 Value for your money. |
| Review Date: February 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: A. Walker, |
Good Stuff:
- I type thirty or so pages a week between three different computers. The keyboard on this little guy works great for my purposes. I'm 6'3", 280 lb. and yeah, I have big hands. - Minimal bloatware. Took just a couple minutes to remove the stuff I didn't want.
- Attractive and practical design.
- It has a good display and decent sound... for a netbook.
[Edit] As far as sound goes, it depends on what you're listening to. My Baroque Classical and Russian Chant sounds great, as does anything spoken word. My Swedish Death Metal (and anything similar) sounds tinny and weak.
- While it was no use to me, it came with some basic office programs already loaded. Just one of many things Asus did to try and make this netbook ready to use straight out of the box.
- At least so far... the battery life is pretty close to what's advertised.
[Edit] I'm able to get just under eight hours of operation out of it, without turning the screen brightness all the way down or wireless/bluetooth options off.
[Edit] Swapping out the 1GB Memory stick for a 2 GB Memory stick was easy.
Bad Stuff:
- It attracts finger prints like bees to flowers. Get skins/decals/stickers for the outside cover if you're really OCD.
- Doesn't make coffee.
- Bulky. The wife has a 1002HA with a 2 cell battery and it is soo slim and strim looking compared to mine. Hers is a half pound lighter too. She still gets 4-5 hours of battery life out of hers even with the smaller battery.
Thoughts:
For the money, it's one of the best netbooks out there. I looked at almost every netbook available and read over 500 reviews before deciding on this one. I bought the 1002HA (brushed aluminized) for my wife because she didn't need the battery life and wanted something more professional looking.
[Edit] I spent the weekend passing it around to people I know and letting them type on it, and everyone (big or small) pretty much agreed that it was an easy keyboard to adjust to and comfortable. My father ordered the Blue 1000HE (from Amazon!) he liked it so much.
Update [Feb 24th, 2010]
I used this device for almost a year before selling it on the cheap to my friend. His wife quickly laid claim to it however, leaving him sad and bereft. After a year of heavy use my Asus 1000HE held up perfectly. No dead pixels. 200+ recharges later, the battery still held the same charge as the day I laid hands on it. Within my circle of friends and family, two other folks bought the same device and continue to use them as I write this. One friend in particular has dropped hers several times, and while the rattling of small broken pieces emanates from within, the device still continues to function perfectly in spite of its wounds. I've had the opportunity to use and examine other Netbooks and I can say with some confidence, no one has made a better model than this one.
Even the Netbooks Asus put out in the last year have been disappointing in both their manufacturing and composition. The keyboard on this model was unbeatable, as was the power and flexibility it provided, balanced with a lengthy battery life. Had Microsoft not so woefully bungled the transition from XP to Windows 7 (among other things), and Apple's new OS X not been so appealing, I might never have relinquished my Asus Netbook. |
Absolutely Perfect.
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| Review Date: February 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Max Petersen, |
I have had the Eee PC 1000HE for about a week now, and it has fulfilled my every expectation. Because I hadn't started up the Eee without installing the 2 GB RAM I'd purchased, this review is relevant to those who plan to upgrade, or have already upgraded the RAM in the unit. For those who don't, I will add that it is extremely easy and inexpensive to double the RAM of this netbook. I had never opened a laptop chassis before, and it took all of 5 minutes.
Pros:
*Up front, the package is inexpensive. You definitely get the bang for your buck
*Bright, brilliant screen with an excellent viewing angle.
*Large, more comfortable keyboard; touch typing is incredibly easy to get used to.
*Long battery life; I've had mine unplugged for over seven hours without a recharge.
*Exactly the amount of power and speed that I need from a computer, I'm able to run some of my favorite games (GTA: San Andreas, UT2004, and Neverwinter Nights) without breaking a sweat, edit photos and stream videos through the wireless card.
*The power-saving hotkeys are really useful. Most of the time I don't notice the difference between 'Power-Saving' mode and 'Super Performace' mode, which means for normal usage I'm saving a lot of battery life.
Cons:
*The volume is a bit too low on the speakers, AND when I'm wearing headphones. I've opened up all of the volume adjusters at one point or another, and I can't increase the volume past a certain point. I could imagine this being very irritating on a long bus ride or a plane ride.
*As really helpful the multi-touch pad is (and it truly is helpful), some of the presets are too closely linked to "scroll up and down". For example, I find myself opening a 'magnifying glass' one moment, and 'zooming out' of a webpage the next. I couldn't figure out why all my webpages were tiny. So disabling most of the multi-touch functions is probably a smart idea when you get started.
*This is just a quibble, but the resolution of 1024 x 600 is so specific to a very small number of machines.
Overall, the Eee PC 1000HE is something I will be using consistently. It is exactly what I need. |
Exactly what I needed -- Light, Quick, and Very Cute
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| Review Date: February 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: tukewl4u720, Massachusetts, USA |
I've had my 1000HE for a week now. I bought it with the 2gb of ram and installed the new ram in under 10 minutes, having never done such a thing in my life before. With the new ram, my 1000HE ran both Windows XP and then the Windows 7 beta with ease. I can run iTunes version 8 and Firefox and Microsoft Word at the same time without any problems.
The blue surface does attract fingerprints, but it's not so noticeable that it bothers me, and I've been consistent (so far) about wiping it clean after every other use.
The webcam works very well, even for a cheap laptop, and I was able to take reasonably defined pics with it.
The battery life with my "normal usage" runs about 8 hours, though I haven't put it on power-saving mode to see if that's much longer.
I use this netbook on the train and haven't had trouble with the volume control in my headphones.
The trackpad buttons are a tad stiff at first, but mine have loosened just in the past week and are now very comfortable to use.
I've found that the 1000HE picks up my home's network very easily and the internet speeds transfer very well.
As for the keyboard, I'm a "proper typist" and was used to the 92 percent size within the first day. The chiclit style is much better, in my opinion, than the old 1000H model or the Acer keyboard.
I transfer all of my programs and games and movies with a usb flash-drive, so I haven't had any need for an external dvd drive
All in all a great investment at under 400 dollars, and I'm a college student who scrimps and saves her every penny. |
Epic Battery Life and Unbeatable Price!!!
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| Review Date: March 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Knowledge Forest, Washington, DC United States |
Things I like
- The epic battery life is real. When I change the preset performance settings from high performance to battery saving mode, I get over 8 hours with wifi and bluetooth on!!! In high performance more I get 5 hours.
- Youtube, HuLu, NBA broadband all work with no glitches
- Norton Internet Security 2009 works without a glitch or slow down
- The keyboard is nice, although I would have preferred a full size right shift key
- I love the fact that it has Bluetooth and N networking.
Things I don't like.
- This netbook is a little husky. I almost want to call it a sub notebook instead of a netbook.
- The touch pad is glitchy. Sometimes when you mean to just move the mouse. It registers a click. I downloaded the driver beta and still have the same issue.
- The HE contains a bunch of software you will end up deleting.
- It's a finger print magnet.
- Volume seems low. I haven't searched for a fix yet.
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE vs HP Mini 1000
My wife has the HP Mini 1000:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001J6N9IY?ie=UTF8&tag=pc-accessories-10-20
The HP has the advantage of having a better keyboard, including a full size right shift key. It is also much smaller and lighter. On the down side, the mini gets really expensive once you start adding features the 1000HE comes with. Also, the min get's 3 hours at best with the included battery. HP has yet to release a 6 cell battery for the 1000 as of 2/27/09.
Bottom Line
The ASUS Eee PC 1000HE comes with everything you want in a netbook in a relatively small form factor. The best features are the epic battery life and it's relatively low price. You simply can't get a more equipped notebook at this price. Don't get the smaller, cheap, less equipped units. You will kick yourself for it.
Obvious upgrades.
OCZ 2 GB PC2-5400 667 MHz DDR2 Value SODIMM Laptop Memory
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RZ8WHG?ie=UTF8&tag=pc-accessories-10-20
Laptop skin to guard against scratches and finger prints
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LB8OXM?ie=UTF8&tag=pc-accessories-10-20
Netbook Case:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KEPZP0?ie=UTF8&tag=pc-accessories-10-20 |
Beats the Dell Mini 9
|
| Review Date: February 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Stephen Bockrath, Burleson TX |
| I have a Dell Mini 9. The Dell keyboard is TERRIBLE. The ASUS 1000HE chicklet style keyboard is great, is better laid out and the keys have some feedback. Also, the ASUS runs much faster, windows pop and web pages load fast, much faster than the DELL. (You can really feel the faster processor, higher buss speed and the Intel graphics acceleration) The bigger screen is much more comfortable to use. Using the DELL is a chore. Using the ASUS is a pleasure. |
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