: 160 GB hard disk drive (HDD)
- RAM: 1 GB DDR2
- Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Atom
- Memory expansion: Slot for MMC/SD(SDHC) cards
- LCD: 8.9 inches, 1024 x 600 pixels
- Networking: 54g Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), 10/100 Fast Ethernet
- Peripheral connectivity: Three USB 2.0
- External video: One VGA
- External audio: One headphone and one microphone port
- Webcamera: Yes, 0.3 megapixels (VGA)
- Battery life: up to 5 hours
- Weight: 2.5 pounds (40 ounces)
- Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.7 x 1.33 inches
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Asus Eee PC 900HA, AC adapter, printed operating instructions. It's backed by a 1-year warranty on parts and labor.
ZBD from Asus
All Eee PC’s come with Asus’s ZBD (Zero Bright Dot) guarantee. If the purchaser discovers one bright dot within 30 days of purchase, Asus will replace the panel without cost to the purchaser.
Customer Reviews
First hand Comparison to Acer Aspire One
I have the Acer Aspire One and the Asus 900HA and have installed memory upgrades on both. Although they are very similar (Atom processor, 160GB HD, 8.9" screen, 1GB RAM installed, Windows XP Home, etc) there are important differences worth mentioning.
(1) Size and weight: Asus wins here. 4-cell Asus is about 1" narrower in both width and height and a little lighter than the 6-cell Acer (the 1" height difference is due to the protruding battery from the back of the Acer). Thickness is about the same.
(2) Screen brightness: Acer wins here. Although the LCD panels are the same size and have the same native resolution the Acer screen is much brighter at max and appears crisper. Also the default Windows icons are much larger on the Asus (icon size can be adjusted using Windows).
(3) Upgrading: Asus wins big here. Remove a bottom panel with two screws from the Asus and you can easily swap out the single 1GB memory module for a 2GB module that costs about $30. You can even swap out the 160GB hard drive for a still larger one. The Acer is another story. It requires total disassembly and careful reassembly (numerous videos and pictorial instructions available on the web) to replace the socketed 512MB module with a 1GB max module. This procedure also negates the warranty - how clever! Some genius at Acer decided to solder 512MB onto the motherboard, thus limiting the max memory to 1.5GB. To add insult to injury, the Acer design team also placed a removable panel on the bottom which opens into an unused cavity. That panel could have been moved or expanded in size to allow easy memory and hard drive access.
(4) Keyboard and touch pad: Acer wins big here. The reason the Acer is about 1" wider is due to a wider keyboard. The keys are not only larger on the Acer but they seem to have more tactile feedback. The Asus keyboard also has a tiny shift key which often fails to register unless tapped near the center. Asus has just introduced the 904HA which provides a wider keyboard (and wider computer) but uses the same 8.9" screen. The Acer touchpad is unbelievably smooth to the touch although the buttons are located to the sides (allowing larger keyboard). The Asus touchpad is a little larger but rougher finish with conventional button locations below the pad.
(5) Battery life: Acer big 6 cell, Asus smaller 4 cell but the brighter screen on the Acer may negate some of that advantage. I have not run them down on the battery to compare this.
(6) Fit and Finish: The Acer appears slightly better to me with stunning quality external fit and finish (every bit as good as my $2000 Sony Viao). The Asus has cheaper looking power and mouse buttons but a nice glossy black external finish.
Summary: Acer wins in quality of screen, keyboard, touch pad and fit and finish. Asus wins in smaller size and lighter weight and wins big in ease to upgrade memory or hard drive. One more thing: Asus provides a nice custom fit carrying pouch while Acer lets you buy your own from a third party (they only make a large size case).
An Excellent Effort by Asus
Pros: Low Price, Ultra portability, excellent screen resolution and contrast, great performance
Cons: non-full-size keyboard, super-short space bar. (believe it or not, that's all you can be picky about this great product)
Prposed solution for the "cons": external keyboard, mouse, and screen.
Review:
This is my third laptop by Asus. and i have to say, this is the best Asus yet! It has a 1.6GHz CPU with 1GB of memory. more than enough to run Windows XP and daily applications. for those who are worried if the screen is too smaall, dont worry! it has the same pixel-per-square-inch as a normal 12 inch laptop. normally 12-inch laptops have 1280x800 resolution, while the Eee 900HA has 1024x600. as you can calculate, the ratio of the screen sizes is 4:3, and the ratio in number of pixels is also 4:3. as a result, you get smaller viewing area but the same icon and text size.
as for the keyboard, from typing this review entirely on my Eee 900HA, i have to say the short space bar is really to miss. but i will hook it up to n external monitor, keyboard, and mouse normally. it supports up to 1920x1080 for external monitors via a standard D-SUB connection. so that will be the perfect solution.
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the following is my own opinion on why i picked the Eee 900HA over these other commonly compared products:
Asus Eee 900HA vs. Eee900A vs. Eee904HA vs. Acer Aspire One
Same across all 4 products:
Screen: 8.9" 1024x600'
CPu: Intel Atom 1.6GHz
RAM: 1GB
OS: Windows XP Home (I got SP3 with it)
Connectors: VGA (D-SUB)x1, USB2.0 x3, Ethernet x1, SD Card Reader, headphone and mic.
Hard Drive:
Eee900HA: 160GB HDD
Eee900A: 20GB SSD
Eee904HA: 160GB HDD
Acer A1: 120GB HDD
Analysis: the Eee900HA and 904HA wins by having bigger hard drives. while Eee900A wins by having solid state drive which is more shock resistant and provides a longer battery life. and the Acer Aspire One is the least appealing in this category
Battery Life:
Eee900HA: 4 cell, 5-hour officially rated
Eee900A: 4 cell, 7 to 8 hours (from a friend)
Eee904HA: 6 cell, 7-8 hours (approx)
Aspire One: 4 cell, 3-4 hours (from salesperson at a local electronic store)
Analysis: The Eee 900A and the 904HA wins with longest battery life, but they both suffer from a side effect. the Eee900A has a really small hard drive, which makes it hard to act as a real laptop. the Eee904HA results bigger in size to fit the bigger battery. in fact, the size of the 904HA is the same as the size of the Eee1000HA, which has the same spec except a 10" screen (clearly more expensive). The Eee900HA and the Acer Aspire One should have approximately the same battery life since the official rating is with everything turned off.
the ultimate deecision:
If you just want a portable internet/working device and not an actual laptop, go for the Eee900A
if you really need a long battery life, skip 904HA and get the Eee1000HA.
if you need a laptop and the ultra portability but can find a plug at most places you go (like me), go for the Eee900HA(like me)
Best bang for the buck
This is the product that has the best bang for the buck if you are looking for a budget "netbook" with all the latest features: An Atom CPU, large 160GB hard drive, decent battry life (up to 5 hours), webcam, wireless b/g, plus Asus back up a 30days zero bright dot LCD (which means you can get your LCD panel replaced if you find any birght dot - mine does not have any. I think Asus is very confident on this or they might have a lot of returns). The extra 10GB internet storage is not gigantic but is useful for me since it allows multiple users to access it - I use it as a share drive with my friends and it's very useful when you need to share pictures & video with your friends. The screen is plenty bright for me and its 1024x600 screen is great for its size. It works well for watching internet streaming video and surfing the web/ checking emails.
It come with not just a recovery disk, but also a hidden partition for the OS - which means you can reset to factory setting with simply a click away. This is very convenient especially all the netbooks does not come with an optical drive to read the recovery CD.
I loaded Adobe Photo Shop 6.0 and MS Office 2007 and both of them run great not a problem at all. In fact it runs photo shop 6 better than the full size PC I had when I first purchased it several years ago.
At $349 this thing is a steal. I would recommend it to everyone.
