Score a 10-inch Asus Netbook for $239.99

This 10-inch Netbook is loaded, and it sells for a mere $239.99 (with coupon).

(Credit: Mwave)

I'll cop to posting a lot of Netbook deals these days, but that's only because the deals just keep getting better. Witness Mwave's latest: a refurbished Asus Eee PC 1005HAB 10-inch Netbook for $239.99 shipped.

(Don't be alarmed when you see $249.99 on the product page. You need to apply coupon code FALLSVG09 to get the lower price.)

This midnight-blue Eee PC sports a 10-inch screen (which I consider the minimum for computing comfort) and the usual core-spec suspects: a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and Windows XP Home.

The Eee also features a Webcam, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and a multitouch touch pad, so it's actually a bit ahead of the curve, spec-wise. Only the three-cell battery disappoints, though Asus promises better than 4 hours of runtime.

Because this is a refurb, the warranty tops out at 90 days. (Also, take note of Mwave's return policy: the Eee can't be returned for a refund, only exchanged for a replacement if it's defective.)

Consequently, you might actually be better off with last week's $279.99 Acer Aspire One, which is new and has an 11.6-inch screen.

Still, not everybody who wants a Netbook wants a Netbook that big, and $40 saved is $40 saved. (How profound am I this morning!) I just think it's remarkable how much further your Netbook dollar goes than it did just six months ago.

[Mr_fleabite]

"Don't be alarmed when you see $249.99 on the product page."

I like how you have to cut people off before they have the chance to jump on you about the specifics of the deals now. I guess so many people get excited and only read the first 1/3rd of your posts.

How about some deals on PC and netbook ram Rick, people often upgrade from the 1GB to 2GB.

[rickbroida]

Excellent idea! I'll look into that.

[C433Z]

Oh no! Rick was off by 10 WHOLE dollars!

haha

[bmgoodman]

I don't find refurbished to be "deals" at all because so few failed units are really properly tested before being resold. At least that is my experience.

[ywkhgqo]

I've had the exact opposite experience. Refurbished means a human being has actually opened it up and fixed it. Its not just pumped out by a machine.

[illegallydead]

I agree with ymkhgqo: The fact that it is a refurb means that anything that likely would have gone wrong has gone wrong, is fixed, and has had the chance to be looked over by a real and actual human before being re-certified... Sure some companies do a better job of this process than others, but Asus has a decent reputation, doesn't it?

[grandamster]

I would appreciate it if you mentioned whether or not these deals are available outside of the United States. It is quite disappointing when you see something that looks too good to be true only to find out you can't get the deal anyway as the supplier does not ship outside of the U.S.A. I live in Canada.

[rickbroida]

Unfortunately, the sad fact is that most of the deals I post are U.S.-only. There's little I can do about that, and I'm afraid it would be impossible for me to investigate and include worldwide-availability info with each post. Here's hoping more vendors will start offering their deals to overseas customers!

[Scott B.]

I bought the eee901 from Mwave for $189 in August. First one had a defective keyboard, returned, took 3 weeks for a replacement; but they made good and it's working fine.
Just be patient with the refurb stream. There's usually a reason, but it often works out fine.

[bob32818--2008]

Thanks for the heads up. Just got myself one.
This is a excellent CNET service.

[jon345111]

I think it would be safe assumption by this point if someone was going to purchase a netbook via the cheapskate they would have by now. I look forward to your blog everyday, but there has been at least one netbook deal a week for quite a while., give us something unique tomorrow!

<3 always

[rickbroida]

As I said, I know I've done a lot of netbooks lately, but that's where all the hot, hot deal action is these days. When I see something that beats a previous deal, I just have to post it. That said, if everyone agrees with jon, let me know and I'll try to curtail my netbook enthusiasm. :)

[z06kat]

I definitely DISAGREE with jon. Keep doing things the way you're doing things. I know plenty of people still looking for a solid netbook at a reasonable price. Thanks for your hard work!

[PeteyBrian]

Rick - Just keep 'em coming. Can't keep everyone happy! Unique products are great! Lots of people including myself are looking for the "perfect" netbook deal. I just can't wait until the next Dell "Wasabi" type deal comes up next!!! Ha ha!

[JDawg1983]

I disagree with john. Keep the netbooks coming! I'm looking for an ultra mobile. maybe a 9 incher with a solid state drive and long battery life. Probably will end up running some version of linux. You da man Rick!

[heulenwolf]

I bought one of these this summer for $300 at Best Buy. I really like it and recommend it as long as you know what you're getting into with a netbook. Its slick that they've scaled the power adapter size down the same way they have the netbook. It seems to have the same super-high contrast screen you'l find celebrated in the 1005HA reviews (e.g. http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-eee-pc-1005ha/4505-3121_7-33698049.html?tag=mncol;lst ) but not the other great features of the 1005HA such as the bigger battery, bluetooth, or newer Atom processor.

A few other notes:
1) Although the 1005HAB has N-WiFi, I never see it get above 65 Mbits connection speed to my Apple Time Capsule. Other windows machines with N show 270 Mbit connection speeds to the same router. I'm not sure why that is.
2) The included battery provides decent life but not the excellent life of the 1005HA. When recently trying to use it as a movie watching machine (playing movies encoded in MP4 with handbrake) on a flight, I didn't quite make it through the first movie before the battery died. If you want to use it that way, I've read you can buy an upgraded battery for ~$50.
3) The touchpad's scrolling feature seems to have some trouble with Google Maps. I'm not sure whether there's a driver update to fix or not, but on that site, the world just keeps spinning uncontrollably until I disable the touchpad and use an external mouse.

[misshellau]

I agree wholehearedly.
I am in Australia and frequently see AMAZING deals online.... only to find that they are only available in the USA. To coin an Aussie saying ... "It makes you feel like you live in the ass end of beyond"
All I want is 2 netbooks for my teenage kids, for school as they are so very portable, and so they stay off my laptop! They'd use it for school work, myspace and facebook, some mobsters thing, and the netbook seems able to cope with all of those desires.... ah well, now if only I lived somewhere I could get am amazing deal.

[the_iceman]

10" is the perfect size for a netbook. 1GB of Ram isnt enough and I'd rather it come w/ windows 7, good price point though

[BunnyBuns]

My experience with refurbished has been nothing but positive. Among other things, I've bought two refurbished laptops, a desktop, several digital cameras, even my cars are second hand. I've never had a problem with any of the items, they've all worked perfectly. I've saved a lot of money and been able to buy higher end, better quality products than I could ever afford new. Though most come with limited warranties (if any), there are very affordable, trustworthy third party warranties you can buy to protect your purchases, if you feel the need.