ASUS Eee PC 1000HE (EPC1000HE-BLK005X) Netbook

I won't bore you with too many of the specifications on this machine, but will instead focus on its featers and usability.

I obtained if from Amazon.com for the price of $374.00 and there were no shipping charges. It comes loaded with the Windows XP operating system, which was THE major reason for purchasing this machine over that of a full-sized laptop. I've read too many stories about Microsoft's newest operating system, Vista, and besides the other two PCs in my household run on XP as well. No sens in rocking an otherwise steady boat, right?

We had to wait about a month before the machine was available for shipment. We could have opted for the same model without the "extended" battery life and gotten it quickly, but not having a dire need for this PC I waited for the latest and greatest version.

This model is touted for its extended operating time, supposedly able to go almost 10 hours between charges. This may be true in the labratory, but under typical usage expect about 6 to 7 hours of battery life. Typical meaning having the wireless option turned on and the screen set up for optimal brightness. I have not played with it enough to determine if you could truly get 9 hours out of a charge, but I can see where it would be possible with the wireless option disengaged, minimal use of the hard drive and the screen brightness turned down.

The keyboard is small but fully functional, but I wouldn't type any novels on it. I have large hands and found misspellings to be frequent unless I slowed down, but this would not be the case for the typical person. The computer was purchased for the wife, who has girly hands anyway. The keyboard layout for the most part mimicks that of a full size laptop so no major adjustments are required. From what I have read the keyboard layout is improved from earlier models.

There are ample USB ports on the machine, one on the left side and two on the right. There are no connections on the back of the machine as there usually are with full size laptops. The battery consumes most of the space on the back side, taking up about 80% of the real estate and probably about 60% of the weight of the entire machine.

The touchpad is scaled correctly for the keyboard, but again large fingers will not help you here. After reading the instructions and figuring out how to scroll with it, it was actually very convenient, but I opted to buy a cordless mouse anyway. For the most part cruising the internet or documents is fairly easy to do, although at times the touchpad seemed "buggy" and caused issues in scrolling up and down pages. I won't go so far as to say that the software in bad, but I will say that me and my large fingers had issues. With an optional wireless mouse everything fell into place.

The loaded software includes the generic word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software that is Microsoft Office compatible. Looks and acts very close to the Office suite, so for my wife's purpose of using this in school or on trips, I see no reason to invest the money or hard drive space on anything more full-featured. So far the only software I have loaded has been Norton's Anti-Virus and Microsoft's free anti-spyware beta. My wife, a.k.a. the virus queen, has a bad habit of falling prey to virus and spyware attacks. Thus far we've had no software issues at all.

The 160GB hard drive is quick and quiet. I never even here it running as a matter of fact. The size is more than adequate for our intended purpose, and any pictures or documents won't stay for long as they will be transferred to our other machines.

There is no CD/DVD drive built into the computer. This should not be viewed as a negative, because to add this the size, weight and price would all have suffered. You can purchase an external drive powered by the USB port for $100 or less anyway should you have the need. The computer supports SD cards and the like anyway, so I feel this was in keeping with the intention of the netbook purpose.

I have not used it yet, but the PC also comes with a webcam and stero microphone built in. The internal speakers function well for a small machine, having plenty of volume and adequate range. Don't buy it if you need high fidelity sound, but it can hold its own.

The machine runs quietly and generates just a moderate amount of heat. I would not classify the keyboard as library or classroom quiet, but it isn't terribly loud either. BTW, the mouse I purchased was a Logitech brand that comes with what they call a "micro" receiver that plugs into the USB port and sticks out from the machine about a half inch. It works great, there is never any problem with the mouse not working smoothly and the battery life of the mouse is supposedly about a year. Installation required no software or setup, truly plug and play. Its too bad that they could not make it mount flush with the surface of the PC as well, but overall it is a great improvement. We leave the receiver in all the time.

The screen is bright, crisp and full of color. It measures just over 10" diagonally, which is enough to view most documents and web pages with minimal scrolling. Probably 12" to 14" would be ideal, but then you would lose what makes netbooks most useful - thier compact size. The screen is much more short than it is wide, so to view a one page document you'll do some scrolling, but thats okay and a good trade-off for the size and weight.

If you need moderate computing and storage capability in a small package with an equally small price, this is the one for you. If, however, you are a power user or gamer or you are working on that next best seller or play, invest in the appropriate machine. This one is perfect for occasional use or traveling and is priced quite reasonably. Two (large) thumbs up!