ASUS Eee PC 1000HE (EPC1000HE-BLK005X) Netbook

I bought this PC because my main laptop is an HP dv9500t, an 8+ pound, 17" behemoth, and lugging it back and forth from the library was not only a burden because of all my books but packing it up was a pain as well.  This new ASUS EeePC solves that entirely and I love the machine so far.

(At the time of writing this I have been using the machine for 1 week.)

In the box:
-ASUS EeePC 1000HE with battery not installed
-ASUS EeePC 1000HE battery
-ASUS EeePC 1000HE power cable (two pieces)
-Laptop bag
-Microfiber cloth (not very big)
-Drivers CD
-Some manuals

The install CD is a little dubious considering there is no CD drive...but I guess there is no cheaper way of providing such material.  Its not like they are going to giving everyone a free USB flash drive with drivers.  Maybe when flash memory becomes dirt cheap, like less than a penny like CDs, we will see it happen, but until then just don't break Windows :-D.

Size/weight/chassis/aesthetics:
*It is very small, especially when considering I use a 17" laptop as my main machine.  All the computer's size stats are all over the web, so they aren't worth repeating.
*The unit is able to be picked up with one hand without feeling like you need more support.  Compare this to my 17" laptop which when picked up with one hand from the side it feels like I am lifting a chair with one hand - so much pressure required to support the bottom.  But not with the EeePC, picking it up is very simple, no second hand required.  Its 3+ pound weight isn't as light as other netbooks on the market, thanks in part to its 6 cell battery, but depending on what you have been using prior to the machine it could be too light or too heavy, and coming from a 17" laptop it is light.
*The gloss finish is nice. I got the blue finish because I wanted there to be a bit of contrast between the keyboard (black) and the chassis (blue) but as it turns out the blue is more like a midnight blue and it is very hard to distinguish between the two colors.  It is upsetting knowing that the US market only had the option of blue or black, because apparently there is a white version available somewhere in this world (at least according to the side of the box).  So in sum it doesnt matter which color you get...bottom line is get whichever is cheaper (there shouldnt be a price difference, though).
*The lid does NOT open with one hand.  Yes, you can force your way into doing it, but its not comfortable, heh.  It really is meant to be opened with two hands.  My 17" laptop opens with one hand, it would have been nice to have a one handed lid, but nothing too upsetting.  It would probably require a lot of WD40 to make it open with one hand, but I'm not willing to do that.  I like the current amount of resistance to the lid as it is now.
*There is no button to open the lid.  Just pull up, push down.  Very simple.  And thankfully, the lid doesn't snap shut when closing it.  It eases its way down.


Heat:
*Heat is not an issue.  It certainly isn't an issue with the battery off since you are probably going to use it in battery saver mode in such a case.  With the power plugged in, even when using it on a sheet it really did not get hot at all.
*Should the unit ever reach "warm" status there is a very subtle fan.  I rarely even hear it.  Yes, I CAN hear it, but it certainly is not a fan you would find in desktop replacement laptops.


Touchpad (it deserves its own section because it is a radical change from the norm of touchpads):
*As you have probably read the touchpad is multitouch.  What you probably haven't read is that it is a two AND three finger touch pad.  When someone tells me multitouch surface I think only two finger, not three finger.  The software for the touchpad lets you configure two and three finger touch options: scroll lat/vert (two finger), zoom in/out (two finger), swipe (three finger), rotate (three finger), magnify (two finger), tap (one finger).  Whats neat is that the touchpad software in the system tray shows an image based on how many fingers are touching - 1 finger shows 1 circle, 2 shows 2, 3 shows 3.
*The touchpad is super sensitive.  I turned off all but one of the tapping features because I always found the computer picking up accidental taps even if I didn't intend to do it.  The only tapping feature I didn't turn off is the virtual scrolling, this is because this touchpad does NOT have a virtual scroll bar like single-touch touchpads have.  This is not really covered in any review I have seen.  There is no vertical or lateral scroll bar, it is all controlled by the two finger touch feature.
*The touchpad buttons are vintage ASUS, to my dismay.  I say that because ASUS touchpads, those of the metallic type as on the 1000HE, have this tendency to only register clicks in the "correct" spot.  There is no "correct" spot to hit the touchpad just you register the best click where the buttons slope down with the front of the machine.  Hitting the buttons on the top side certainly registers a click but there is much more effort involved.  This was done because on such a small touchpad you will have a tendency to have your thumb resting on the downslope thus in a better position to tap the keys in that position.

Keyboard (again, it is deserving of its own section)
*Typing on the keyboard is fine, although it takes some time getting used to.  Its not because its a bad keyboard, its because its a netbook.  My friend who also just purchased a netbook (a DELL) is having similar trouble.  It is hard to get an ENTER press without pushing the "\" key, I keep hitting F6 instead of F5 (to refresh a browser page), and I keep hitting CAPS LOCK when typing an A.  I will get it down soon, though.
*The keyboard is nice but it certainly could be much better.  I have used the Mac chiclet keyboard (my school just upgraded all its macs) and while the 1000HE keyboard chiclet keyboard is nice it certainly is no Mac keyboard.  The 1000HE's has a little more bounce to it towards the center of the unit while the Mac is much more firm thanks to its metallic chassis.  The response is not as great as the Mac either.  Sure the response is very good, but just not as good as the Mac.  If I had to describe the 1000HE keyboard in a single line I'd say its "a standard laptop keyboard cut out to look like a chiclet keyboard".  Aesthetically it looks better, but I don't feel much of a difference other than the fact that the edges of the keys are much better defined than a standard keyboard.
*I saw the keyboard of the EeePC 900 and boy am I happy ASUS decided to place the right SHIFT key in its proper place.  I never had the 900, the 1000he is my first netbook, but I guarantee you if the right shift was still to the right of the UP arrow I would not have bought it.
*Thankfully, ASUS did not choose to follow suit on its regular laptop computers and placed the left CTRL button in its PROPER location to the LEFT of the FN key.  I have two other ASUS laptops and in both cases the FN key is the bottom left key, to the left of CTRL - very annoying.
*There are 4 hot keys at the top of the laptop.  This really hasn't been covered all that much in reviews, so I'll go in depth.  From left to right the functions are: turn screen on/off, change resolution, open application one (default is change performance plan), open application two (default is skype, which is installed with the machine).  The left two buttons can't be changed from what I can see.  The right two buttons can be changed using the included ASUS software.  You just change the EXE file it points to and it will open that particular program.  I wouldn't really care about the inability to change the first two buttons' functions if those were the only buttons to DO such functions.  The problem is that those functions are duplicated by the F4 and F7 FN combinations (FN-F4 = change resolution, FN-F7 = lcd on/off).
*In order to get their touted 92% sized keyboard, a column of keys was sacrificed.  PGDN/PGUP/HOME/END were the keys sacrificed and were placed as FN combos on the DOWN/UP/LEFT/RIGHT keys, respectively.  It takes a little while to get used to, but I prefer dedicated keys for those functions.
*A quick list of the function key combos: F1-sleep, F2-wireless/bt on/off, F3-touchpad on/off, F4-change resolution, F5-brightness down, F6-brightness up, F7-lcd on/off, F8-switch LCD/VGA, F9-restore factory defaults to entire machine (tap three times during bios load), F10-mute, F11-volume down, F12-volume up, SPACE-change performance plan
*The 1, 6, UP and DOWN keys are highlighted in white.  I have no idea why.

Battery:
*The battery is what makes this unit 3+ lbs.  Without the battery in the unit is remarkably light...heh.
*ASUS rates their 6 cell battery at 9.5hrs, and there is a big sticker on the laptop which touts "ALL DAY COMPUTING, 9.5 hours".  Obviously that is all dependent on certain settings, like lowest brightness setting, lowest performance setting, certain devices off or on low performance (like the wireless and bluetooth), etc.  I think more NORMAL use should expect anywhere from 6-7.5 hrs depending on your use.  More videos = more like 6 hrs, fewer videos = more like 7.5.
*Here is what Notebook BatteryInfo is reading out.  The capacity is 59400mWh.  Take note that all the following consumption rates involve my desktop background set to solid black, and that the estimated battery life is an average as I change the settings and not an actual test (I'm not that crazy).
-Idle/Full bright/Full perf = -6700 to -7000 mW -> 8.25-8.5hr
-Idle/Low bright/Full perf = -5900 to -6200 mW -> 9.5-9.75hr
-Idle/Full bright/Low perf = -6000 to -6300 mW -> 9.0-9.5hr
-Idle/Low bright/Low perf = -5100 to -5400 mW -> 11-11.25hr
-Youtube/Full bright/Full perf = -10000 to -11000 mW -> 5.5-6.0hr
-Youtube/Low bright/Full perf = -9000 to -10000 mW -> 6.0-6.25hr
-Youtube/Full bright/Low perf = -8500 to -9500 mW -> 6.5-6.75hr
-Youtube/Low bright/Low perf = -8000 to -9000 mW -> 7.0-7.25hr

The youtube video I was using was a high quality trailer of The Dark Knight, which itself is a rather dark video so the test isn't exactly great, but it still requires processing power.
There are so many tests I could do, besides the fact there are three performance settings and I only used two (battery saving, which I called "low", super performance, which I called "full", and a middle one they call "high performance").  I just wanted to show the high and low ends of what is possible, and I should note that I have disabled the camera, ethernet, and bluetooth to save power since I never use them.  So those numbers should give you an idea of what is capable.  Simply put, if you are using this computer to do word processing, expect something like 7-8 hours, for video expect like 5 hr, for internet browsing you could get 9hrs+ if you turn down brightness and performance settings to their lowest.

ASUS Software:
*The touchpad software is nice, and very necessary to control the multitouch functions.
*The software which controls the FN combos is necessary, as is that which controls the hotkeys at the top.  I don't think any of the combos would work without it.
*There seems to be some ASUS software which controls the size of windows.  Maybe its not ASUS, but its there.  It is ****ing annoying.  I will resize my Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, and FireFox windows, then close them to save their size and position and it doesnt take even one reopening to have them all resized to the screen max.  Something is doing it automatically behind the scenes and it is really pi**ing me off.  Whats worse is that everytime I try to force close the ASUS software to do process of elimination to find it the programs just reload themselves like spyware would do.  Very aggrivating.
*OK so the EeePC storage is rather unique.  I figured it would be some kind of online service.  It is hardly that.  You double click the icon on the desktop and it opens a Windows Explorer window which acts like an FTP.  It connects to a remote server in Taiwan (as confirmed by TCPView) and you have a bunch of folders and stuff.  Yes, you have to first sign up online, and yes the speed is controlled by your internet's bandwidth, but it is very handy considering it is an FTP built into Windows Explorer supporting drag-and-drop, not some kind of web interface.  I believe the service is time-limited because there is a big ad on the signup page which offers 6 free month extension.
*The BIOS update software seems cool.  Haven't tried it, but it seems it will automatically download the BIOS from the web and update the BIOS for you.  The interface looks like some cheap ripoff spyware program, heh...but hey, anything is better than having to do it yourself with booting into DOS.

Features:
*Three USB ports...and they seem to be faster than my USB ports on my HP laptop.  *shrug*
*I disabled the ethernet port, bluetooth and camera.  All nice features, but I never use them.
*I can't say that the wireless is any better than the wireless I have been using elsewhere.  It is important to note that I have not interacted with any 802.11n access points, so its not like I'm going to see a difference.  I hate how that all these netbooks tout wireless N, A, etc. but you never actually use them because right now the universal standard is 802.11g until everyone decides to upgrade.  People on review sites say the wireless N included does not do 5GHz, only 2.4GHz.  I can't confirm or deny this since I have not used wireless N yet.
*The 10" screen is 1024x600, and it is great.  My friend was being very negative about how all these netbooks today have only this resolution and nothing higher (the only thing higher is the Sony Vaio P and its 1680x768 resolution, but that is $900!).  Sure, I would like to see 1280x720 or something higher, but until the standard is increased 1024x600 will suffice.  I turned off the status bar in Explorer and my browser, put the taskbar on autohide, turned off the menu bar in Explorer and my browser and there seems to be ample room to operate.  I am not a big taskbar hider, but it is worth it.  I might go so far as maybe doing a whole MacOS style deal and just disable the taskbar all together.  It is LED backlit and very bright.
*Sound is alright.  Some speakers on the bottom of the unit produce decent audio, but I don't suggest buying this for its audio output.  There are two jacks, one for headphone and mic, which is nice considering some netbooks have just one port for both mic and headphone.  There are two mics built into the screen directly below it; they work fine.
*Normally performance related stuff gets its own section on review sites, but I didn't really buy this machine for its performance.  It runs fine, it doesnt really struggle anywhere.  Sure, programs open slower than my 17" laptop, but rightfully slow considering its a core2duo vs an atom processor.  I haven't upgraded the RAM, but I think it is necessary as I see the machine struggle on some websites like MSNBC and it just FEELS like its a RAM issue...firefox is somewhat of a memory hog.
*The 160GB hard drive is partitioned into an 82.82GB C: drive with Windows XP home, a blank 61.29GB D: drive (which is great if you want to install a second OS like Linux or Windows 7), a 4.89GB hidden drive called "PE" which is probably the recovery partition controled by FN-F9 and 47MB of an "EFI System Partition".
*The computer is rather free from bloatware.  The only stuff that I saw that could be considered unnecessary bloat was Skype, Windows Live Mail, Windows Messenger, some other Windows Live Junk, and WinDVD.  WinDVD is out of left field considering that there is no DVD drive...heh.  That was the first thing to get uninstalled, haha.
*The picture card reader is for MMC and SD.  I tried my xD card from my Olympus camera in there; it fit fine, but it did not read...what a disappointment.
*There IS a kensington lock.
*There is a locking mechanism for the battery.
*The laptop bag is nice.  It wasn't exactly designed to hold the laptop AND the power cable, but it fits fine.  I wish the bag was a sidearm thing, although it would probably turn off males since it would resemble a purse at that point.
*The power cable has a blue light on it, indicating when it is plugged in or not.  The plug is very tight in the unit.


I think I have covered everything that needs to be covered with this machine.  I think it is a great machine and worth every penny.  The price recently went up to $389 as the pre-order $374 special price period ended, but $389 is still a good price for the unit.  I suspect it will go down as ASUS plans to release a new EeePC similar to the 1000HE with 3G WAN.  Yeah I am not completely upset that there is no 3G WAN...I had no plans on buying mobile broadband access.  Besides, I don't even pay for text messaging on my phone...if I don't spend on my phone what makes you think I would spend on a netbook?  So those of you looking for an EeePC with 3G WAN, just wait a little bit longer and itll be available (1000HG I think?).  No touchscreen or tablet features here either...look elsewhere for those.