Notebook Trends

When it comes to mobile computing, my main concern is portability and size does matter. In my book, small is the new big.

I’ve been ‘lugging’ around my 14-inch display Acer notebook for a while but in my mind, I’ve decided to grab myself a mini-notebook or what we now call the netbook.

I was first attracted by the MSI Wind, the Acer Aspire One and the Lenovo S10 because I need a lightweight thingy to write and browse the Internet when I’m on the move. But somehow I held back because of the uncomfortable keyboard and the short battery life.

So I waited and, presto, along came the new Asus Eee PC 1000HE with a 10.2″ wide-screen display offering a 1,024×600 native resolution, an improved flat-topped keyboard, a newer, faster version of Intel’s Atom processor (N280) and the ‘clincher’ that got me to part with my money — 9.5 hours of unplugged battery life!

Okay, Asus puts a sticker on that says “One-Day Computing” and pledges 9.5 hours of battery life. Actually, on a charge, my new white Asus 1000HE managed to last more than 7 hours unplugged. That’s about the time you spent in the office and I have no issue with that.

This little companion weighs in at 3.2lbs which is relatively heftier than many competing netbooks but that’s not a problem when you carry it.

This baby runs on Windows XP with a 160GB hard drive and 1GB of Ram which I upgraded to 2GB. Some other netbooks are not that upgrade-friendly.

I picked the white colour because I noticed the black model easily catches fingerprints on its glossy finish. But that shouldn’t put you off if you’re not that fussy because this little machine represents Asus’ best ever efforts to evolve the Eee PC line of netbooks with enough tweaks to attract the attention of netbook buffs.

There’s also 10GB of Web storage via its Eee Storage which allows you to share videos, photos and other stuff on the World Wide Web. Cool!

On the right side, the 1000HE houses a 4-in-1 memory card reader, two USB ports and a VGA port for connecting it to an external display. On the left side, there’s a third USB port, a headphone and mic jack, an Ethernet port and a Kensington lock slot.

The Asus Eee PC 1000HE looks more streamlined and gone is the bulge on the bottom of the system in the previous model with the six-cell battery fitting in nicely at the back. Obviously, the 1000HE is an extended version of the earlier 1000H but the refinements make it an attractive buy.

The Specs:

* Intel Atom N280 Processor @ 1.66GHz, 512KB L2 cache, 667MHz FSB

* 1GB of DDR2 Memory

* 10.2 inch LED-backlit LCD (1024 x 600 resolution)

* Intel Mobile 945GSE Chipset

* 160GB Seagate Momentus 5400.5 Hard Drive

* 10GB Online Eee Storage (free for 18 months)

* 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi

* Bluetooth 2.0

* 1.3 megapixel webcam with Digital Array Microphone

* 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD, SDHC, Memory Stick and MS-PRO)

* VGA Output

* USB 2.0 x 3

* RJ-45 (Ethernet 10/100)

* Headphone / Mic Input Jacks

* 3.2 Pounds (with Battery Installed)

* 6 Cell Li-ion High Density 8700mAh Battery (Up To 9.5 Hours of        Computing)

* Windows XP Home Edition

* Color Options: Pearl White, Black, Blue, Golden