Here's a review I'd put together just after I received mine.
What did I purchase
E1000HE PC Black
160GB H/D
Replacement 2GB Memory, easily installed, remove two screws on bottom, take of cover, spring out1Gb mem card, replace with 2GB mem card and scree back together. Same process for replacing the hard drive if required.
Packaging
The Netbook itself in the top compartment of a neat box
The bottom compartment contained
Fabric case( most companies would get you to buy this as optional extra)
Recovery DVD. If you need/want to use this you either need to create a bootable Pen Drive or have an external USB DVD Drive.
Mains power adapter
Manuals
Set Up
The netbook comes with Windows XP pre Installed, and on first boot get you to configure it for full set up. Very easy to do and takes about 5 minutes before your up and running with the netbook.
There is a recovery boot sector on the hard drive which you can press F9 to access which will put the netbook back to factory defaults. Note this wipes all of the hard drive.
Speed
Well lets be honest it's not going to break any speed limits, but it's very fast for what it is intended for. All of the applications I've used so far, Picasa, Open Office, IE, iTunes and Win DVD have seemed just as fast on this as they do on the rig that is in the sig box. So I've no complaints there. Speed has four options Power save, Auto, Best Performance and Super performance. I've left mine on auto performance.
Hard Drives
It comes pre installed with a 160GB hard drive which is already split into two logical drives C and D. C=83GB, D=61GB. There is no noticeable noise from the hard drive while it is in use.
Graphics and Video
Lets be honest, you didn't buy this to play Crysis, But the screen is very clear and runs at a default 1024*600, you can force it to 1024*768 but then you have to put up with a scrolling screen and I don't like that so have left it at default. The screen is bright enough for inside use but struggles in bright sunshine outside from my experience yesterday sat out on the patio table.
Sound
Well I would say the sound is basic, it' sounds good enough, possibly a bit tinny, but then the speakers must be tiny, it's not going to replace a decent hi-fi, but there's enough volume to fill a small room with music from iTunes.
Keyboard
Excellent keyboard, not full size of course, but very adequate. I'm a touch typist so a good keyboard is very important to me so as not to make to many mistakes. The main problem I have is the left side shift key, I just can't seem to hit that straight at present.
Touch Pad
I know some of the reviews have complained about the buttons on the touch pad. Yes they are probably more firm than others, but not problematical. The touch pad itself works very well. And I use the double tap rather than the left mouse button a lot. It also has basic gesture support with the ability to scroll up and down a web page/document by putting two fingers on the screen and move then forward and back(very useful) also pinch/expand pinch can by used for zoom in/out(don't find this as useful)
Battery
Well one of the main selling point of this netbook is it's claimed 9.5 hour battery life. Having fully charged it, I used it for about 7 hours then on Sunday without recharging. During this time I was surfing, listening to music, watching a bit of films and generally playing around. So while I don't think I could get 9.5 hours out of it. I'm sure someone who was just using it for web surfing and typing could manage it. It's way better than my Dell Laptop which has about 2 hours from full charge.
Network
One of the reasons I bought this particular netbook was for the fact it had an in built N rated network card as I have a N Rated Wifi Network in the house. While my laptop (g rated) can't get a signal in my bedroom(other end of house) this has no problems and allows me to download at speeds in excess of 1MB/s over my 20gb BB connection. I can even use this out on the patio without a problem.
Conclusion
Well I think this is the dogs gonads. As a true geek I think this is the best bit of kit I've had for the last two years, probably since I got my first hands on an iPod touch on the day after launch.
If I had to score it I'd give it 9/10. The reason to not give it a full 10 is I would have like a HSPDA slot for connecting up on the move without using a dongle(I know how clumsy I am and I'm going to break one of those if I have it sticking out of the side) also it would be good to have had a bit more brightness for using outside for those cafe bar moments.
So I would recommend this to anyone who is thinking of a netbook and is happy spending a little more than on a basic model type.
Note : Have now moved onto Windows 7 RTM from XP and the Netbook is working great with it, although I am having rouble in finding some of the drivers needed on the ASUS site. Sure their there somewhere, but I can't find them and the ASUS support site is rubbish.
Hope this mini review has helped anyone who is looking to make a decision about one.
Taff
). Love the 9hr battery time (6hr under load) and it's got some decent power behind it.
