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Overview of the Asus Eee PC 1000HE Netbook |
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Following on from Asus's orginal 700 series (2007) and the 900 range of netbooks (April 2008), the 1000 series was launched at COMPUTEX, Taipei in June 2008. A number of derivative models have been released so far. They all feature a considerably larger screen at 10" rather than the 8.9" for the earlier 900 series. For all you Windows fanboys, the Asus Eee 1000HE comes with Windows XP pre-installed, there is no GNU Linux version available, although there will be no complaints from the majority of computer users, who would undoubtedly opt for ubiquitous XP. |
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On to the processor. The 1000HE sports the new Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz processor compared with the N270 1.6GHz processor of the 1000HA version. However, the measly ..67GHz increase is unlikely to be noticed. Likewise for the front side bus speed increase which has gone from 533MHz on the N270 to 667MHz on the N280, but Atom's in-order design is probably the most significant bottle neck. The power consumption of the N280 is now down to 2W from the N270's 2.5W which is a laudible accomplishment by Intel. Memory tips the scales at the 1GB mark which is sufficient for most home computing tasks that you would want to do on a netbook. Regarding the hard drive, the overall disc storage of 160GB should be sufficient for most of your needs. Although vast archives of family photos and MP3 colections are best stored on an external RAID unit. Battery life has been extended drastically by using a 6-cell configuration compared to the 1000HA's 2-cell, taking it up to a claimed 9 hours compared with 7 for the HA. This may seem like over-kill but given that there are always going to be times when extra battery life is a major bonus - whenever you are on the move - be it in a train, at a desk away from a power source in a library, waiting at an airport etc. The keyboard on the 1000HE model is an isolated type - you either love them or hate them but if you are in doubt then it would be best to try one out before committing to purchase. some may find it a little less responsive than a regular keyboard. If you do alot of word processing then this might be an issue for you. The main advantage of an isolated type keyboard should be obvious - it keeps crumbs, dust and other nasties away from the internals of your beloved netbook and with the brisk swipe of a damp cloth renders the keyboard clean once more. This Asus netbook's casing employs Infusion Technology which is a modern manufacturing process used by Asus. It allows motifs to be built built into the chasis and which they claim offers a new level of resilience, resisting surface scratches. The build quality of this netbook seems solid, as with other Eee PCs it features large sturdy hinges joining the base and the screen together, normally a common weakpoint for laptop case damage through day-to-day usage. The 1000HE is available in pearl white, black, blue, and golden and features a built in web cam. Lastly on to the most important factor in choosing a cheap laptop - pricing. At the time of this article you can pick up an Asus 1000HE for well under 400 dollars in the States. For our British readers this netbook can currently be purchased for around 250 pounds. By Cheaperlaptop.com Wednesday, February 27, 2009 Related articles: - Good For Short Bursts? - The Asus UL20A-A1 - Samsung NC20 - Site map - Privacy policy |