Asus Eee PC 1005 HAB battery question

Hello all,

I recently bought my wife an Eee PC 1005 HAB (from best buy) for $220, on sale.

For those that don't know, the HAB model is essentially the same as the 1005 HA model that retails for ~$350 except instead of a 6 cell battery (8.5 hr life) it has a 3 cell battery (3-4 hr life).

So my wife gets between 3 - 3.5 hrs on her battery with mild-moderate usage.

She is quite happy with the battery life for now, but my question is, if we wanted to upgrade batteries in the future, is the 1005 HAB model compatible with the 6 cell batteries on sale for the 1005 HA model?

The 6 cell batteries can be bought on ebay for about $80. I am not sure I really want to spend that much right now, but if I were to buy it later, I want to make sure that someone has tried this and knows it works before I do it as I cannot return the battery once bought on ebay.

 

There aren't a lot of people around here that go down as far as the inexpensive 3-cell -HAB models at BBuy... it's an enthusiast forum, after all .

That being said, having a look at my -VUX1 mid-level version of the 1005 I firmly believe that the -HAB model should handle the 6 cell battery as there appear to be no differences in the external chassis or connection points for any of the 1005 models at the present time (that may change later as Asus updates the model, however).

Where you might run into trouble is that a lot of batteries on Ebay are aftermarket non-OEM product which either aren't always manufactured to original spec and/or might not contain the proper internal electronics that Asus is using to obtain their very good battery life -- what that means is that the new battery, while still 6-cell, may not perform at the same level as an OEM-original Asus battery. In the end, you get what you pay for.... spend more @ Asus, probably get a better performing battery .

 

When looking into buying any non-OEM stuff, I suggest you use www.feedbackselector.com to help you decide. It's a filter for ebay feedback. First you look for the item you need, then copy the seller name and relevant keywords from the item title to feedback selector, and let it do it's job. Then you can sort of get "mini reviews" for that specific product.

 

I just purchased a 6 cell battery for my PC 1005HAB and I now have 7 hr battery life
I got it on Ebay - ordered 3 weeks ago from Hong Kong and I just installed it, charged it and it shows 7 hrs battery life. I am pleased.

The Ebay reference is
6Cell NEW ASUS Eee PC 1005 HA 1001P Battery AL32-1005
and it cost $37.98 shipping included.

 

I would stay away from getting any electronics from China from eBay personally. The rash of aftermarket, grey market, and just fake electronics is getting pretty bad.

Try the ASUS e-store or asusparts.eu instead. You may pay a little more but you're getting the right part for sure.