Asus Eee 1000HE
A cramped keyboard and plastic construction make the Eee 1000HE just average
With any netbook, the goal is never to run the machine all day, every day. It’s a back-up system at best, something you use almost
like a smartphone for checking email and updating your Facebook page. A full notebook is a better choice for anyone who wants to transcode video, build a website, or write Javascript code. The Asus Eee 1000HE fills the bill as a back-up system. The real question is whether it is better than the competition.
After a day of testing the 1000HE running Ubuntu for Netbooks (www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download-netbook) and putting the unit through its paces (read: a lot of web, email and OpenOffice.org), we can attest to the portability. However, the HP Mini 110 Mi is a better buy, if only because the keyboard is big enough for real work.
The Asus 1000HE does have a couple of interesting amenities that set it apart from the field, however. For one, it has built-in 802.11n – this means the mobile device runs extremely fast over Wi-Fi (way quicker than devices using the previous 802.11g standard) and makes the netbook much more appealing if you want to use it for storing large HD video files or your entire collection of gothrock.
Secondly, the 1000HE also uses a special battery-extension technology called Super Hybrid Engine that is claimed to keep it going for around 9.5 hours. Unfortunately, in real-world tests, the battery actually lasted only about seven hours, although that’s still pretty good. We used the machine the way we normally do: playing music in the background connected over Wi-Fi and with the screen at normal brightness. Your mileage may vary, however, and other users have reported getting over eight hours of usage time on this particular netbook.
Disappointing results
Both the Asus Eee 1000HE and the Lenovo S10 netbooks
fall into the same camp – they seem just a bit too cheap and dispensable for their own good. The plastic construction of the 1000HE makes the unit feel like it would break easily if it were to encounter even a short fall from your desk. It’s not quite as sleek as the Acer AspireOne, and the keyboard is not quite as large and spacious as that of the HP Mini 110 Mi. In fact, the keys on the 1000HE are so tight, it felt at times like typing on a Blackberry. It became our chief complaint.
The 10-inch screen is fine for web surfing and email messaging, although a netbook is not nearly big enough for just about any other task. Ubuntu was responsive, however – we ran OpenOffice 3 and had no trouble formatting a document with multiple pages, printing and transmitting the file. Overall, we prefer the HP Mini netbook and models forthcoming from Toshiba and Dell.
Verdict 3/5
Ubuntu for Netbooks ran well enough, but we could do nothing but email and surf the web. The all-black 1000HE does not have the appealing design of the AspireOne or the HP Mini. The high points are the inclusion of speedy 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. However, it loses marks because the keyboard is not ideal for even typing documents. The 1000HE is a low-cost netbook that does the job, just not as well as other models.
John Brandon
Hi
Just bought this little machine. And I must say im quite impressed by the performance of that little fellow. Certainly my expectations was not that high, but as a supplement for my 17″ laptop its great. Running dualboot between XP and EEEBUNTU (Mostly runnin linux) the system is responsive and great for taking notes, surfing, listening to music, and such light work. Advanced video editing and photo editing is to heavy for this kind of machine.
I find the keyboard fine for the kind of work i use it for, my biggest complaint is that now i dont have an excuse for not bringing my laptop
Regards
Bjarne Christensen
Systems Engineer
If you’ve installed Ubuntu on this machine, you won’t get the benefit of the Super Hybrid Engine unless you install eeeControl (http://greg.geekmind.org/eee-control/) – the SHE software is built-in to the factory-fit Xandros. I’ve run this machine for a comfortable ten hours before now.
I only have one issue with the keyboard, which is the placement and sizing of the right-hand Shift key, but a quick remap of the keyboard to use the right-hand Control key instead works beautifully.
I have used Asus eee since the 2g Surf (should have waited, I know). Innovative when they came out, they have good build quality and equivalent performance to other netbooks. Keys are not too difficult to get used to, but then I am a fairly slow typist any way. Wireless connectivity has been good, it is the first laptop that I have had without these problems.
My issue is cost. LU+D quotes the prices in the mag as uniformly £170 for the 1000HE, as well as the HP mini and the lenova offering. Sadly even the 7″ models are more expensive, generally, and I haven’t been able to find one below £300…if any one does…please post. The 1000HE is the same price and conventional laptops, and therefore only beat them on portability and battery life. Very important I know…but Linux users like me are generally cheapskates, . I use my netbooks as servers and thin clients…that is how cheap I am. In fact the netbook is the most cost effective thin client you can get given there is a modern (Intel 945) graphics chipset with VGA out, as well as decent connectivity.
My favoured distros for EEEe are puppy and UNR
i’ve read that the pirce of both the eeepc 1000he and the hp mini 110mi are 170£ but whan lookinf on the net the best price i’ve dfoind was 200£ on amazone and it’s out of stock can someone please explain to me and tell me the real price of these two netbooks
The prices on the reviews are indeed wrong. Totally my fault, my apologies to everyone who went looking for the units at that price.
I’m currently trying to find the lowest price I can for readers and I’ll post it here when I do.
Sorry once again.
Dave
Editor in Chief
im using the 901 with ubuntu 9.04 firstly i get more battery life than i did with xandros i am looking aroung for an upgrade but from what ive seen the dell 3hrs batt life the same for the lenovo now thats a shame because i would have bought that but a netbook with 3hrs batt life is a waste i will be like everyone else in the library clambering to be near the only 2 plug sockets whats the point i might aswell buy a 15 ich dual core with 3hrs 7hrs or more from asus is a major selling point the keyboard on the 901 is too small although after a few weeks you do get used to it one thing is for sure £23 for a 2gb ram is a must and the difference is visible i willl keep looking for the right keyboard and the long battery life and it must be on linux too many of these netbooks are now xp as a linux user i want to vote linux with my hard earned i have a desktop with centos but 90% of my time is on my little asus and i totally love it just a bit jealous of the keyboard on the samsung nc10 get an asus rip off the xandros put ubuntu jaunty add the extra ram and you have a serious piece of kit go to the library and watch all the big flash portable laptops that cant stray 6ft away from the plug socket although ive seen a few come prepare with the good old extension cable somehow for me it takes away the portable part if your only getting 3 hrs from your netbook i hear wilkos do cheap extension cables
[...] Asus Eee 1000HE | Linux User [...]
the eee pc series has a lot of faults thats why mine runs on xubuntu and netbsd its worst problem is xandros and easy mode to get a full desktop you have to cut is battery time in half
Maybe the author got a rogue example, but I have to disagree with almost everything that he said.
The 1000HE feels fairly robust and looks similar to most other 10″ netbooks. I have large hands but the size of the keyboard is adequate and I use my 1000HE when I go on holiday to review pictures I have taken, mobile internet access, taking notes at college etc. All things that it was designed to do. The key is the battery life, netbooks are supposed to be mobile and if you have to find a power point every couple of hours it is’nt mobile. I get 7.5 to 8.5 hours from mine in continuouse use. So with lunch breaks etc thats enough for a working day or a day at college. I know of no other netbook (or LapTop) that will do the same at the price.
What's your opinion?