Asus Eee PC 1000

The Eee PC 1000, the most well equipped and largest in the Eee series, is a fabulous netbook that walks the thin line between netbook and ultraportable. It’s well equipped, well designed and great for anyone looking for a balance between portability and functionality. The Intel Atom N270 processor, a revolution on its own, replaced the popular Celeron in many cases and is used in most low cost notebooks and is more than adequate for a small mini notebook and yet at the same time not compromising the size of the screen or keyboard. For such a small, mini notebook, to weigh in at 1.45kg is less than permissible and being so small and portable and not having the capability of 3G is a slight let down. A fabulous machine well equipped and portable, well designed and compact and has a choice of specifications. Fantastic for those on the move and is small whilst still being usable. The solid state drive is a benefit as a knock or bump will not harm it in a way that a traditional hard disk would be affected. The Asus Eee PC 1000, like the others in its range, is no ordinary laptop. It is a netbook and this netbook kicks the rear ends of all of its predecessors. It is the best and most well equipped and largest notebook in the Eee series.

Before we cause confusion lets clear up what a netbook actually is. A netbook is a category of small, inexpensive and light weight sub notebooks specialized for web browsing and core computing. An excellent companion for anyone who needs a permanent travel computer.

Asus have ensured that the Eee PC 1000 is available in one of two operating systems. The more common Windows XP model for around £349 and a Linux model for £369. Before you wonder where that extra £20 is going, we have no idea. Along with saving £20 with the Windows model you receive an extra 40GB of hard disk space. However, both models come with 802.11bgn Wi-Fi allow you to connect to just about any and every wireless network.

The netbook measures in at 22.5cm x 17.0cm x 2.0cm and as a result is very portable, even though it is the biggest, in terms of physical size, in its series. That’s not a problem but the weigh of the netbook is, without the battery it weighs in at about 1.1kg yet with the battery it weighs an extra 0.35kg. The size and weight of this netbook forces us to say that this isn’t really a netbook, it is more of an ultraportable laptop such as the Sony Vaio TZ series.

However, the keyboard on this small 10.1 inch screen netbook is something to brag about. The keyboard is one of the best, if not the best, on any machine in its category. The mouse pad is quite simply perfect. It supports multi-touch input which means you can rub two fingers vertically or horizontally to roll through documents or even use a pinch motion to zoon in and out of images. This just makes surfing the net and life so much easier.

Considering that ultraportable laptops can cost anywhere above £500 the Asus is still in the clear as this netbook is at its most is only £369.

Overall the machine is not bad at all. Its screen is of a good standard and it’s a pleasure to use. In the field of performance, as long as you stick to web surfing, word processing and watching movie you shouldn’t be disappointed. Furthermore, it has a great battery life of four hours enough to watch Saw I and II and get half way through Saw III, now that is a good laptop.