ASUS Eee PC 1000H (884840272526) PC Notebook
Out of stock |
Similar in Laptops
- Weight: 3.2 lb.
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
- Processor: Atom 1.6 GHz
- Laptop Type: Ultraportable Laptop
- Installed Memory: 1 GB (DDR2 SDRAM)
- Display: 10 in. WSVGA TFT Active Matrix
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Small, light, fast and affordable
Pros
Compact, great components, fast, WiFi, Blue Tooth, long battery life.
Cons
Not for gamers. No PCMI (don't need it), no CD
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
With ASUS quality, under 3lb, 80gb and long battery life, for bit it may well be the best ultra mini notebook on the market for the moment.
The eee 1000H is the latest of the extra portable computers to come out of the project to develop laptops for all third world children. Unfortunately it was not possible in the end to keep the price low enough, but the development led to the development of the first series of affordable mini computers. The eee 1000H, the latest of the ASUS contributions to the genre, shines in many ways, including the glossy black cover. This would not be your main gaming machine or home office computer, but it is fabulous for an airplane tray or a coffee shop table.
POSITIVE:
*Size and weight*
At a little less than three pounds and 10", it fits in a purse or can be wrapped in sweaters in your flight bag.
*Price*
I looked for ultra portables a year ago and found nothing costing less than about $1500. The ASUS series beginning with the tiny 701 1gb series broke that barrier. This one sold for $650 out of the gate with a $100 rebate. The price was reduced to $550 when the rebate expired and can now be had for as little as $530 tax and shipping free on some sites.
*Usability/convenience*
Despite the small footprint, at about 85% of standard size the keyboard is very usable compared to other small versions. The screen is obviously limited by the size but very clear and non glare with wide viewing angles. You wouldn't want to type the next great American novel on it, but regular business tasks are extremely comfortable. A series of well placed task buttons control environmental settings like screen brightness, WiFi and Bluetooth.
*Speed*
With the new Intel Atom processor, it loads quickly and is speedy on the internet. Tasks load immediately.
.
*Great "all day" Battery Life (well, not quite, but still impressive)*
Previous Cloud Book style computers are limited to 2 and 3 cell ion batteries, which limits unplugged use to 2 to three hours. The Intel Atom construction along with a six cell battery permits the computer to run up to 8 hours in energy saving battery mode. In reality it will be more like 4 1/2 to 5, but that will still do a flight to NY.
*No annoying tease and bloat ware - preloaded with good product*
The laptop comes preloaded with Star Office, an open source alternative to Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Works. Enough to produce and work on normal tasks. IE7 works for browsing. The OS is XP. Skype - a free international computer to computer phone program - is preloaded (useful for travelers) but most considerately not-pre activated.
*Great "Kit" (components)*
ASUS is long revered as a producer of top quality Motherboards (the circuits which make the computer work..the backbone of all desktops and laptops). The newly developed Intel ATOM processor is not only fast but allows for better power use. With an ASUS motherboard, an 80GB Seagate hard drive and 1GB memory, this is a quality product. Built in speakers and a camera finish the pack. Note that the speakers are not Pavarotti worthy, but that's not the function of this notebook. A touch pad with two keys is fairly functional .. I personally do not like them.
*Connectors/Ports/LAN*
The 1000H comes with bluetooth, WiFi and Lan. There is no PCMI card slot or card reader and no CD or other optical drive. An extra video connection allows attaching a large screen. Two headphone slots.
*Small Power Supply*
The little power supply is just a bit larger than that of a standard cell phone, but with a full chord. A great improvement over the standard bulky transformers we are all used to schlepping around.
*Storage*
80GB is almost overkill for something in the cloud concept. You can put your entire arsenal of productivity software on it. Add another 20GB internet storage provided by ASUS, and you have 100.
*Sexy*
There's no other word for it. This glossy little model is just plain sexy. People will lean over you shoulder at Starbucks and stop in the aisles of the 747 to ask about it. That's at least until other models flood the market and everyone has one. It's likely to get you more attention than a teacup size Pomeranian.
NOT POSITIVE FOR SOME:
What it isn't.
This computer is small. As such it has limitations. I don't think that you would use it for graphic design, and the size limits your view. The keyboard is surely comfortable, but there is a period of getting used to the tighter keys, during which you make mistakes. It probably won't make for good gaming, and I doubt that you can load it with Vista. I don't find that negative.
*No Optical Drive means Loading software takes a little trickery*
But only a little. You can either network to another unit with an optical drive (Lan on board!) and install the software from that computer's CD drive or copy the entire CD into a folder on a thumb drive and then install it on the laptop from there. A 2gb Thumb drive (currently selling for less than $10) will hold full Corel Office Pro, full Microsoft Office 2000 Pro, Avast and a couple of tiny apps. The advantage to the second approach is that you can have your installations available on the thumb drive if you need them. Tip: also install a .txt document on the thumb drive with the software keys.
*Touchpad*
I dislike touchpads, so don't listen to me. There are two new left and right mouse buttons, but it feels hard. I always carry a tiny optical mouse with a retractable cord, anyway, so it really doesn't matter.
*No Anti Virus software.*
Actually this is a plus, as it gives you the opportunity to choose your own. AV software pre-loaded is usually a tease and difficult to uninstall if you don't like it. It is very easy to either download AVAST or AVG (or any other one you like, I happen to be smitten by Avast) from the Internet and install it. Better yet, download it to the thumb drive your existing (hopefully protected computer)and install it from there to the 1000H.
*The shiny case* as if I cared.
Some reviewers elsewhere do not like the shiny case, as it shows fingerprints. The computer comes with a polishing cloth and a padded sleeve to protect it. No big deal.
*It's not solid state*
Which is a pity. The children's computers were initially planned to be solid state..that means no moving parts which means extremely robust. This is not solid state, which means you should not drop it. You probably could figure that out for yourselves. It does not have the new technology provided by Lenovo and Toshiba in some newer laptops to shut off the drive if it feels itself falling. Of course, you could buy about five of these for what those cost or have it repaired a few dozen times.
Considerations:
This is the latest of what promises to be a fabulous run of really useful little notebooks. It's about time. This one is a winner, but there are others apparently in the same category. MSI Wind is extremely popular and a little cheaper, although without the battery life. In addition, ASUS has a full line of smaller units from the 1000 (no H) which runs on Linux with only 40GB (you really don't need more) and solid state drives (no spinning wheel = robust) to the truly teeny 1 GB 700 series with 4 to 20 GB in between.
Most of the Solid state models run Linux (A 16GB solid state windows machine is available) and the pre 1000 series have smaller batteries.
The cloud computing construct allows for the 1, 2 and 4 gb models, the assumption being that not only your data but your programs will be on a server, so you just need the core. You can work around this to some extent with large USB thumb drives or external drives, or use the 20GB of on-line storage provided by ASUS. If you don't have a lot of productivity storage, the smaller versions may be a good choice.
Finally, the ASUS eee series and the MSI Wind are the forefront of what promises to be a very positive notebook trend with smaller and cheaper coming from nearly all of the manufacturers. IBM has just put up a pre-order site for the similar S10 model (comes in red) with less battery life selling at $440. As they do, there may be more rebates and price wars as well as more solid state machines with boasting long battery life in the sub $500 price range, so patience may be a good tactic. If you travel often, however, now is better than later.
POSITIVE:
*Size and weight*
At a little less than three pounds and 10", it fits in a purse or can be wrapped in sweaters in your flight bag.
*Price*
I looked for ultra portables a year ago and found nothing costing less than about $1500. The ASUS series beginning with the tiny 701 1gb series broke that barrier. This one sold for $650 out of the gate with a $100 rebate. The price was reduced to $550 when the rebate expired and can now be had for as little as $530 tax and shipping free on some sites.
*Usability/convenience*
Despite the small footprint, at about 85% of standard size the keyboard is very usable compared to other small versions. The screen is obviously limited by the size but very clear and non glare with wide viewing angles. You wouldn't want to type the next great American novel on it, but regular business tasks are extremely comfortable. A series of well placed task buttons control environmental settings like screen brightness, WiFi and Bluetooth.
*Speed*
With the new Intel Atom processor, it loads quickly and is speedy on the internet. Tasks load immediately.
.
*Great "all day" Battery Life (well, not quite, but still impressive)*
Previous Cloud Book style computers are limited to 2 and 3 cell ion batteries, which limits unplugged use to 2 to three hours. The Intel Atom construction along with a six cell battery permits the computer to run up to 8 hours in energy saving battery mode. In reality it will be more like 4 1/2 to 5, but that will still do a flight to NY.
*No annoying tease and bloat ware - preloaded with good product*
The laptop comes preloaded with Star Office, an open source alternative to Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Works. Enough to produce and work on normal tasks. IE7 works for browsing. The OS is XP. Skype - a free international computer to computer phone program - is preloaded (useful for travelers) but most considerately not-pre activated.
*Great "Kit" (components)*
ASUS is long revered as a producer of top quality Motherboards (the circuits which make the computer work..the backbone of all desktops and laptops). The newly developed Intel ATOM processor is not only fast but allows for better power use. With an ASUS motherboard, an 80GB Seagate hard drive and 1GB memory, this is a quality product. Built in speakers and a camera finish the pack. Note that the speakers are not Pavarotti worthy, but that's not the function of this notebook. A touch pad with two keys is fairly functional .. I personally do not like them.
*Connectors/Ports/LAN*
The 1000H comes with bluetooth, WiFi and Lan. There is no PCMI card slot or card reader and no CD or other optical drive. An extra video connection allows attaching a large screen. Two headphone slots.
*Small Power Supply*
The little power supply is just a bit larger than that of a standard cell phone, but with a full chord. A great improvement over the standard bulky transformers we are all used to schlepping around.
*Storage*
80GB is almost overkill for something in the cloud concept. You can put your entire arsenal of productivity software on it. Add another 20GB internet storage provided by ASUS, and you have 100.
*Sexy*
There's no other word for it. This glossy little model is just plain sexy. People will lean over you shoulder at Starbucks and stop in the aisles of the 747 to ask about it. That's at least until other models flood the market and everyone has one. It's likely to get you more attention than a teacup size Pomeranian.
NOT POSITIVE FOR SOME:
What it isn't.
This computer is small. As such it has limitations. I don't think that you would use it for graphic design, and the size limits your view. The keyboard is surely comfortable, but there is a period of getting used to the tighter keys, during which you make mistakes. It probably won't make for good gaming, and I doubt that you can load it with Vista. I don't find that negative.
*No Optical Drive means Loading software takes a little trickery*
But only a little. You can either network to another unit with an optical drive (Lan on board!) and install the software from that computer's CD drive or copy the entire CD into a folder on a thumb drive and then install it on the laptop from there. A 2gb Thumb drive (currently selling for less than $10) will hold full Corel Office Pro, full Microsoft Office 2000 Pro, Avast and a couple of tiny apps. The advantage to the second approach is that you can have your installations available on the thumb drive if you need them. Tip: also install a .txt document on the thumb drive with the software keys.
*Touchpad*
I dislike touchpads, so don't listen to me. There are two new left and right mouse buttons, but it feels hard. I always carry a tiny optical mouse with a retractable cord, anyway, so it really doesn't matter.
*No Anti Virus software.*
Actually this is a plus, as it gives you the opportunity to choose your own. AV software pre-loaded is usually a tease and difficult to uninstall if you don't like it. It is very easy to either download AVAST or AVG (or any other one you like, I happen to be smitten by Avast) from the Internet and install it. Better yet, download it to the thumb drive your existing (hopefully protected computer)and install it from there to the 1000H.
*The shiny case* as if I cared.
Some reviewers elsewhere do not like the shiny case, as it shows fingerprints. The computer comes with a polishing cloth and a padded sleeve to protect it. No big deal.
*It's not solid state*
Which is a pity. The children's computers were initially planned to be solid state..that means no moving parts which means extremely robust. This is not solid state, which means you should not drop it. You probably could figure that out for yourselves. It does not have the new technology provided by Lenovo and Toshiba in some newer laptops to shut off the drive if it feels itself falling. Of course, you could buy about five of these for what those cost or have it repaired a few dozen times.
Considerations:
This is the latest of what promises to be a fabulous run of really useful little notebooks. It's about time. This one is a winner, but there are others apparently in the same category. MSI Wind is extremely popular and a little cheaper, although without the battery life. In addition, ASUS has a full line of smaller units from the 1000 (no H) which runs on Linux with only 40GB (you really don't need more) and solid state drives (no spinning wheel = robust) to the truly teeny 1 GB 700 series with 4 to 20 GB in between.
Most of the Solid state models run Linux (A 16GB solid state windows machine is available) and the pre 1000 series have smaller batteries.
The cloud computing construct allows for the 1, 2 and 4 gb models, the assumption being that not only your data but your programs will be on a server, so you just need the core. You can work around this to some extent with large USB thumb drives or external drives, or use the 20GB of on-line storage provided by ASUS. If you don't have a lot of productivity storage, the smaller versions may be a good choice.
Finally, the ASUS eee series and the MSI Wind are the forefront of what promises to be a very positive notebook trend with smaller and cheaper coming from nearly all of the manufacturers. IBM has just put up a pre-order site for the similar S10 model (comes in red) with less battery life selling at $440. As they do, there may be more rebates and price wars as well as more solid state machines with boasting long battery life in the sub $500 price range, so patience may be a good tactic. If you travel often, however, now is better than later.
