NbC: Asus Eee PC 1000HE Review
April 28, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Keyboard
Asus have managed to fit a 92 percent size chiclet keyboard on the Eee PC 1000HE. I have very mixed feelings about the keyboard used. On the one hand, it is very comfortable to type with for long periods thanks to some generous spacing in its chiclet keys. Keys have a good tactile feedback and thankfully there is a large ‘Enter’ key on the right hand side of the netbook along with the right shift key in the place.
However, given the very solid feeling surrounding the chassis, the same cannot be said for the keyboard. You can’t help to notice the keyboard flex, even if just pressing down on a key with moderate force. In reality, this doesn’t deter from typing but I feel that this plays a part in keyboard ‘rattle’ when typing at speed. After a while that does start to grate. It is a shame as otherwise the keyboard is very well designed.
The chiclet keyboard is being adopted by Asus into all of its recent netbooks. It has also refreshed some of its older models with this new style keyboard. It has significant spacing between keys which means that typing for long periods is quite comfortable.
There is a full size Enter key in the UK SKU of the 1000HE which is welcome. Also, Asus have listened to its customers and relocated the right shift key, which makes typing more intuitive. Taking the place of the old shift key is a second function key, for one-handed page up and page down movements.
They keys themselves are reasonably sized and whilst using the keyboard at length I rarely hit the wrong keys. The keys are just slightly off-square, measuring 14 mm by 13 mm, with a 3-mm gap between keys.
Keyboard flex was a problem. You do not need to apply much force to see and feel the keyboard bounce up and down whilst typing. This can be disconcerting when typing at length. It is the one negative of the keyboard, but for some this may be a significant minus point.
One of the benefits of chiclet keyboards is the spacing between keys leading to less errors whilst typing. The keys have 17.5mm separating the centre points of the alphabetical keys which provides an enjoyable typing experience. Despite the keyboard flex, the 1000HE was actually quite comfortable to type on for long periods.
Touchpad
The touchpad found on the 1000HE is not the biggest you’ll find on a netbook, however despite this I found it quite responsive to use. The touchpad also supports multi-gesture input which was a bit hit-and-miss in practice. Whilst I enjoyed using the two finger control to scroll pages, I found that this Elantech touchpad lacked sensitivity when trying to zoom in and out. Touchpads using Synaptic technology are meant to have more sensitivity and this was something I felt was lacking in the 1000HE, especially for the multi-touch gestures.
The touchpad is not the biggest out there for a netbook, but is perfectly adequate for internet browsing and using Office.
Sensitivity did become an issue when trying to use the multi-touch gestures. Whilst scrolling was fine, I just could not zoom in and out with any kind of accuracy. Often I needed to use fingers on two separate hands to complete my request.
The mouse buttons are placed directly below the touchpad and are quite firm to the touch. In fact, I found them to be a bit too firm. The tension in the buttons was so strong that I found that it broke the free-flowing nature of the keyboard as I would often need to depress the button again as I had not been firm enough the first time round. You do get used to it and I’d rather have the buttons be too firm rather than too soft to be fair.
April 28th, 2009 4:07 PM
Asus eee pc 1000HE vs Samsung N110/N120 batterytest would be intresting. Also Windows XP vs Ubuntu 9.04 batterytest would be intresting. Is battery time lot worse if you install Ubuntu to these machines and whats difference of startup time..
April 28th, 2009 4:28 PM
A very well thought out and thorough review. Definitely one of the best ones I’ve seen, even compared to well known sites. Nice job NbC!
April 29th, 2009 2:38 PM
Mika – We’ll be looking forward to seeing how the 1000HE against Samsung’s new netbooks soon enough.
Regarding the Ubuntu tests, it could be quite interesting to see if there is a difference. Hopefully, we’ll have the time to try that next time.
Igor – Thanks for the compliment. Hope you’re enjoying your 1000HE as much as we did. It’s a shame we had to give ours back…
April 29th, 2009 7:51 PM
I suppose operating time with Windows XP is better, but how big difference is with XP and Ubuntu would be nice to know. I suppose that Samsung and other companys support Windows at their battery save mode, if there is not Linux support time difference can be quite big. I just would like to install Ubuntu to Netbook, course then maybe wouldnt need virus software that takes CPU and it again uses more battery.
May 1st, 2009 5:18 PM
Pros:
1. Battery Life – It really is that good. I can get a real world value of 7.5 to 8 hours with the WLAN on under the power saving mode. I can’t even see a difference with the performance when in this mode.
2. LED-lit screen – I was expecting a basic screen that didn’t look particularly great. I was surprised with the look of it, even at the low, netbook standard resolution.
3. Keyboard – The so-called chiclet keys are very comfortable, and the placement of the shift key in the correct spot really separates this model from the rest.
Cons:
1. Windows XP – Yeah, I know. Most would say this is a pro. However, I passed the XP life-cycle on desktops and I’m now having to learn the intricacies of this OS. I wish I could have have them put the Windows 7 beta on it before shipping because I did not get it in time to download, but I digress.
2. Performance – Not technically a con, but I expected a little more of a boost from the bus increase to 667 Mhz. Still, it serves its purposes as a netbook, and the upcoming performance boost in Intel’s chipset will probably decrease battery life by 2-3 hours.
May 4th, 2009 2:16 AM
Well they may have placed that right shift key in the correct place, but making it so small was a bad move. True touch typist will find they have to really pay attention to insure they don’t hit one of the other keys.
While I give Kudo’s to ASUS for moving the shift key, I have to say them making it so small still took this one out of the running and it is the reason I own a Samsung N120 instead.
The sad thing is that the boost from the so called new chipset and increase 667 FSB are totally unremarkable and according to most reviews unnoticeable when comparing to netbooks with the older chipset with a 533 FST
The other thing that I feel most don’t consider is support after the sell and ASUS has about the worse support out there today. I’d be real concerned about that issue more than anything else.
May 14th, 2009 8:38 PM
this the site which I found the battery&power supply weight !
June 8th, 2009 2:08 PM
An excellent review. Well done Jet. I think your way of testing the battery is really great. It gives us a clearer view.
June 8th, 2009 3:39 PM
Thanks Mark. As always, if you think there are ways we can improve our reviews please drop us a line! 🙂
June 15th, 2009 8:15 PM
Get Asus said:
“I wish I could have have them put the Windows 7 beta on it”
y the h3ll would u want win 7 for? If u got it on a netbook it would come w/ win 7 starter and with that OS u can only run 3 programs at once and u can’t change the wallpaper… That really sux. Microsoft is slapping there Luser in the face with this crap. Just uses Linux, its a h3ll of a lot better.
July 30th, 2009 4:12 PM
It’s a very well thought out and thorough review specs.