Asus really nailed it.
So, a couple of weeks ago I jumped on the netbook bandwagon. I have to wonder weather my 10″ Eee pc can really be considered a netbook – seeing as how the screen is bordering on the ultralight side of the notebook spectrum… BUT, it is an Eee pc so I guess I have to label it a netbook.
The exact model that I purcased is the 1000HE. According to Asus, the 1000 stands for 10″, the “H” stands for HDD instead of SSD, and the “E” stands for Extended battery life. This is also the first model to have a newly revamped keyboard – which is “chiclet” style – I dont really know what that means, but the keyboard is similar to the new Apple standalone, and the Apple macbook keyboards.
I have to admit – the keyboard is actually very comfortable to type on. There is a minor amout of flex on the keyboard itself, but it is very manageable. I myself have never typed on a subsize keyboard, but I found that I adjusted to this keyboard very easily.
As for the extended battery life – Asus advertises 9.5 hours of battery life for “All day computing”. However, we all know that the advertised battery life for notebooks is complete B.S. – and should be take with a few grains of salt. For real world benchmarks most reviewers find they get around 6 – 7 hours, and I can now corroborate these real world numbers.
I found that running the Eee pc with wifi enabled, browsing the web, and watching the occasional video ran me down to about 6.5 hours on the battery.
The battery does stick out a bit from the bottom of the chassis, however, it is nothing that would cause any discomfort while typing, or while holding the netbook in your hand. I myself always disapproved of a battery sticking out, as I thought it was aesthetically displeasing. Even so, Asus managed to win me over by incorperating this battery in a design that didnt make me want to throw up.
This computer came with 2 separate partitions pre-made on the HDD. This makes it INCREDIBLY easy to install a second OS on this netbook, and just goes to show that Asus knows exactly what its customers want.
Overall, I give this netbook a 9/10, only because it seems to have a bit of trouble playing hulu videos. Though lack of video power is a downfall for all netbooks including the 1000HE. I would recommend this netbook over any of the others – if you need a computer dedicated to mobility – this is the one.
