Asus Eee PC 1000HG 3G netbook hitting UK next week
May 6, 2009 at 12:43 pm
The Asus Eee PC 1000HG was first announced back in February when it was launched in Taiwan. It is not a netbook that Asus seems to be pushing too heavily as we still cannot even find a product page for it on the Asus site. The 1000HG, as you can guess, is pretty much a 1000H but includes integrated 3G. At the time, no details on whether the 1000HG would appear in other markets were given. Nonetheless, according to a number of UK retailers, it now looks like the 1000HG is set to launch in the next couple of weeks.
However, it is not going to come cheap. Play.com has it for £429.99 on pre-order with an estimated release date of 11 May 2009. Amazon
The 1000HG specifications are the same as the 1000H (bar the integrated 3G). The 10-inch (1024 x 600) Eee PC 1000HG netbook comes with a 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and a 160GB HDD. It will also come with a 6-cell battery which should be good for around 7 hours of battery life. It weighs 1.45kg and will be available in black & white.
May 6th, 2009 1:14 PM
3G was on my wish list when I was looking for a netbook but very few models were on the market. Even today the offer is rather poor, which may be the reason why ASUS feels it can charge such a high premium for this model.
There is an alternative which I have yet to test: use my blackberry as a modem via wireless bleutooth. It works in some countries on most brands. I will attempt to get it up and running when I have enough spare time.
Does anybody have any experience with this?
May 7th, 2009 5:36 PM
If you take away the 3G, is the 1000HG an inferior machine compared to the 1000HE??
May 7th, 2009 5:50 PM
Igor, yes you can use a BlackBerry’s modem to connect to the internet. This is widely possible in the UK. But some operators charge you extra, even if you have “unlimited” data plans, you will need to check. I haven’t tried it via Bluetooth, but via USB I have and it works ok.
May 7th, 2009 6:02 PM
AaaBaa – The 1000HE is a better machine, it comes with a faster processor, better battery life and a chiclet keyboard. The latter depends on personal preference, but unless you really need 3G, go for the 1000HE.
May 7th, 2009 7:15 PM
Tej, thanks for your reply.
Asus are indeed rather confusing with their numbering! I am not too concerned with battery life or, within reason, price. On this basis, what netbook of the 1000HE, 1002HAE and 1008HA – or indeed any other – is the one to go for, on specs alone? I’m thinking the 1008HA. Do you agree? All of the above three seem to have very similar specs – except for battery and price.
May 7th, 2009 11:25 PM
Well the 1002HA and 1002HAE haven’t appeared in Europe so far (as far as I’m aware), so that rules them out. If you’re not too concerned on battery life then the 1008HA seems like a sound bet judging by today’s reviews.
It’s worth noting that it doesn’t have a removeable battery and I’m sure whether the RAM/HDD can be upgraded either. If that doesn’t bother you, then it would make an ideal choice. We should be getting a 1008HA for review shortly when hopefully we can enlighten you on some of these points!