Basic Specifications:
10.1″ 1024 x 600 display;
1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU with Intel NM10, GMA3150;
2GB RAM;
250GB HDD + 500GB ASUS Online WebStorage;
Windows 7 Starter;
Weight: 1.13kg(without the Asus Eee PC 1008P charger);
802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, Gigabit LAN;
2 x USB, 1.3MP webcam, card reader, Mini VGA port, mic and headphone out;
3-cell battery (5.5 hour battery life).
Asus calls it digi-wave and it does not disappoint. The cover feels great in your hands and it gives a much more prestigious look than the ubiquitous gloss finish that every other netbook uses. Furthermore, if you are keen on the masculine-feminine character of your gadgets, you have two colors to choose from: a matte coffee brown for the guys, and a hot, glossy, pink for the girls.
The 10.in screen is not only annoyingly reflective, but has rather limited brightness and contrast. Asus probably won't be the last company to fit a low-grade screen to a netbook, but it's perhaps more disappointing to find one here on a more design-conscious machine Asus Eee PC 1005HA charger. And we found the desktop experience was hindered further by the choice of desktop wallpaper.
The Eee PC 1008P's screen is nice to read text on and watch online videos. The isolated keyboard sports tightly packed keys which don't flex and provide good feedback--typing on the Eee PC 1008P's keyboard is comfortable. Its gesture-enabled touchpad is nicely textured--this helps a lot while navigating the mouse on the screen, in terms of feedback. The single strip mouse button takes a little time getting used to, though. Audio from the Eee PC 1008P's onboard speakers isn't very great, but plug in a pair of headphones and it's as good as sound from any other netbook.
Like the standard Seashell netbooks, this 1008P also features Express Gate -- an alternative Asus Eee PC 1201K charger graphical user interface that's less capable but boots far more quickly than Windows 7. Hit the alternative power button to the top left of the keyboard and you'll be given access to a Web browser, instant-messaging client and multimedia files in under 10 seconds.
Lift the Eee PC 1008P’s lid and the inside is just as good-looking as the outside, although it’s a good deal tamer. There’s a near full-size (around 90%) Scrabble tile keyboard with good size keys, and it feels solid across its whole width. The multi-touch trackpad is nice and large too, and although it’s simply a slightly textured part of the plastic palm-rest, the matte finish means that it works smoothly under a Asus Eee PC 1201T adapter sweaty fingertip.
The thing is, while integrated graphics chips like the one in the 1008P often help conserve battery life, that's not really the case here. Asus ships the 1008P with just a three-cell battery, and no six-cell upgrade is available. During our strenuous battery-rundown test, in which we stream video wirelessly until the battery dies, the 1008P lasted only 2 hours and 49 minutes. We typically expect closer to five hours for a netbook, so this is a disappointment. You can buy an additional three-cell battery for $50.
Overall it's the externals rather than the spec of this machine that makes it special and while it delivers on the designer look and feel, you'll have to really be concerned with Asus Eee PC 1215 charger appearances to justify paying the £50 premium over the standard Asus Seashell.
