Asus Flashes Pearly Whites with Sea-Shell-Inspired Eee

The 1008HA features a paint job seemingly lifted from an Escalade, a slim profile, and new array of connectivity options.

While other companies are turning their netbooks into Transformers, Asus is continuing down the road toward more compact, more powerful netbooks, and adding some style along the way. On Tuesday the company used CeBIT to unveil its Eee 1008HA netbook, known informally as the Sea Shell.

As they did with the S101, Asus designers have concentrated on increasing the netbook’s sex appeal with the 1008HA’s sea-shell inspired pearlescent paint job. Given this white finish and slim, rounded-edge profile, it might even be mistaken for a shrunken MacBook Air in passing.

As the model number would suggest, the 1008HA will fall into the 10-inch screen category, with a profile that measures one inch thick from the side, and a weight of 1.1kg, or 2.4 pounds. Asus claims the keyboard on the inch-thick Sea Shell will be 92 percent of full-size keyboard – a welcome relief for fat-fingered typers.

Not much will change inside, with the main news coming in terms of connectivity. Besides the usual slate of Wi-Fi standards and Bluetooth, the 1008HA will likely boast both 3.75G, and WiMAX connectivity as well.

Currently, the 1008HA remains a concept, with no price, release date, or full specs from Asus.