Father's Day Gift Guide

13. ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell Netbook

17 top picks for Dads ready to take a digital leap. Each of these products will help him upgrade to gear that suits his lifestyle.

By Barry Gerber

$429

The ASUS Eee PC 1000 line debuted in early July 2008. The company has been updating Eee 1000 models almost since day one. The 1008HA Seashell is the latest. This Eee’s major claims to fame are its stylish curved case, lithium-polymer battery with six hours claimed run time, 92% of full size keyboard, multi-finger touchpad, nicely placed VGA-out connector and restyled Ethernet port cover.

The 1008 Seashell’s new case design is reminiscent of a rectangular clam shell. It looks great and is pretty gender neutral, so it won’t embarrass the dads on your gift list. The new battery promises more time between charges. Another 1000 model, the 1005HA Seashell is identical to the 1008HA, but has a battery that AUSU claims will deliver 10.5 hours of computing time.

A 92% of full size keyboard puts the 1008HA in the same class as HP’s Mini Notebooks. Dads, except for those with really, really large fingers, should have no trouble touch typing on the 1008HA. The multi-finger touchpad supports scrolling through pages with two fingers, image zooming with iPhone-like finger pinching and a three finger tap that is equivalent to clicking the right button on a mouse.

In redesigning the 1008HA case, ASUS had to deal with two problems, no room for the VGA-out connector on the side of the netbook and the need for a redesigned Ethernet port cover that conforms to the curvy design of the case. Here’s how ASUS solved these two problems.

Other features include: Windows XP Home Edition, an Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz processor, 1 GB of memory, a 160 GB hard drive, 802.11 B/G/N wireless, Gigabit Ethernet, two USB ports and a 4-in-1 media card reader – all in a 2.4 pound package that comes in white, black, blue or pink.