Why Does Asus Discriminate Against People Who Prefer Matte LCD Displays on Netbooks?

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

I’ve been thinking about which netbook to buy next. I’m leaning towards either the Asus Eee PC T91 touchscreen netbook or a Dell Mini 10 with an HD display. So, I didn’t expect to find much personal interest in this item from EeeUser.com…

Customising Your 1000HE and the 1005HA Arrives

But, I was wrong… Martin points out that two version of the 1005HA are available in Amazon: One has a matte LCD display while the other has a glossy display. That sounds great so far since many people prefer one display type over the other. So, that’s that, right? Choose a display type and you’re done. But, no. Asus, or perhaps Amazon’s buyer, decided these two models would have other significant differences.

1005HA VU1X: $349.99. Matte LCD display. 8.5-hour battery life. Atom N270 processor

1005HA-PU1X: $389.99. Glossy (“Color-Shine”) LCD display. 10.5 hour battery life. Atom N280 processor

So, there you have it. If you prefer a matte screen (minimal reflection) you pay less but also get a shorter battery life and the older processor model. If you prefer the glossy screen (lots of reflections), you have to pay $40 more but get longer battery life and the newer processor. This just doesn’t seem right to me.

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