Cheap ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9.5 Hour Battery Life

Well I bought my Eee mainly for 2 reasons: First, I already have a 3g internet service and I wanted the mobility this netbook would give me.

The second reason is, since I spend too much time online, this little friend would help me lower the power bill by not needing to be using my desktop computer for just browsing or "ebaying".

I must say I'm impressed. VERY indeed. I love the versatility of being able to go online virtually everywhere. The LONG battery life (I haven't tested how long it lasts but for sure more than 7 hours). A friend of mine's achieved 8+ hours with his 1000he. It all depends, of course, the kind of use you give your netbook, meaning that working harder, will drain the battery faster (I guess this is something that doesn't even need to be specified).

I can't say there's a thing that I don't really like about this netbook but maybe some things that I'd prefer to be.. hmmm. I might say "bettered" a little bit: the glossy finish is very prone to scratching. I haven't scratched mine in the outside yet BUT when closed and stored into the provided bag then put into a backpack for instance, it seems that the inner side of the lid touches the part where the customizable keys are and this lightly scratches the surface. I've noticed the "intel atom inside" decal actually scratched a little the part where it touches the screen frame.

Regarding to speed.. well, this is not a computer designed for heavy tasks, just browsing, light tasks such as word, excel and power point documents. Ocassional video playing is possible too so and although not fast in every sense compared to a high-end desktop, I think it's just enough for what it is intended. For those who are looking for a "just smaller but do-it-all" notebook, this is not the one for them. It doesn't even have a cd/dvd drive, which, by the way, I have never missed at all.

One VERY useful feature is the touchpad. I NEVER need to use the buttons unless I want to drag/drop something in the other end of the screen. The one, two and three finger modes are just excellent. With two fingers you can scroll down and up, open links in a new tab while browsing and close them again when you click on the desired tab. The three finger mode is very useful too for going back or forward to the previous page when swiped sideways while you're browsing. I also love the ability to right click just by tapping with three fingers.

I disabled the magnifying glass option because I find it very confusing and not very useful. It's very easy to trigger it with regular use of the touchpad.

Another feature I had to tweak is the zooming action, which at first was very sensitive and thus prone to activate very easily. Keyboard is so comfortable I haven't noticed any significant difference regarding to size or key layout compared to a regular-sized keyboard (although of course, this one is smaller).

I like the customizable keys which help you configure two of your most used programs and open it with just a touch of your finger.

It works nice with windows XP but I upgraded the memory to 2gb to help things breathe a little and help the little processor do better its job. What I frequently do is put it into sleep so it starts faster the next time I use it, unless, of course, there's no power source near and I need to save the battery for later.

The speakers are not as loud but just plainly enough. The headphone jack don't go up very much neither. I don't care anyway. In a noisy enviroment it's better having earbuds for listening to music or watching videos.

All that said, I think this is a wonderful "toy". I can't find a reason to be less than extremely happy with it!Get more detail about ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9.5 Hour Battery Life.