I broke down and decided to get myself a new notebook. My last purchase was a mammoth desktop replacement notebook from Gateway. Even though it is about 4 years old, it’s still perfectly good. Coming it at 2ghz and 1gig of RAM, it served as my primary computer for about 2 years. The only problem with it, it weighs 1000 lbs. Okay, not really, but it is heavy & big. I never consider taking it with me anywhere. Did I mention it is big and heavy, I did, well, did I mention that it drains the battery in about 2 hours?
This time around I was looking for portability over performance and I didn’t want to shell out a fortune for a notebook that will serve as a secondary device. With that criteria I focused my search on netbooks.
Netbooks are light weight, low cost, energy efficient notebooks that focus on mobility over performance. There were several in the running, but I settled on the ASUS Eee PC 1000H. Primarily because of the user base, hacks & mods, and looks. The MSI Wind came in a close second on my list.
After playing around with this little ASUS for several days, I am hooked. I wouldn’t recommend it as a primary PC unless your eyesight is perfect and you’ve got small hands. The small screen isn’t really a deterrent for casual use, but I don’t think I would want to spend all day working on it.
I’ve owned various types of notebooks & laptops over the years, from desktop replacements to road warrior, but what sets this one apart from the rest is the superb battery life. I used it for a straight 4 hours with wifi and had only depleted a little over half of the battery life.
It’s a winner where it matters – portability. One other thing that I will point out is that it didn’t come with DVD/CD roms built in, so I ordered a slim DVD writer. Just in case I want to install some apps via CD/DVD.
Specs as ordered:
Processor Class: | Atom™ processor N270 |
Processor Speed: | 1.60GHz |
Memory: | 1GB DDR2 |
HD: | 160GB (5400 RPM) |
COM: | Integrated LAN |
Integrated Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n |
|
Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 300 Mbps |
|
Width: | 10.47" |
Height: | 1.12" – 1.50" |
Depth: | 7.53" |
Weight: | 3.2 lbs |
Screen Size: | 10" |
Resolution: | 1024 x 600 |
Battery Type: | 6-Cell Lithium-ion |
Battery Life: | Up to 7 hours |
Hats off to ASUS for building such a superb little machine.
Barrett Brown
Nice. Glad you were able to find something that works for you. I've been considering getting a laptop myself off and on for the past couple of years. My hang-up has been getting one that's portable, has plenty of room on the keypad, and is easily affordable.
Suzan
Thanks for the review. Can you give us the price you paid for the base model and upgrades? I've heard about this laptop on Leo Laporte's podcast.
Brian Junyor
I bought it from Tigerdirect.com for $499. http://tinyurl.com/4hglk7
Brian Junyor
I bought it from Tigerdirect.com for $499. http://tinyurl.com/4hglk7