It seems that Asus has finally decided to spice things up lately. Traditionally Asus would release a certain ‘chassis’ and then build out model after model changing the internals slightly here and there. Now it seems that Asus is transitioning and trying to play with new models and designs. Trying to find the medium between subnotebook and the netbook craze that we are all so familiar with here at eeeNetbook.com.

Our Asus N10E Specifications:

• 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor
• 1 GB DDR2 Ram
• Microsoft Windows XP Home
• 10.2” LED backlit display, 1024×600
• 160 GBB HDD
• 6-cell, 4800mAh
• 3xUSB 2.0, 1 VGA, Kensington lock

Initial Impressions

We are extremely happy with Asus willingness to adapt and evolve with the times. This will keep Asus in a powerful position over the rest of the netbooks on the market.  In fact, we believe that Asus name has be redesigned altogether via this new netbook craze.

At first glance of the Asus N10E it’s pretty amazing, it looks like a higher end laptop but shrunk down by the Honey I Shrunk the Kids machine. It looks polished, clean and like a truly well designed netbook. This looks strangely similar to the HP 2133 that we are going to review next week (have the netbook, just the lack of time for a review before next week). Asus stuck with the traditional ‘chrome’ accents that we’ve been so familiar with.

All of Asus line, up until recently, were made of plastic. Some complained about this over the internet, but once you’ve really seen the quality of Asus plastic casings it is hard to complain. They really are top notch and we’ve never seen any imperfections, or weak spots that concerned us.  You can tell that Asus used high quality parts in this design, as with previous  generations.

Coming in at a little over 2 lbs this netbook is ultra portable, and ultra sleek. Sure it’s not the brushed aluminum that we loved with the Asus 1002HA, but its sure sleek and lightweight. Keep in mindn that it’s really one of the heaviest netbooks in the market. Although with a 6-cell battery, 10.2” screen, and a HDD over a SSD it really is no surprise. I will tell you though that those are nearly all necessary.

Input Devices

Asus has created a new little keyboard for the N series, in fact we were actually extremely impressed by the new design. You can tell that they listened to the previous users complaints over the flex found in the 700,900, and 1000 series.

Asus designed a very user friendly keyboard, allowing the ability to fit a larger keyboard in a smaller netbook is what sets apart this one from the rest.  The learning curve is practically non-existent and everything ‘flows’ right. A very pleasing design that we don’t often see with the smaller netbooks.

Asus also implemented a larger touchpad into the Asus N10E. In fact we firmly believe that it is one of the best, if not the best, touchpad found on any netbook. It’s really that good, extremely precise, and glides wonderfully. Fantastic upgrade over the Asus 1000 series and previous touchpads.

Display

Asus has continued to use the same LED driven display, although this time they chose a glossy finish over the matte finishes as well as a 10.2” WSVGA display that allows for  1024×600. The screens have literally never been a complaint with us, up until now. We much prefer the matte finish found on all the previous Asus netbooks. It allows for optimal viewing in direct sunlight, which is crucially important. We here at eeeNetbook love to enjoy the wonderful weather we have year round and use the balcony as often as possible. Within a matter of 5 minutes we were back inside since it was practically impossible to see the screen on a sunny  day. For us that would automatically remove us from ever purchasing the Asus N10E. However, once inside we were happy with the screen overall. The brightness was wonderful, the colors were vibrant, and clear images were always displayed.

Performance

The Intel Atom N270 processor has been used throughout the Netbooks for some time now. The Asus N10E comes without exception, and thus means that performance is very similar within the Asus lineup.  Since the Asus uses the N270 processor on the Intel Atom platform it comes equipped with the 945GSE Express chipset which includes the integrated graphics chip.

Emissions

Asus does a wonderful job at keeping their netbooks well circulated, efficiently without alot of noise.  The only true noise that is audible to us was the hard drive while it was in use. Under a certain amount of load, and demanding applications, the harddrive can become audible. Keep in mind though that it isn’t incredibly loud and annoying.

The temperature of the Asus was reasonable and never got too hot. The maximum tested temperature was a 37.5 Celsius. Nothing out of the ordinary and on the moderate side of things.

Sound

Asus stuck with their traditional design of speakers facing the bottom rather than on the sides in order to conserve space. This is great, but can cause a little trouble if you have the computer on your lap or have it on a soft spot rather than a desk.

The speakers themselves are made by Altec Lansing, and provide a wonderful sound quality not often found in a netbook or mini laptop.

Battery

The Asus N10E is known to have a good battery runtime, this is all due in part by Asus deciding to use a 6-cell over a 3-cell battery. This was good on Asus part as the 3-cell netbooks are going to be a thing of the past. With a 53Wh the Asus N10E is capable of 5 hours of battery life off of a single charge. Not the best we’ve seen but understandable considering the specs that this netbook comes with.

Under full load you can experience a little over 4 1/2 hours, while your general web surfing, with WiFi on brings in a steady 5 hour experience.

Conclusion

Most people would confuse what the Asus N10E really is intended to be on first glance. It’s really the hybrid between a mini-laptop and the netbook series. Based upon it’s Intel Atom processor it can be limited in functionality for those truly demanding applications. While on the other hand, we love everything else about this netbook. From the extensive connectivity, to the large and capable hard disk, and it’s ‘just right’ feel via it’s newly designed keyboard and touchpad.

Asus is known for making quality netbooks, and the Asus N10E doesn’t jeopordize that previous reputation. In fact, we are happy to see that Asus is taking their quality netbooks and taking them to the next level. Granted that the Asus N10E is one of the heaviest netbooks in circulation, it doesn’t come without good reason. A larger screen, keyboard, touchpad, and hard disc space allows for those of you questioning the smaller netbooks.

Hands down the Asus N10E is a wonderful netbook and won’t disappoint those users who purchase a netbook with the understanding that its a netbook, and not a desktop.

Things are getting downright confusing about the EEE lineup, in fact when we first heard about the new S101 we were confused why it was labeled with an S rather than a number, like the previous 1000, 900, or 700 series. We must say though that we are incredibly happy with our initial observation of this netbook.

Our Asus S101 Specifications:

• 1.6 GHz Intel Atom
• 1 GB DDR2 Ram
• Windows XP Home
• 10.2” screen, 1024×600, LED backlit
• 16 GB/32 GB/64 GB Solid State Disc
• 802.11n Wireless Adapter
• 3x USB 2.0, 1xVGA,1xLAN,2xaudio jacks

It’s apparent with the new releases, matched with the wonderful numbers, that Asus is truly living the wave of success with the netbooks. And it doesn’t come without blame either, Asus deserves it all as they are the only ones that have truly captured the netbook market and gone with it.

We are happy to say that it seems that Asus has finally created a netbook that can appeal to the ‘executive’ corporate types. The type of netbook that isn’t just targeted towards everyone such as students, and people on the move. They decided to ramp up the design, and make a sleek yet beautiful netbook computer. This can be apparent through the way they packaged the computers. All previous Asus netbooks were packaged in a white glossy packaging, that looked like it was packaged straight from Japan and not really targeted towards the U.S. market. The new packaging is great though, coming in a matte black cardboard box that is fully embossed with silver text. It seems like something that Apple would have packaged.

Executive is one word that can properly describe the Asus S101. From opening the box you are greeted with pristine packaging, and an even better looking netbook. Asus has always excelled at understanding what exactly the netbook market has been looking for.  Creating lightweight, small, and capable laptops that are available for the most competitive prices available.

One of our favorite things about Asus is how they identify what the consumer wants, and is asking for and then creates that product. The Asus S101 feels like a tremendous improvement over the previous Asus EEE series. It feels lighter, looks sharper, and has a sense of professionalism that the rest of the line up has seemed to miss.

One of the problems we had with the previous Asus netbooks (without recognizing it until now) is the feature creep that existed. With the ports running rampant on the sides of the computer, things got a little intense. Asus managed to clean up their act, and provide a universal experience of ports, what we mean by that is that they are found on the back, and sides now rather than loaded up on the left and right sides as before.

For example the SD card reader was moved from the very front, as found in the previous 1000 and 900 series to the very back of the unit. This may seem like a stupid transition, but it is extremely intelligent as most users do not need to see and have access to the SD card all the time.  The same can be said for the Ethernet port as well. Previously this was found on the back right side of the netbook. Now Asus has transitioned it to the back of the netbook, thus removing that bulky cord for those of you that need to plug an Ethernet cord in.

In congruency of ‘cleaning up their act’, Asus has now shaved that bulky battery down. Before the battery was slightly awkward, bulking out of the bottom of the computer. They managed to shave it down to create a sleek, and balanced look to the netbook. This allowed the new netbook to be thinner than any previous generation!

Keep in mind though that the shaving down of the battery doesn’t come without cost. The newer batteries don’t last nearly as long as the previous Asus 1000H which provided over 7 hours of operation, in fact we were only able to manage 4 hours of battery life with the newer smaller battery.

The keyboard and touchpad have been improved as well. The feel of the previous generations of the Asus netbooks led us to believe that there may have been a trampoline underneath the keyboards due to the flex and bounce that we frequently experienced. Matched with the location of the trackpad created a headache at times as we’d mistype and then send the mouse flying across the screen.  Thankfully the compact frame has eliminated any flex, and allows for a crisp and smooth typing experience.

Asus also spent time renovating the touchpad, making a congruent single click that allows for both right and left click without the previous split associated with it. It’s most likely the largest trackpad we’ve seen to date on a netbook. We really love the new trackpad and feel that its one of the best upgrades we’ve seen yet.

Unfortunately though we didn’t see much of an upgrade with the monitor. Coming in at 10.2 we thought that we’d see a slight upgrade in the resolution, although it is still only capable of 1024×600. Granted this is fine for most functions, although we’d really like to see a higher resolution!  One on hand though we are glad that they kept the matte finish and LED backlit displays that have been so great to us in the past. We are literally able to use the Asus netbooks in the brightest of So Cal days in direct sunlight! That can’t be said for many other netbooks.

Performance is more or less similar to the previous Asus series, keeping in mind the true origin of the netbooks to be a low cost, internet capable laptop. We have never really complained about the capabilities of the netbooks as they are able to complete 90% of the applications needed on a daily basis. Those that don’t work we have a desktop computer for.

Verdict

If you couldn’t tell by now, we highly recommend the Asus S101 as it is the best looking netbook we have seen Asus produce yet. We are glad that Asus has finally decided to take the right steps towards producing better looking netbooks. We know that the hardware will come to be what we need it to be, although the biggest flaw of the previous netbooks was the ‘netbook’ feel. Thankfully Asus has gone away from that and has started developing better looking netbooks. This netbook is sleek, stylish, and just downright done right. The executive feel, for a manual labor price. The battery life is good, but for those of you needing the best battery life possible should shy away from this netbook. It’s really the only downside, seven hours on Asus 1000H vs ‘maybe’ four solid hours on the S101.

Our Asus EEE 904HA Specifications:

• 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• Windows XP Home
• 8.9” screen, 1024×600, LED backlit
• 160 GB HDD 2.5” 5400 RPM
• 802.11 B/G Wireless Networking
• 6-cell 6600 mAh battery
• 3x USB 2.0 ports, MMC/SD/SDHC Card Reader, Audio Jack in/out, VGA out

Those are some killer specs for a netbook, especially one that comes in as small as this one does. This netbook is a polar opposite from the Asus EEE 900 we recently reviewed. It seems that they heard the complaints of the 900 (small disk space specifically) and made some really crucial upgrades to make this one of the best 8.9” netbooks on the market.

ASUS Eee PC 904HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Build and Design

We have to say that we are extremely impressed by Asus, constantly upgrading their models and listening to the feedback from users and websites alike. It’s things like these that will help make Asus an ever growing company focused on long term business growth rather than short term crappy products. Thankfully they recently came out with this latest netbook that was produced nearly like the rest of the models. Understandably they had less room to work with as it is a smaller chassis than the 1000 series, but that doesn’t show upon initial inspections of the netbook. In fact, the really only noticeable feature that looks different is the size of the screen.

Asus used many of the similar features found on the 1000 series, such as the trackpad, casing material, matte monitor and chrome ‘trimmings’. Honestly a beautiful little machine and can go without many complaints from the eeeNetbook team.

Screen

The Netbook 904HA comes equipped with an 8.9” matte display boasting a decent resolution of 1024×600 (native resolution). Keep in mind it is possible for it to go up to 1024 x 768 although it requires screen panning from side to side to get the full width. Not really my cup of tea as it pretty much defeats the point of having a monitor at that resolution. As with the rest of the Asus netbooks the displays are LED backlit and have a wonderful matte finish. What most people don’t realize is the brightness capabilities of the screens as well as how nice the matte finish is. This allows for the screens to be used in the brightest of Southern California days. On every netbook we test we like to take the netbooks outside to see if we are able to see/use the netbooks (weather permitting). The Asus never have a problem with this and truly enjoy this ability, what’s a netbook without the ability to use them outside?

ASUS Eee PC 904HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Operating System and Software

We’ve noticed that the phasing out of Linux as an operating system on the latest Asus netbooks. We aren’t surprised although we’ve heard some pretty upset people that Asus isn’t really providing much Linux support anymore. Personally we’re Windows XP people and don’t mind that nearly every new model has Windows XP as the default operating system. We’ve heard reports as well of people even upgrading to Vista (why would you do this?) on the netbooks and not having much trouble with the transition. If you are considering this then we’d highly recommend upgrading your RAM to 2 GB.  We were able to boot the netbook up in a little over 30 seconds which was slightly slower than the Asus 900 we reviewed a few weeks ago. Not bad considering it’s a HDD vs the SSD on the 900.

Speakers

All of the latest Asus netbooks boast decent computers for a laptop, and great speakers for a netbook. Unlike the predecessor design in which had bulky landing strips of speakers on the sides of the keyboard the newer models feature the face down speaker design. This allows for optimal sound when the netbook is on a flat, hard surface, although creates a problem when the netbook is on your lap. Quality as stated above is great for a netbook but distortion can be heard at maximum volume.

ASUS Eee PC 904HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard is probably the best keyboard we’ve tried on 8.9” or smaller netbooks. Coming in at a mere 90% of laptop keyboards and boasting all the similar keys including F1-F12 (unlike the Dell Mini 9). The keys have a wonderful, light response and makes it feel like you are typing on air. Some people have complained of flex, although in every single netbook that we have reviewed we never have experienced this sensation. Asus adds the ability to use the function key as well, which will control things such as sleep, wireless on/off, adjusting brightness levels, and much more. These are extremely handy and we are glad that Asus has continued this support on the 904HA.

Asus trackpads are excellent and provide the gestures movement for various controlling aspects for heightened user experience. Gestures include zoom in/out, scrolling horizontally/vertically, and many more useful gestures. The only problem we encountered was the ’smoothness’ of the scroll in Firefox, and especially Google Chrome. There is a Firefox extension though that will help solve this problem though and we highly recommend it. Otherwise we cannot complain about the trackpad, it really is one of the best we’ve seen on a netbook yet (besides the rest of the Asus 900+ series).

Performance

For a non dual core machine, this netbook can sure do just about anything. The Intel Atom N270 Hyper Threaded processor comes in at 1.6GHz and has the ability to change speeds on the fly (more on that in a minute). Taking a look at the task manager some people might confuse this for a dual core processor. Don’t though, because this is a hyper threaded processor XP recognizes it as a dual processor in the task manager. It does ‘act’ similarly to a dual core, but is more of a virtual representation of one.

As stated above you are able to change the processing speeds on the fly via Asus Super Hybrid Engine. Being able to control this aspect on the fly is GREAT! That means that you really can get the best bang for your buck battery wise by being able to justify the processing power that’s needed for certain applications. Matched with the brilliant adjustable function keyboard option for brightness you can double your remaining battery life in a matter of seconds and no mouse clicks.

Battery

Utilizing the battery is what makes Asus stand out from the rest. Unlike other netbooks that don’t have the hybrid processing change on the fly, Asus built it in to allow the user to designate how long they need to use their computers for. For example, changing the brightness to 50% and the hybrid speed to the lowest processing setting we were able to pull out 6 hours on the 6-cell 6600 mAh battery! That’s absolutely stunning for a netbook.

Turning brightness to 100% and turning the processing speed to 1.6 GHz allowed for 3 hours and 45 minutes of battery time. That’s just about the norm for most netbooks so we aren’t displeased with this figure considering this was under extreme load, such as processing extensive programs, wifi, and even video play.

ASUS Eee PC 904HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Conclusion

This netbook is fantastic and just the fixes we needed form the 901, such as the hard drive space. For those of you that are looking for a larger netbook then we’d suggest the Asus 1000 series, specifically the Asus 1000H. Although those of you that are students, or want an ultra portable capable netbook then the Asus 904HA was made for you. It’s fully capable of lasting up to 6 hours on it’s 6-cell battery and can be used in the brightest of days outside. Light, portable and capable is what we think of when we hear of the Asus 904HA.

ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Our Asus EEE 901 Specifications:

• 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor
• 1GB DDR2 RAM (667MHz)
• Windows XP Home
• 8.9” LED screen, 1024 x 600 res.
• 12 GB SSD (4 GB onboard and 8GB PCI-E minicard SSD)
• 6-cell 6600 mAh battery

Build and Design

Asus’ task is never an easy one, to develop a small laptop that not only looks good but comes in at cheap reasonable prices. Asus had some criticism in their previous netbooks, criticizing the size of the monitors, and the operating system. They were quick to learn their mistakes and did what they could to fix it this round. The chassis seems to have the build quality of the previous versions, which is a good thing. No loose moving parts and everything felt sturdy. The plastics are of good quality and there were no visible cracks or problems that we could see. Taking a ‘quick’ look at the unit you may mistake it for a previous EEE netbook, although upon closer inspection it is noticeable that the unit has a larger screen, keyboard and touchpad.

Most people are skeptical of netbooks due to the low prices, fearing that build quality has been sacrificed. Thankfully Asus made sure that their design was not only built well but was also aesthetically pleasing. The EEE Netbook series is truly something unique and special in the computer market. Coming in at only two pounds and enough power to compare to a budget laptop the Asus truly is an amazing little laptop.

Screen

The EEE PC 901 comes equipped with an 8.9-inch display boasting a resolution of 1024 x 600. While the resolution may not be that impressive, the LED backlit display is. Of course we’d love to squeeze in a little more real estate as far as resolution, it simply isn’t possible at the time. Asus fixes that by the beautiful matte screen they used in the 900 series netbooks. Allowing for optimal viewing range as well as being able to be used in direct sunlight, this little netbook has quite a powerful monitor. We really can’t emphasize that enough, this computer can be viewed in direct sunlight due to its strong LED backlighting and matte finish. A blessing in disguise as we love to utilize our balcony here at eeeNetbook.com.

Operating System and Software

Thankfully Asus listened to the people and provided Windows XP as the operating system for the Asus EEE 901 Netbook. Surely Windows XP might not be the latest Windows O.S. but it sure does beat out Vista in our opinion. Considering that it is one of the most stable and robust of Windows OS in the last decade. The operating system boots from zero to go in a little under 30 seconds, making this a very fast booting computer. The linux variations on the older Asus netbooks booted up only four seconds faster than these new Windows loaded versions.

Speakers

When we first tried out the Asus 701 Netbook computer we were very unimpressed by the quality of the speakers. It was downright annoying how muffled and underpowered they sounded, not to mention the fact that they looked like landing strips surrounding the keyboard. Asus heard the complaints and not only beefed up the speakers, but put the facing the bottom of the computer. Allowing for a larger keyboard, although creating a problem if you use the netbook on your lap. If you use this on a hard surface though, we really cannot complain or expect much more out of a netbook.
ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Keyboard and Touchpad

Most low priced mini laptops that are on the market usually have horrible keyboards and significantly worse touchpads. Asus used to have this problem back with the 700 series, now though it seems that they finally corrected the issue. The Asus 901 keyboard is fantastic for a 9” netbook, it is roomy, and firm without the flex that other keyboards have.

In order to create such a small netbook the keyboard is not a full sized laptop keyboard, rather its a smaller equivelant (probably 90% of a normal laptop keyboard). It does take some getting used to in order to type at near optimal speeds. Those of you with rather large hands will simply give up most likely as the keys are rather small and compressed together which can cause error after error.

Performance

The Asus EEE 901 is a quick little netbook, with it’s Intel Atom 1.6 GHz processor and 1 GB DDR2 RAM. Understanding that netbooks are meant to be cheap, little laptop alternatives, you won’t find a dual core processor in these (just yet). This means that resource hog applications are simply out of the question, but just about 70% of the applications that you will need to run will operate just fine. Load time of applications is lightning fast due to the SSD, which provides virtually instant data access times.

Battery

The battery is great, especially matched with Asus ’smart selection’ processor options and the SSD vs a HDD. Under the Super Performance option, and ‘normal use’, using 100% brightness and wireless on we were able to pull out 4 hours and 30 minutes of use via the standard 6-cell battery. By lowering the brightness and turning the processor speed back to normal we were able to achieve 5 hours of use! That’s fantastic and means that most of us are able to have a full days work on a single charge. Thankfully the 901 comes with the 6-cell battery, which is an improvement over the 4-cell variations we’ve seen in other Asus netbooks.

Conclusion

We HIGHLY recommend this netbook for students, due to the SSD drive and the 6-cell battery and the outstanding 5 hours of battery life we achieved with ‘normal’ operating conditions. Coming in at 9” the netbook is just the perfect size to use at a desk, while still having room for a book as well. Other laptops and netbooks simply take up too much room and really can cause a pain. Although this light and portable 2lb netbook is just the solution for any student.

ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

For those of you that require a larger disk space, and want a larger monitor and keyboard then we will have to suggest the Asus 1000 series over the 901. We had mixed reviews in the office of the 901 due to the smaller keyboard and lack of storage space. If neither of those are a problem, then absolutely get the Asus 901 Netbook.

ASUS Eee PC 900HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

Our Asus EEE 900HA Specifications:

• 1.6 GHz Intel Atom
• 1 GB DDR2
• Windows XP Home
• 8.9” Screen, 1024×600 resolution
• 160 GB hard disk drive
• 54g Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), 10/100 Fast Ethernet
• 4-cell battery

As stated above, this netbook was designed with alot of similarities of the 900 solid state versions. The width and dimensions has remained the same, although the width is larger due to the the screen and HDD versus the SSD. Keep in mind that its only slightly thicker, and really is worth the added HDD space. It’s evident how far Asus has come since the older 700 series with this model. The fact that they are able to squeeze in a larger screen, harddrive, and processing power while increasing the keyboard size and adding functionality is amazing! Way to go Asus!

Asus didn’t sacrifice build quality the slightest, the Asus 900HA is exceptionally built. Coming in a glossy black casing with chrome accents you get the feeling of a nice quality netbook. The hinge is chrome and very substantial while the screen doesn’t flex or wiggle like some laptops/netbooks do. As the models have progressed Asus has kept in mind the need for easy access upgradability so that their netbooks can shift with the times.

ASUS Eee PC 900HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

The user upgradable components of the 900HA are easily accessible via the panel on the bottom of the netbook. Allowing for access to the hard drive and socketed RAM, which means EASY upgrades without getting frustrated or giving up before you start. This is one of our favorite features about this netbook, the fact that you can upgrade hardware easily without voiding your warranty. Upgrading to a 2GB of RAM and a 7,200 RPM 320 GB HDD has never been easier.

Display

We are so happy with Asus’ newer LED displayed monitors, matched with the matte finish you really can’t go wrong. We use our Asus netbooks on the balcony in direct sunlight days without a problem seeing the monitor, how is that for usability in nearly any lighting condition? The saturation of colors is superb and the monitor provides wonderful contrast. It’s alot of monitor for such a cheap netbook. Asus’ build quality is also reflected in the sealing and lack of backlight bleed. We’ve seen netbooks in which the backlight bleed is HORRIBLE and down right unacceptable. Not with the Asus though, our test model had no bleed through what so ever. Due to the wonderful monitor the viewing angles are excellent, you can literally view horizontally and still see the image. You don’t experience any washout or inverted colors when viewing at an angle.

Keyboard and Touchpad

In the older Asus netbooks, such as the 701, the keyboards were extremely prone to ‘flex’ which made the typing experience odd at times. Thankfully Asus must have heard the cries and complaints and the 900HA has little to no flex at all. The keyboard is solid, and we’ve heard that it’s 93% of a normal sized laptop keyboard. We would have to agree as it’s fairly sufficient for just about anyone after a little getting used to. Our one complaint of the keyboard is our typical complaint on the newer Asus netbook keyboards. The location of the right shift and the up arrow. Naturally you’d expect the right shift to be in the location fo the up arrow and it can get extremely frustrating. After a few minutes we gave up and installed a keyboard management software that allowed us to switch the up arrow and the right shift, easy and painless fix.

Elantech is the supplier of the touchpads on the newer Asus and we absolutely love them. It’s roomy, allows for touch gestures that are similar to the iPod Touchs/iPhone functionality. The drivers that the netbook come with are decent but upgrading them opens up even more possibilities. So update the drivers after getting this netbook and you’ll be thoroughly pleased. The mouse gestures include: finger tapping, scrolling, zoom and a few others which we never used that often.

ASUS Eee PC 900HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

Performance and Operating System

The Asus 900HA Netbook comes preinstalled with Windows XP Home Edition (SP3). Not skipping a beat once the operating system works well with this setup. From stopped to boot the computer starts up in about 30 seconds, impressive for a HDD and Windows. We didn’t have many complaints regarding the stock setup of the Asus as it wasn’t overloaded with garbageware that some of the netbooks come standard with.

System performance is great for a netbook, coming with the Intel Atom processor means that it’s one of the faster netbook processors allowing for medium application usage. This netbook is a great solution for college students and those requiring mid range resource applications. Photoshop works fine, as well as the whole Microsoft Office fleet. Although if your looking to run Mathematica or other similar resource intensive applications then a netbook simply isn’t for you.

Ports, Speakers and Audio

The speakers on the Asus 900HA are great for a netbook. These are the best speakers we’ve come across yet in a netbook. Without opening the case completely we believe that Asus opted for a larger speaker in the additonal roomy case. Keep in mind though that these are netbook speakers and you will experience slight distortion at the loudest level. But again, these were the best netbook speakers we’ve come across. Our one complaint is the speaker location, which are faced toward the bottom of the netbook. Therefore they are optimal on hard surfaces, but on your lap it can muffle the sound.

The 900HA is equipped with three USB 2.0 ports, a single VGA monitor output, a headphone jack/microphone input, and an SD card reader, a Kensington lock slot and an Ethernet 10/100.

Battery Life

The battery life on the Asus 900HA is good to say the least, but it could be better. At 100% and hard usage we received a little under 4 hours of operating time. Although I’m sure that with brightness as 50% under the same conditions we could get 4 1/2 to maybe 5 hours out of the netbook. Equipped with a 4-cell 5200mAh battery it is comparable to most netbooks. We’d love a 6-cell though as found in the Asus 1000H to get that extra power that is missing. Keep in mind that battery lifespan versus the SSD models of other netbooks. Sure you may get some extra juice as a result of SSD but can you sacrifice the disk space? We couldn’t…

ASUS Eee PC 900HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

Conclusion

The Asus EEE 900HA netbook is a wonderful netbook, solving all the problems and complaints we heard about previous models. Such as larger disk space, screen size, and operating system. Being that it is 8.9” allows for ultimate portability for any student or geek alike. Our larger laptops have simply become doorstops since we have purchased our netbooks unless of course we need that extra processing power. Although that’s only once in a blue moon that we need the extra processing power on the fly, we have desktops to do that. The harddrive space is wonderful, allowing to bring along a full library of movies, music and other entertainment to play on the fly if needed. We would suggest this netbook to anyone that is looking for a smaller netbook, with a larger disk space and that doesn’t need Wireless N or Bluetooth.

ASUS Eee PC 900HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

Our Asus EEE 900 Specifications:

• 900 MHz Intel Celeron M 353
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• Windows XP
• 8.9” screen, 1024×600, LED backlit
• 16+4 GB SSD
• Wireless 802.11b/g
• 3X USB, VGA, SD card reader

The Asus 900 isn’t a revolutionary new netbook, but rather an upgrade over it’s sister the Asus 701 netbook. They learned and heard the complaints from the previous versions and decided carefully on how and what to upgrade in this newer model. The main upgrades came in the size of the monitor, from a 7” to an 8.9” screen and upgrading the previously painful 800×480 resolution to the new 1024×600 resolution screen. Finally the this netbook has begun to feel a little more complete, allowing for easier internet navigation and application usage. The problem was that most websites are designed for screens 1024, not 800. This creates a better and friendlier environment as a result of the larger screen.

ASUS Eee PC 900HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

With the upgraded monitor came an upgraded lighting source. This time Asus decided to use an LED backlit display, in hopes of better power consumption and use in bright areas. In our netbook evaluations we like to work outside for a period of time in strong sunlight to determine if the netbook’s can truly be utilized in all fashions. The Asus EE PC 900 Netbook is no problem in these conditions, granted we needed to play around with the brightness but that wasn’t a big problem. Also the matte finish makes it a nice monitor for really any work light conditions.

As stated above, the Asus 900 wasn’t a whole new computer. Just minor upgrades to the monitor size, resolution and other little things. The basic components didn’t see much of an upgrade. The netbook utilizes the same motherboard with the old Intel 910GML chipset and the integrated GMA 900 graphics card. The processor is also the same Intel Celeron M ULV 353 we saw used in the Asus 701. Although this time it’s been bumped to 900MHz rather than the 630 MHz. The system though feels much more responsive thanks to the upgraded RAM. The upgraded RAM was an absolute necessity, allowing for more applications to work at the same time and being able to handle more demanding software.

We do have a complaint about the size of the disk space. We assumed that Asus was most likely going to use SSD as the disk space source but wish that SSD wasn’t as expensive as a traditional HDD. Coming in at 20 GB of space over two separate SSD’s, an 16 GB and a 4 GB. The smaller 4 GB SSD is used for the systems file storage and is protected, while the 16 GB is available for personal usage but the stats of the 16 GB SSD aren’t as impressive as the 4 GB.

Upgraded Touchpad?

Yes, Asus finally upgraded their touchpad and we are very happy with the new predecessor. With notably larger dimensions you can easily spot the difference. Not only did they upgrade the touchpad but they also implemented the ability to use gestures for various applications. Below are some pictures of the different types of gestures. By moving your fingers in different directions you can activate the Zoom tool, while bringing the fingers together will have the opposite effect. Moving your fingers together in the same direction will let you scroll either vertically or horizontally.

Tuning the Asus Beast

Since the Asus 900 can be considered a upgraded 701 we noticed the addition of the webcam to the top of the monitor rather than its older position on the hinge. The small webcam comes in a 1.3 MP versus the 0.3 MP found in the older versions. This was actually a very significant increase in the webcam ability, in the previous versions it was pretty much impossible to use it successfully due to its poor resolution and capabilities. While on the other hand this new 1.3 MP provides a good quality camera and gets things done well.

ASUS Eee PC 900HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

Our Decision..

Coming in at around $400 and in two various operating systems, Linux and Windows the Asus 900 is something to be noticed. The main question is though can you justify the extra $100 price tag? Personally we say yes, with the increased screen resolution and size it is almost worth it all together. Add on the extra RAM and larger disk size and we have to say yes. If you considered the 701, then the 900 is right for you. Save the cash and get this one. We highly recommend it.

Our Asus EEE 4G Specifications:

• 800 MHz Intel Mobile CPU
• 512 MB DDR2
• Xandros Linux
• 7” Screen, 800 x 480 resolution
• 4G Solid Disk Drive
• 54g Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), 10/100 Fast Ethernet
• 4-cell 5200 mAh
• 2 pounds

Size was the most important factor in the creation of the 4G, it was meant to be small. Thankfully it’s small, but no too small coming in at a friendly 8.9 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches and weighing only 2 pounds. The Asus 4G Surf comes in a variety of colors as well, allowing anyone to make any color statement that they would like. Including Pure White, Blush Pink, Sky Blue, Lush Green, and Galaxy Black, not leaving many other colors to be desired for. The 7-inch screen comes in at a very small resolution of 800 x 480 pixel display, this is about as small of a screen that I could recommend though.

ASUS Eee PC 4G (7-Inch Display, Intel Mobile Processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB Hard Drive, Linux Preloaded) Pearl White

This netbook will allow you to surf the basics, email, news, blogs and what not. Video play did alright, but HD Youtube is out of the question. The real other problem though is the resolution and screen size, it’s very very small. I personally suggest no smaller than 9 inches.

As a result of cutting size, the keyboard size had to be cut as well. Someone that wants to really get some work done on this will get irritated. You will find your typist getting cramped within no time really. The netbook should be fine for short stints, but anything longer and you can see yourself getting frustrated.

Asus did well disguising the Xandros Linux by using their own User Interface with six easy to understand tabs (internet, work, learn, play, settings, and favorites) which offer access to the rich applications, such as openoffice, Pidgin, Skype, Thunderbird, and Wikipedia, and quick links to the most popular Web-based e-mail services.

ASUS Eee PC 4G (7-Inch Display, Intel Mobile Processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB Hard Drive, Linux Preloaded) Pearl White

The Asus includes a 4G solid state hard drive, hence the 4G model type. This leaves alot of room wanted, but not enough to use. Keep that in mind! You will need to find another solution most likely for storage space. Remember this is a very portable netbook.

Crazy Wifi? We had some problems with the Wifi when trying to connect to secure networks. Out of the three networks we tried to connect to we only connected to one of them. Not good if you ask us. Battery life is nice though and we got a solid 4 hours out of use. Keep in mind that this is good for the older netbooks, the newer netbooks are faster and last longer.

ASUS Eee PC 4G (7-Inch Display, Intel Mobile Processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB Hard Drive, Linux Preloaded) Pearl White

In conclusion, the 4G Surf is nice but in all honesty it just doesn’t cut it overall. It was great when it first came out, but with all the newer netbooks I just couldn’t suggest it. Stick with something that is newer, an Intel Atom based processor and a larger screen.

Our Asus EEE 1002HA Netbook Specifications:

• 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• Windows XP Home
• 10” screen, 1024 x 600, LED backlit
• 160 GB hard disk drive
• Draft-N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), 10/100 ethernet
• 2-Cell (4200 mAh), up to 7 hours
• 2.6 lbs

Our initial thoughts, awesome! The 1002HA differs from the other 1000 lineup because of its brushed aluminum finish. Brilliant, beautiful, and aesthically pleasing to say the least. We enjoy the other 1000 series, but for those looking for a better looking netbook then the 1002HA is a must have. It simply is just that much better looking.

ASUS Eee PC 1002HA 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 10 GB Internet Storage, XP Home) Brushed Aluminized

The Asus 1002HA hands down could be the slickest mid ranged priced Netbook we have tried to date. Covered by its gray brushed aluminum and surrounding the keyboard/trackpad. It’s subtle, elegant, and well designed.

The 10-inch LCD is bright just like the rest of the 1000 series that we have tried. Using the LED backlit technlogy is a great choice as it allows the screen to be seen in ANY setting, well almost any setting. We test our Netbooks extensively in bright sunlight to see what each netbook is capable of. We weren’t surprised when the 1002HA matched up with the rest of the Asus lineup. There’s nothing like the portability of a netbook, but if you can’t use it in nearly any setting then what is the point? Asus understands this and produces great screens for this type of setting. The LCD has a built in Webcam coming in at 1.3 mp and was actually a very good webcam unlike many of the other built in cams we have seen in laptops and netbooks alike.

The keyboard is described as 95% of a typical laptop sized keyboard, and Asus wasn’t lying. The keyboard is great for a netbook and extended use doesn’t cramp your fingers or make you hate that you purchased a netbook. The only complaint that we have with Asus’ keyboards is the location of the right shift key and the up arrow. They need to be switched as it is nearly impossible to use either key successfully without actually looking at what you are pressing. We used a simple keyboard utility to switch them, and it was as if we never noticed a problem after that.

Asus is brilliant for the use of their trackpad capabilities. Not only can you control the mouse cursor with your finger like on any trackpad, but the trackpad supports track gestures and multiple touches. For example a pinching motion zooms in on images. A single finger controls the cursor while two fingers can control a pages scroll direction. Tapping three fingers on the track pad acts like a right click, and then you have the ability for customization as well. Why other netbooks don’t offer this functionality is beyond me, it’s just so easy to implement.

ASUS Eee PC 1002HA 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 10 GB Internet Storage, XP Home) Brushed Aluminized

Performance on the netbook is as good as it can get for these low to mid range netbooks. Being able to successfully run most applications, check email, surf the internet, and operating all of Microsofts applications. The Asus does all of those things just as well as a desktop equivalent. Although if you are looking to do some heavy duty resource extensive programs such as Photoshop and CAD programs then you will easily reach the limits of the Asus Intel Atom processor!

Now for our one real complaint of the 1002HA, the 2-cell battery. Maybe that’s why they called it the 1002-HA, like HAHA you didn’t get a full 6-cell battery. With the 2-cell battery your looking at roughly 4 hours of computer use, and less for extensive netbook activities. Although the computer does have the Super Cell technology (change processor speed on the fly for extra battery life) it just doesn’t cut it we don’t think. Why have such a beautiful netbook, and then cut out on the battery? If you can manage with a little less than 4 hours of battery time then don’t rule out the 1002HA.

Scoring a 1494 on PCMark05, this is significantly behind most full notebooks, but remember that we said Notebook and not netbooks. As far as netbooks this is a very good competitor and as we said before, a solid netbook as far as processing capabilities.

ASUS Eee PC 1002HA 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 10 GB Internet Storage, XP Home) Brushed Aluminized

In conclusion, the Asus 1002HA netbook is a great netbook solution for users that can manage with the lower battery life. The added bonus of the 1002HA over the other 1000 series is the brushed aluminum that adds a sense of credibility to the notebook. It’s absolutely gorgeous if you ask us. But where Asus is laughing is with the 2-cell battery. We know why they called it the 1002HA, because they are laughing that they could have made an awesome 6-cell netbook but didn’t with the lack of the 6-cell battery.

Our Asus EEE 1000H Specifications:

• 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• Windows XP Home
• 10 ” screen, 1024×600, LED backlit
• 160 GB hard disk drive
• Draft-N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), 10/100 Fast Ethernet
• 6-Cell  (6600 mAh), up to 7 hours
• 3.19 pounds (51 ounces)

ASUS Eee PC 1000H 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Build and Design

The 1000H is very similar to the EEE PC 901, although you can feel a slight upgrade of look and feel. The glossy black “fine ebony” lid is accented with the EEE cursive logo, which adds a nice touch to the completely black case. To offset the glossy black color there are silver hinges on the side, which adds for a high fashion look to such an awesome netbook. Keep in mind though that this beautiful glossy black lid is extremely prone to fingerprints. Although Asus was kind enough to include a cloth for wiping down which will remove the fingerprints without a problem.

Measuring in at 10.5×7.4×1.0 inches the system is bigger than the MSI Wind that we reviewed earlier, and coming in at 3.2 pounds is nearly half a pound heavier then the competitor. All this weight was not added unnecessarily. You can feel the difference in build quality between the two computer, and the Asus not only looks better but feels better altogether.

Future Upgrades

Here is where the Asus really takes the icing on the cake over all the other netbooks that we have reviewed. The Asus is SO easy to upgrade that nearly anyone comfortable with taking a few screws out can manage to upgrade their RAM or harddrive! That’s something that I personally feel is a necessity out of any quality netbook, the possibility of an easy upgrade without violating your computers warranty. Wanna upgrade that HD to a faster and larger variation? No problem. Wanna add a 2GB stick of RAM? No problem.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Underneath the ‘hood’ you’ll find the largest and roomiest keyboard offered on an EEE PC to date. To say the least it’s a huge upgrade over the other cramped keyboards found on the earlier EEE models. Typing allowed for the best results we have seen to date on a netbook of any brand, make or model. With little to no errors and we found the typing to be quite accurate. The only real complaint that we had with the keyboard is the awkward location of the right arrow and the shift key. It makes attempting to hit either the right shift nearly impossible! Although a small little keyboard remapping tool and everything was back to normal.

The trackpad is excellent and extremely sensitive, which at times can create some getting used to when you are typing so that you don’t ‘touch’ it by accident moving the cursor somewhere else on the screen. The trackpad is roomy though and has a smooth, textured feel that is actually quite pleasant. As an added bonus the trackpad offers multi-touch controls that some of us have become so accustomed too. Such as zooming in, pinching, scrolling, and many other features.

Like the 901 model, there are 4 buttons at the top of the keyboard that allow for various functions: the first turns the monitor on and off, the second allows for on the fly screen resolution changes, the third changes the performance speed of the processor which allows for various power saving modes, and the fourth is a user definable launch key.

ASUS Eee PC 1000H 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Display

The Asus 1000H features an LED backlit display with a ‘matte’ finish overlay. The screens brightness is extremely adequate on it’s normal function and increasing the brightness can allow the brightness to be enough in ANY setting, literally. As stated the screen is bright and very clear, although we wish that we could get a little more real estate via a higher resolution but we can’t have everything. The colors lean towards a cooler gradient and look extremely well on the screen. As opposed to the Aspire One that offers a glossy overlay on their screens, the Asus 1000H has more of a matte finish that allows for the use of this computer in just about any setting. I’ve used this netbook outside at noon in direct sunlight on many occasions without struggling to see the screen. I’ve literally not come across another laptop/netbook that allowed this type of functionality.

Performance

Most of Asus’ previous lines came matched with a Solid State Drive which allowed for optimal boot times and protection due to the lack of moving parts, although on board storage was limited due to SSD’s current limitations. As a solution to the space dilemma, the Asus 1000H was originally released with a 80GB HDD to appease those looking for more space. Recently they upgraded the 80GB to a 160GB hard drive in the latest 1000H batch release. The drive is partitioned into two 80GB sections and didn’t slow the boot time down very much. From off to on the Asus boots up in a little less than 40 seconds.

The Asus 1000H 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor is great for a netbook, but can be limited depending on the type of applications that you require. Keep in mind that this is one of the best performing Netbooks we tested, although Netbooks will be slower than full size laptops due to the constricted size. Web surfing, email checking, and media applications all worked flawlessly. The only real problem we ran into was with higher definition movies. Moving the processor speed higher to the Super 1.8 GHz allowed for some better FPS although it still isn’t perfect.

Speakers and Audio

The speakers on the Asus 1000H are some of the best we have heard out of a netbook. Keep in mind this isn’t really saying much as most of the speakers on netbooks are down right horrible. Although the Asus’ are some of the best ‘bang for the buck’ that we have heard yet. The peak levels are good, and the frequency levels are decent to good. Games, movies and what not are playable/hearable under normal sound level conditions, if its a loud environment then you will need to hook it up to some headphones.

Ports and Features

The 1000H didn’t let us done as availability of ports either, coming in with two card readers, plus the three standard USB ports, LAN, VGA and your typical audio jacks consisting of headphone/microphone ports. Unfortunately ilke the Aspire One the Asus 1000H doesn’t offer a Mini-PCIe slot which we have seen available in other netbooks.  Although I’m sure that Asus will probably implement that in other futuree models.

Heat and Noise

As with nearly every Intel based netbooks they are known for running on the warmer side of things. The Asus though does a very good job of keeping cool. In fact it was one of the best we tested under a heavy processing load. The keyboard area does a great job of staying cool, and the fans seem to do an awesome job of circulating the air to keep things cool on the bottom of the computer.

Thankfully the Asus 1000H does a great job out keeping quiet, unlike the Aspire One which was by far the loudest of the netbooks we have tested to date. The fans are quiet and subtle under a typical workload, and under maximum workload we only noticed a slight increase in the audible sounds coming from the fan. It was nothing overwhelming and isn’t obnoxious in a workroom/classroom environment.

Battery

Hands down one of the biggest selling points of the Atom is the processor is the ability to provide alot of punch without a lot of juice. The 1000H’s 6-cell battery is impressive and lasted nearly 4 1/2 hours with WiFi turned on and extensive usage of the netbook for testing. This is plenty of power for those of you looking to get some work done on a cross country flight or when away from a power source.

ASUS Eee PC 1000H 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Conclusion

This is by far the best netbook of the bunch! With the increased hard drive size, larger screen and more spacious keyboard it is hard to beat this netbook. You would be hard pressed to find another netbook with similar capabilities for the price. For those of you that need that extra RAM, or the ability to switch out for a faster/larger HDD you can do it without jeopordizing your warranty. Not something that we typically see with netbooks as most are lackluster in the upgrades department. If you are serious about getting a netbook then go with the Asus 1000H, you won’t be dissapointed!

ASUS Eee PC 1000 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Solid State Drive, Linux, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Asus introduced the market to the Netbook concept with the Asus 701, and since then the market hasn’t been the same in fact neither has Asus. EEE netbook alikes seemed to be popping up from everywhere. Every company that manufactured notebooks began to see the true success in developing and creating a new mini notebook, known as the netbook. The EEE PC 900 was released shortly after the 701, then came the 901, 904, 904HD each coming in various color combination’s and operating systems with what seemed like an endless list of options.

Then things seemed to have settled down at Asus after developing the Asus 1000 (later we know this wasn’t true). Here we have the brand new Asus EEE PC 1000 that allows us to truly examine today’s new netbooks.

ASUS Eee PC 1000 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Solid State Drive, Linux, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Currently there are three different variations of the Asus 1000 line, including the Asus 1000 that we are currently reviewing, the Asus 1000H and the Asus 1000HD all of which are visually indistinguishable. We had to double check the computer specs to make sure that in fact we were reviewing the correct computer.

The Asus EEE PC 1000HD like the rest of the 1000 line has a 10” screen and measures in at 260×190x40mm. You have two different variations of OS to choose from, including Windows XP Home or the Xandros Linux distro, just like all the other Linux OS Asus’.

Here is where the difference comes in for the 1000HD, it comes with an 80GB hard drive that is powered by the Celeron M353 processor and a six cell battery. This hard drive is larger then the other models (except the new 1000H 160GB models) but as a result has added heat, noise and weight. This netbook can be customized to 2 GB DDR2 ram if you’d like as well.

This review is gonna fall short of other reviews simply because the Asus EEE 1000 was a short lived version and has been replaced by the 1000H/HD versions. To put it simply, the 1000 was simply an introduction to the future releases of this excellent netbook.

ASUS Eee PC 1000 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Solid State Drive, Linux, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony