Second detail that caught our eye is the fact that all connectors are covered, which actually can be very useful if you find yourself on a sandy beach. On the left side are located miniVGA and one USB port, while on the right side can be found second USB port, card reader, LAN and audio connectors. ASUS 1008HA is very thin so standard VGA/miniVGA connector is packed at the bottom side, also protected with cover.

Thanks to its thin profile, this netbook weights only 1.1kg, so you won’t have any problems carrying it around. Other two dimensions are slightly larger than usual but thanks to this feature, this netbook has keyboard that is 92% of full sized keyboard. This makes ASUS 1008HA very good netbook for long typing sessions. Keyboard keys in lower rows were little bit noisier on our sample, while as we moved to upper rows noises got less noticeable. Touch pad is unusual, “hidden” in palm rest and only marked with tiny embedded dots. This is similar to solution already seen on ASUS K50IN model. Button below touchpad can be used to locate touchpad itself in poor light conditions. Sensitivity is very good but since there are no distinctive edges, on several occasions we started movement on right edge that is dedicated to multi-touch functionality and endless scroll function. Touch pad button is almost silent if pressed closer to both ends and little bit noisier when pressed closer to middle position, but still very quiet. In upper left corner is located “rocker” button: left segment is used as wireless switch and right as touch pad control (on/off).

At the beginning of testing, we were very concerned about two features: glare display and relatively small 3-cell battery. After some time spent with ASUS 1008HA, it was obvious that we underestimated this “little guy” in both cases. Picture on display is surprisingly clear and with good contrast, even when looked under bright sunlight. OK, there are a lot of reflections but that can be overcome with focusing. Bottom line is: ASUS 10088HA has best glare display that we saw so far on any notebook or netbook when it comes to usage on bright and sunny day. With LED backlight, 10-inch diagonal and 1024x600 resolution, you cannot ask much more than that. Viewing angles are also good.

Netbooks in general don’t have huge power consumption, but some differences does exist among variety of models present at the market today. When it comes to ASUS 1008HA, its power consumption is very, very low. Under minimal consumption, such as reading text, this model provides autonomy of over 5 hours. Battery is nicely packed inside the casing, which means that you won’t be able to take it out yourself. This operation is reserved only for authorized service personnel. Small dimensions, after all, had some influence on this “feature”. On the other side, cooling system is very good considering dimensions, so is does its job nicely and quietly.

This netbook is based on “standard” netbook components with Intel Atom N280 CPU having the main role. Interesting option present in this model is CPU overclock feature that raises CPU clock from 1.67 up to 1.7GHz. Performance gains are minimal, but this is still an interesting option. Hard drive is one of the fastest in netbook class, with capacity determined by Intel and Microsoft. Speakers are louder than most other similar netbook models. Webcam is solid. Our model came with Windows XP Home operating system.