ASUS Eee PC 900HA User Review

by Philip Cody

The ASUS Eee PC 900HA is ASUS's latest 9" Eee PC model. It has the same small form factor as the previous 900 model but replaces the Solid State Drive with a 160GB hard drive. The previous 900 had a Linux and Windows XP version while the 900HA is only Windows XP. The Eee PC 901 and 904 are also 9" models but they have a significantly bigger chassis. As you will see the 900HA is a lot of netbook for only $350.

ASUS Eee PC 900HA Specifications:

Intel Atom 1.6 GHz processor

160GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive (Seagate Momentus 5400.4)

1GB of DDR2 RAM (667MHz)

Windows XP Home Edition Operating System

9" WSVGA LED-Backlit 1024 x 600 LCD

Ports: Three USB 2.0, 1 VGA monitor out, headphone jack, microphone input, SD card reader (SDHC compatible), Kensington lock slot, Ethernet 10/100

Webcam (.3 MP)

Battery: 7.4v 5200mAh 4-cell battery (39Wh)

Wireless: 802.11b/g (Atheros AR5007EG)

One-year warranty

Size: 8.86 (W) x 6.69 (D) x .79 ~ 1.33 (H)

Weight: 2 lbs 7 oz

Build and Design

The design of the 900HA is very similar to the 900 SSD versions. The width and depth dimensions are identical to the 900. While the 900HA has the same minimum and maximum height dimensions as the 900, the 900HA has more of its chassis at (or near) the maximum height. It feels thicker than the 900. There are some 10" netbooks that are thicker. The 900HA has a glossy lid which looks very nice (when clean) though it is a fingerprint magnet. Thankfully the only part of the netbook that is glossy is the lid. When comparing the 900HA to my 701 4G it amazes me that they kept it this small and fit a 9" screen and user accessible 2.5" hard drive in it. The 900HA is the smallest 9" netbook available with a hard drive.

Build quality is excellent. This is a very solid little netbook. The hinge is very substantial and screen stays well in place where ever it is open to. There is very little flex in the palm rests and the screen. There is significantly less flex in the 900HA than the 701.

The user serviceable components of the 900HA are mostly accessible via a panel on the bottom. The hard drive and RAM is accessible via the panel and the wireless card (in case you want to change to a/g/n card) can be changed by taking apart the netbook. The hard drive is very easy to change and has an ingenious design where the bottom panel screws also lock the hard drive in place. I upgraded the 900HA to 2GB of RAM and a 7,200 rpm 320GB hard drive with no issues.

Display

The 9” LED-backlit display is very nice with saturated colors and very good contrast. It is very easy for me to view the screen for long stretches of time. White levels are good but on the bluer side. The screen is matte and is anti-glare which makes it much easier to use while in the car during the day or other areas where there is lots of light. The downside of the anti-glare coating is that there is a graininess that is apparent in some instances. This graininess is not as bad as some other anti-glare displays that I have seen and is only noticeable if you really look for it. While backlight levels are higher than the original 701 and 900 at maximum brightness they are still not as high as I would like them. Backlight bleed through is very minimal with 900HA and is in fact much better than some much more expensive displays that I have viewed. Viewing angles on the 900HA are also excellent. Horizontal viewing angles are remarkable; colors do not get washed out dramatically or inverted. Vertical viewing is also very good though I noticed colors getting inverted when looking at extreme angle with screen tilted away from me.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard is very nice and has very little flex. The left part of the keyboard has more flex and you can tell the keys have a bit more travel than the rest of the keyboard. Key wiggle is very minimal. I like the keyboard of the 900HA better than the 701 and 900. It is configured differently than the 701 and 900 and it is also wider. The keyboard is about a 1/4 inch wider on the 900HA than 701 and 900. I measured the letter keys and they are a tad wider than the 701. The space bar is shorter on the 900HA because they added a right ctrl key. The left tab, caps lock, and left shift are bigger on the 900HA than 701/900. The grave accent/tilde key is to the left of the 1 key as well on the 900HA. The letters are also printed bigger on the keys so they are easier to see. It is still obviously not the same as typing on a full size keyboard but to me it is improved over the 701/900. The shorter space bar does take some getting used to. I sometimes do not get a space when I press the very right edge of my space bar.

The touchpad on the 900HA is an Elantech touchpad and it works very well. I found that it performed even better after I downloaded the latest drivers. I do not have any issues with lag or multi-touch features. I have no problems with touchpad interfering with typing. Finger taps work very well for one, two, and three fingers. Other features of touchpad on 900HA include scrolling, zooming, and drag and drop. Scrolling works great in both Firefox 3 and Internet Explorer 7. Scrolling did not work well in Firefox until I updated touchpad drivers. The single rocker style button for left and right click was very stiff when I first got the 900HA but improved nicely over the first week of use.

Operating Systems and Software

The 900HA comes preinstalled with Windows XP Home Edition ULCPC (SP3). It runs very well on the 900HA. Boot time is about 30 seconds. Applications that are included are Microsoft Works, Windows Live!, InterVideo WinDVD, Skype, Adobe Reader, and Eee Storage. There is no trial anti-virus software installed.

I installed Vista Ultimate on the 900HA and it runs surprisingly well. Boot time is around 50 seconds with stock configuration and about 40 seconds after upgrading to 2GB of RAM. I’m running Aero and it runs with no issues. All hardware is running well including the function keys. Performance when running applications seems about the same as XP. Gaming performance in Vista is a bit better than in XP. I also get better battery time on Vista than XP.

Performance and Benchmarks

System performance is very good. I have used a SSD version of the 900 and performance and battery time was less than impressive. Having the Atom processor and a hard drive (and a fast one) really improves the netbook experience. The Seagate Momentus 5400.4 that comes in the 900HA is one of the better 5,400 rpm notebook drives. Applications open quickly and run very well. I have run Photoshop CS3, Lightroom 2, Office 2007, etc. and they all run great. I play h264 videos at DVD resolution (848x480) and they run perfectly even when full screen. Even 720p videos can be played with the right software (and in super performance mode). Gaming with the integrated graphics (GMA950) on the 900HA works well as long as you are running older games (pre 2004). I play the original Call of Duty on the 900HA and it runs great at maximum settings. I have played other games with the Quake III engine and they play great as well.

wPrime 32M @ 1.6GHz – 123.391 seconds

wPrime 32M @ 1.67GHz (high performance mode) – 117.314 seconds

PCMark05 @ 1.6GHz – 1,564

3DMark03 @ 1.6GHz - 747

HDTune results:

HDTach results:

Windows Experience Index:

Speakers and Audio<o></o>

The speakers on the 900HA are quite loud for a netbook. The 900HA is louder than the 701 and 900. The 900HA is even louder than my 15.5" notebook (ASUS S96j). I suspect that ASUS used larger speakers with the thicker chassis. While the speakers are louder there is some distortion at loudest setting. Not surprisingly there is very little low end to speak of. The speakers are on the underside so if the netbook is on your lap the sound can get muffled. Audio does sound excellent through headphone jack with a good set of head phones.

Ports and Features

The 900HA includes three USB 2.0 ports, 1 VGA monitor out, a headphone jack, a microphone input, a SD card reader (SDHC compatible), a Kensington lock slot, and an Ethernet 10/100 jack. There are no caps lock or num lock indicator lights.

Front: Activity lights (power, battery, hard drive, and wireless)

Rear: Battery and AC Power

Left: LAN, one USB, Headphone, and Mic

Right: Kensington Lock slot, VGA, two USB, and SD card reader.

Heat and Noise

There is very little heat and noise with normal activity. The fan is usually at 30% and may kick up to 60% when I&rsquo;m doing more intensive activities. Having a hard drive has not added a lot of heat. I can have the 900HA on my lap with no issues. I hardly ever hear the fan or the hard drive. When the fan goes up to 60% I can hear it but it is not annoying.

Wireless

The 900HA uses the Atheros AR5007EG wireless module and performance is excellent for a budget netbook. I can maintain a connection anywhere in my home or yard. I can also see 3 other wireless connections from my neighbors while I&rsquo;m in my house.

Battery Life

Battery life on the 900HA is good. At 100% brightness and wireless off I get about 4 hours 20 minutes of light use (word processor and reading). At 30 - 50% brightness and wireless off I imagine you could get 5 hours. At 70% brightness and wireless off I get 3 hours and 45 minutes of video playback at full screen. The 900HA battery is a 5200mAh 4-cell battery (39Wh). It is a shame that they did not use the same 5,800 mAh battery that they did on the 900, the battery time would be even better. The 900 battery will not fit on the 900HA. Some other 10" netbooks that compete with the 900HA have worse batteries. Battery time decreased a tad when I upgraded to the 7,200 rpm 320GB hard drive (mainly when watching videos).

Conclusion

The ASUS Eee PC 900HA is a pleasure to use. It addresses all the issues I had with the 701 and 900. It is small and light enough that it is easy to bring anywhere. In the past sacrifices had to be made to have a netbook this small. This is no longer the case. Having the hard drive lets it perform significantly better with a mainstream OS and also makes it much more useful. It is so nice to have a netbook this size that I can bring copious amounts of movies, audio books, and music with me. Also, there are situations where in the past I had to lug around my full size notebook but I will no longer have to (like off-loading photos from memory cards on vacation). My full-size notebook is traveling with me a lot less these days.

Pros:

Inexpensive

Great small form factor

Nice display

Very good performance in Windows XP and Windows Vista

Speedy and roomy hard drive

Good battery life

Cons:

Thicker than other similar size netbooks

No wireless N or Bluetooth

No other colors and/or non glossy lid available (though white is now available in some regions)

 

good review

 

Wow... I want one...

I think 9" makes the most sense for a Netbook... At 10", I'd rather have a Sony TZ 11" model... 9" is perfect though...

Think of how much better a deal this is compared to the original EEEPC with a 7" screen and 8GB harddrive.

 

I'm glad they gave the 900 series a HDD option. Now if only they didn't have to "glossify" the lid when the previous 900 series' were matte. What is with this glossy obsession with notebook lid especially. I'm sure even the consumers prefer matte surfaces when even if glossy surfaces look nicer, they will get uglier very fast without constantly cleaning it.

That's interesting to see the previous 900 series batteries don't work in the 900HA, they just don't fit? They seem to have the exact same design, I guess they changed the battery latches or something.

 

Apparently the connection part is different. I did not test myself but saw on a another video review (dining table review) comparing the 900 to 900HA. It is very odd that Asus did this...

Here is link to the very well done dining table review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASi_LvtvPAM

 

Good review and a good read - Thanks! I still haven't scratched my 1000HA yet - but do you know if the glossy finish on these newer Eee's is scratch-resistant like the H-P's?

 

Thanks for this review. I was thinking about getting a 900HA and now I'm sold.

 

If I was in the market, this would be the netbook I'd get. However, at this point, I won't be buying another netbook until they hit that, magical, 200-250 dollar range.

 

Actually, you can get one of these near that magical 250 dollar range by buying on Ebay using the Live cash back. It ends up near 245 if I'm not mistaken. Sorry if I make you spend 250 dollars now...

 

Don't need one. I have a Mini 9, that I got for way under 250... or 200 for that matter.

 

Nice review. I had ignored the deluge of EEE models of late, so its nice to see they're hitting the mark with some machines. 4-cell battery and 160GB hard drive at $350 is nicer than 3-cell with the AAO 120GB.

 

Nice small netbookk with great price..
J & R is selling one for $319 right now..
With Live Cash back & Bill me later rebate..
it could be had for under $300.. that would be nice..

 

Great Review, Vista appears to look pretty good on the EEE.

 

I agree entirely, glossy surfaces are never a good thing when they are usually in contact with hands and fingers. Perhaps people like the glossy look, appearance of higher value than it normally is as when compared to matte.

 

Single RAM sodimm right?

Would snag one of these given the Live Cashback eBay deals if it came in white... -_-

 

Yea, one more of gzillions of variants of the Asus EEE line. Not meant as a critique so many variants everybody should find its optimal one. Though buying exactly the one that is perfect might become a difficult.

What I never understood though is why Asus goes for the 2.5" harddrives, rather than 1.8" drives. One point of a netbook is being small and light. Neither 900HA nor the 1000H (10" screen with HDD) is realy light. Especially the 900HA should profit from the saved weight, but even the 1000HA would.

I personally am a great fan of my 1000HA for that matter. Optimal size I would say. 11" would be to big, the 9" keyboards are just to small for my fingers...
And I value the look battery time too. Well the perfect netbook would be a S101 with a 80Gb 1.8' harddrive and a 6Cell battery, but there is always something
M.

 

Thanks for the review. I might get one of these

 

Great review, photo's and such

The netbooks are becoming ever increasingly popular!

It's not too bad! And, with Vista


Cin

 

If I could have a penny for everyone who I've seen moaning about the white-only NC10.

 

Finally something that's comparable specs/price-wise to the Aspire One.

 

Very true though the 900HA has some advantages over the AOA150 (the 120gb hd version of Aspire One):

1. Significantly smaller chassis. The Aspire One is an inch wider than 900HA.
2. Better battery. The Aspire One has a 3 cell 2,200 mAh battery with 23Wh. The 900HA has a 4 cell 5,200 mAh battery with 39 Wh. You can get a version of the Aspire One with a 6 cell battery but it adds more bulk and sticks out the back.
3. Hard drive is larger and significantly faster.
4. User replaceable hard drive and ram via panel. The Aspire One has to be disassembled to change hard drive and ram.
4. ASUS quality.

 

nice review,thx!

 

Yes, the Acer has a wider case, but that also gives it room for a more spacious keyboard compared to the EEE 900 series.

 

Although the White is nice, most likely in a few years it will become yellow-white as most eventually do. It certainly is nice when new, but not worth the $100+ premium over the Black. I know, it's the "Boutique Look."

 

Very nice review. I'm trying to decide what to get in a month or two... it's a tough decision between the Samsung NC10 which gets everything right, at least for what I'm looking for... or the Asus 900HA for $170 less... Still up for consideration though is the 6-cell AAO, but from the looks of it, the $70 cheaper 900HA does pretty well on battery as well. I don't know if I would need more than 3-4 hours, although I'm sure it wouldn't hurt.

Edit: I'm just wondering how Asus gets to their claim of 5.9 hours of battery life on this netbook... I'm wondering if you could use it with ~30-50% brightness with wireless off, how long you could get.

 

Great review.

Here were my experiences (mostly critical, but overall I love it)...


The HDD is fast and spacious, but I could do without the noise.

With my 701, I could use EeeCTL to turn down the fan and enjoy a truly silent computing experience. But with the 900HA, there's always the spin of the hard drive and the occasional annoying seek noise that occurs whenever I read or write to the disk. It's no worse than any other laptop hard drive, but I got accustomed to silent SSD, and now I'm finding the familiar noises to be distracting at times.

But noise aside, the fan is very soft and generally stays at around 30%-40% when not doing anything processor intensive. It's inaudible over the noise of the hard drive spinning. The processor does heat up quickly when in Super Performance Mode and under heavy load, though.


The processor is slow compared to fully loaded laptops, but plenty fast enough for me.

Contrary to what many are saying still (mostly trolls), the N270 is faster than the 353 at all tasks. I have found no benchmark or program that performs slower on my 900HA compared to my 701 4G. I can play back HD 720 videos on an external 1440x900 monitor at full screen without any dropped frames, unless I'm doing something in the background or running on a lower power scheme. The only program I've had compatibility issues with is Adobe Bridge (which I never use anyway), and all this did was tell me I didn't have a P4 / Core / Core 2 processor. It still worked. But when it comes to netbook use (browsing, emailing, chatting), it's very speedy and can even multitask at 800MHz.


The touchpad drivers are horrible.

Until now, I have never used a modern laptop that doesn't let you change touchpad sensitivity. Elantec 5.0.0.5 driver permits extremely limited multitouch and tapping gestures, and that's all. Version 7.0.3.9 installs fine without any problems, and contains a wealth of settings and gestures, but once installed, the touchpad doesn't work. Only lousy "unified" drivers will install on unsupported hardware, and only a lousy company will release drivers that are this pathetic. ASUS really needs to get on Elantec to release an updated touchpad driver that is compatible with the 900HA.

Aside from the extremely limited utility, the touchpad also suffers from off-target-taps. Many of use rely on tapping instead of clicking. It's more convenient and it's also quieter. But on my 900HA, roughly 5% of all taps are off mark. Meaning if I move my mouse to the HOME link above, and I tap, my click might be made on the User CP link. Off-target-taps are usually several pixels below my intended target, and it can get quite annoying.

Oh, and for those that are having multitouch scrolling issues in FireFox, make sure "disable when keying" is unchecked in the tapping settings of the Elantec touchpad utility. Another driver glitch.


Speakers are loud, but muffled and distorted.

The speakers are definitely more powerful than those on the 701, but they aren't pointing right at you. Instead, they are on the bottom, so they can be muffled if on your lap. On a flat solid surface (like a desk), the sound bounces off the surface and reflects nicely without too much muffling. But if you crank up the volume too much, you will notice distortion (and no, Realtek equalizer is not on- if it is, it's even worse).

The Microphone works very well and is located at a much better spot than the 701 (to the left of the webcam instead of on the bottom), but people on the "other end" say they can hear static very badly. Enabling Noise Suppression and Acoustic Echo Cancellation actually works very well.


The 900HA is the best value.

I paid $261.75 shipped for my 900HA after Microsoft 25% cashback. I bought it on eBay from a reputable ASUS reseller (ExcaliberPC). The closest competition at this price is the Acer Aspire ONE, which features a slower and lower capacity 120GB HDD and the same size screen (8.9") in a larger 10" package. It's also a pain to disassemble. The fact that the 900HA has stayed true to the original design and footprint (size does matter), and has upgraded just about everything has made this model the best value in my book. The 901 was a great alternative, but at +$100, I didn't feel its added features were worth all that much. And the 10" models were just a little too big for my liking.


In conclusion, it's the best value, the best performing in its class, and the smallest netbook that comes equipped with a hard drive. I loved my 701 but was getting tired of the small SSD and small screen. Now that I have a screen and hard drive that fits my needs without sacrificing a small footprint, I'm very happy.

 

Kubel,

Good comments!

I'm using 7.0.3.8 Elantech drivers and I have none of the issues you are referring to with the touchpad. I have not had a need for changing the touchpad sensitivity because it works very well for me at its currents sensitivity. I have never had an off-target tap. With the 7.0.3.8 drivers I also do not need to uncheck "disable when keying" to make scrolling work is Firefox.

 

I have the 900HA and while I do think its a great deal, it has faults.
My main gripe is the keyboard.
The right upper side of the keyboard has major flex.
The worst is the space key.
Its so aweful that I'm contenplating on getting the Samsung nc10.
I use my right thumb for the space key(so does everyone else) and I always tend to press the edge of the space key and everyone who has a 900ha knows that pressing the edge of the space key does not work.
I keep having to go back after realizing there is no space between the words.
Its beyong irritating.
And as someone mentioned before, the touchpad is kinda flaky but I'll update the driver and see if that will solve the problem.

I got an email from Paypal for 15%(plus the 25% MS cash back) ebay so I will probably get the Samsung nc10 just to try it out.
The Samsung has a wider footprint but of course better keyboard, better battery and weight almost the same(2.8 vs 2.7).

 

Very nice review.

 

Kudos on the review, but my eeePC recommendation goes to the 904HA. It shares a chassis with the 1000, so the keyboard is a bit bigger than the other 900 series models. It also sports a 6-cell battery and a 160GB HDD.

The 904HA is only about $20 - $30 more than the 900HA. Money well spent, I would say. The better keyboard alone is worth the price of admission, and the longer battery life is the icing on the cake.

 

thanks to your review i picked one up on ebay with the microsoft cashback for 244$
cheers

 

I've made the 900ha my forth netbook purchase. I really love my Mini 9. However, for the first time in my life, I actually need a webcam, which my I9 is lacking. I'm taking the need for the webcam as an opportunity to try out a different model of netbook.

Aside from the LCD and the storage, I really liked my 701 4G. Obviously, the 900ha takes care of both of these issues. So, I should be a happy camper.

Now I just have to unload my Mini 9...