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The Ultimate Netbook Buyer's Guide
| Author | Andy Vandervell |
| Published | 20th Nov 2008 |
19 comments
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TrustedReviews NewslettersAsus Eee PC 904HD
UK Price: From £230 to £265
US Price: $300
Brief Description:
Something cooked up, we can only imagine, to get rid of a few spare Celeron processors Asus had knocking about the office, the 904HD is very weird. Basically, Asus took the Eee PC 1000, removed the Atom processor and the 10in screen and replaced them with a Celeron and an 8.9in screen. This is joined by a six-cell battery, but there's no Draft-N Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth and the WebCam has been downgraded, too.
Vital Statistics:
- CPU: Intel Celeron M 900MHz
- Memory: 1GB DDR2
- Storage: 80GB HDD
- Display: 8.9in, 1,024 x 600
- Ports: 3xUSB 2.0; VGA; Headphone & Microphone; Ethernet; Memory Card Reader
- Internet: 802.11b/g; 10/100 Ethernet
- Bluetooth: No
- WebCam: 0.3 Megapixel
- Operating System:: Windows XP
- Dimensions: 266 x 191 x 38 mm
- Weight: 1.36kg
- Colours: White & Black
- Battery Life: 4-5 hours
The Good:
- Good battery life
- Can be found cheaply
- Reasonable keyboard
The Bad:
- Same problems as the Eee PC 1000
- Limited Availability
- Inferior processor
- Not cheap everywhere
The Ugly:
- Big black bezel around screen
What We Think
This is a great example of Asus' confused netbook strategy. Quite what it was trying to achieve we're not sure, but you can guarantee a few people have probably looked for "one of those Eee things" and ended up with a 904HD. Bizarrely, provided you can get it cheap - around £230 - it's not a terrible purchase and you'll get pretty good battery life. However, at the £265 price-point seen elsewhere, its value is more dubious - especially given the sluggish performance of its old CPU.
The Bottom Line
An odd compilation of components, the 904HD might be worth considering, but you should weigh up your options carefully first.
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pw said on 9th December 2008
Prospero said on 22nd December 2008
Very useful review - one question please: Can I replace the custom o/s with Ubuntu without losing any functionality?
Chupakun said on 11th May 2009
Loved the feature. I really wish a company would come out with true netbook customisation options--so all we'd have do was pick 'n' mix as opposed to making it a gam... more
modus said on 13th July 2009
The Asus EEE PC 1000HE (http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2009/02/12/Asus-Eee-PC-1000HE/p1) has a few significant improvements over its predecessor, the EEE PC 1000H -- ... more
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I'm a bit new to netbooks. I've got an old laptop and am about to upgrade and so after a few clarifications.
I mostly just use the laptop for browsing int... more