ASUS Eee PC 1000H Review

After a month’s usage of the Asus Eee PC 1000H UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC), what can be said about this new UMPC or Netbook by ASUS?

I haven’t really been much of a fan of laptops as they were still hard to carry. I have a laptop but I still go by the train and ride the bus every so often and the weight of the laptop still bothers me.

With the release of the recent Netbooks and UMPCs (with the first release by ASUS), I was really excited as they beat what traditional laptops were trying to boast since their existence – portability. However, the UMPC’s capacity was still small and their performance was still not very good.

With the arrival of the Asus Eee PC 1000h, it has become a reality to see the power of a laptop, and the portability of a Netbook. Or has it really?

Design

If you notice above, the Asus Eee PC 1000h is pure white. I haven’t seen any netbook or laptop, other than the Mac, which can boast this kind of design. It’s like having a mini-Macbook which is really appealing. Everything is white, including the keyboard. The “Eee” logo is even hardly noticeable.

This is also the case with the black version.

 

 

The cords and adaptor were part of the designing plans of Asus as well. If you have the white version, you get a pure white adaptor and power cord. If you have the black version, you get a pure black adaptor and power cord as well. Very cool!

It would have been cooler though if Asus shipped a free Asus mouse which is purely white or black as well. But I guess that’s asking too much.

 

 

Ergonomics

There are three things that spring into mind when we mention ergonomics in this Asus Eee PC 1000h review – Keyboard, Display, and Portability.

As the 1000h is slightly bigger than the other netbooks, it enjoys an advantage over the Keyboard size and Display size.

 

The Keyboard layout is very easy to use. In contrast with the other UMPCs in the market, you won’t have to worry about the keyboard size of the Asus 1000h. It’s easy to type with and you can surely type long hours with it.

The trackpad below the keyboard is easy to use as well. It’s bigger and the trackpad buttons are located at the bottom of the trackpad (some netbooks put the buttons on the sides of the trackpad).

When it comes to the display, you now have a bigger screen with its 10-inch wide LCD. Sure it’s still small but you’ll get the hang of it after a few hours of use unlike smaller netbooks.

As the Asus 1000h is bigger, we expected to have portability problems. But it turns out it’s weight and slightly bigger size wasn’t a problem at all. It was still very portable. I guess the smaller netbooks were really too small.

Battery Life

A 6-cell battery for the 1000h is a great plus. It brings more battery life to an already very portable device. Previous Eee PC versions only had 3-cell batteries.

 

For the purpose of this Asus Eee PC 1000h review, I tried draining the battery and it lasted me 5 hours before it ran out – and this is with WiFi turned on.

The combination of the 6-cell battery and the new Intel Atom 1.6Ghz processor (which is desgned for UMPCs or netbooks) has really given the Asus 1000h more battery life.

Performance

The Asus 1000h is packed with a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor, 80GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, and a pre-installed Windows XP operating system.

For a true Netbook or UMPC user, this is a big step forward. The Intel Atom processor was really designed for the UMPC which is paired with a larger than the usual UMPC capacity and a bigger RAM.

I do recommend though that you upgrade the usual 1GB of RAM to a 2GB as the performance difference is noticeable already.

Side Panels

Since the back panel is already occupied by the battery, the slots for power, USB, sound, etc. can be found at the sides. I liked this specifically as connecting your USB or power is easier when you just look at the sides as compared when it is located at the back. The slots are well-placed, giving it a clean and organized look.

The right panel consists of (from left to right), the 2-in-1 card slot, 2 USB ports, VGA port, and power slot where you plug in your power cord.

 

 

The left panel consists of the lock, LAN, USB slot, microphone slot and earphone slot. It’s also where the speaker is located.

 

 

Extras

I have to mention in this Asus Eee PC 1000h review how it includes the Dolby 5.1 Surround audio. I have to point out that it really gives far better sound quality than all the other netbooks and some of the laptops in the market today.

It also offers a built in Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n for wireless internet connectivity. Unlike the usual offering of only 802.11b/g it has 802.11n which offers much faster speeds.

It also includes a 1.3 MP camera. Together with it’s built in microphone, you can use the pre-installed Skype software (for video calls) when you have a readily available internet connection.

 

Verdict

The introduction of the Intel Atom processor confirmed that UMPCs or Netbooks are here to stay. The Asus Eee PC 1000h only gives us more to reason own one. Although UMPCs lack CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives, it’s other features more than make up for it. It’s lower price than the traditional laptop is also making it more appealing.

Another 10-inch Netbook, the MSI Wind NB, is cheaper but the design and overall performance of the Asus 1000h gives you more satisfaction. For one, the 1000h is given a 2-year international warranty. The design of the 1000h is also much better. It feels nicer to the touch and doesn’t seem to scratch easily.

The Asus Eee PC 1000h is a very good buy and is worth your consideration when you shop for a PC. It has more than lived up to it’s price tag for the portability, ease of use, and performance it offers.