# First Impressions Eeepc 1000h



## Julian Latham (Jul 25, 2005)

I was going to go for the MSI Wind or one of its clones but read a couple of reviews that were critical of battery life. Did also read that the Asus keyboards were poor in comparison to the Wind.

Hunted around the easily accessible stores (PC World, Comet, Currys & Staples) and decided against the 8.9" models. My ageing eyes and fumble fingers just couldn't cope with the size of the screen/keyboard.

Finally laid hands on the 10" Asus but couldn't put fingers to keyboard with a Wind anywhere local, so decision made more by default as I found the keyboard satisfactory.

Battery life is very good, so far over three hours use and 43% charge still remaining, and no niggles made themselves apparent yet (early days) though the installed software turns its nose up at my ripped films - will have to try installing an older software DVD player.

So far the information from independent reviews, which were all positive, have proved accurate. If I did have a gripe it is one that has affected every laptop I have used - I hate touch pads.

Julian (L)


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

Is it a PC replacement Julian? Linux or XP?

I have an original 7" screen EEE and love it, it has a changed my life, no really  It' s the only "gadget" that I have ever found useful, it goes everywhere with me and I can work on the move, I could never do that with a phone (I've tried) and a laptop was always too big, too heavy and too expensive to worry about. It paid for it's purchase cost every day whilst I was out of the UK. Mine has gone through a lot of abuse, it spent days on the beach in 90F+ heat, picking up the signal from a nearby bar, (In spain, it's wee-fee :lol: ) it fell off my scooter and I got sand in the keyboard but it's still OAK, build quality is good. Personally I would stick with Asus regardless, they broke the mould, shook up the big boys and ended profiteering on "small laptops" by giving people what they needed at a bargain price. Sony and Appple can take a hike!

Small size, good Wi-Fi range, no hard drive = MarkF's dream PC 

The 7" is fine for what I want, the 9" is better but the % increase in purchase cost for the extra 2" was not justifiable, technology eh? The Linux OS is great, I've never had to refer to the instructions and I am none too bright with gadgets. Great fun too, all I have to do is whip it out and everybody wants a look (steady on Jase :lol: ). It is the best technology purchase that I have ever made, it set me free!


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

MarkF said:


> I have an original 7" screen EEE and love it, it has a changed my life, no really  It' s the only "gadget" that I have ever found useful, it goes everywhere with me and I can work on the move, I could never do that with a phone (I've tried) and a laptop was always too big, too heavy and too expensive to worry about. It paid for it's purchase cost every day whilst I was out of the UK. Mine has gone through a lot of abuse, it spent days on the beach in 90F+ heat, picking up the signal from a nearby bar, (In spain, it's wee-fee :lol: ) it fell off my scooter and I got sand in the keyboard but it's still OAK, build quality is good. Personally I would stick with Asus regardless, they broke the mould, shook up the big boys and ended profiteering on "small laptops" by giving people what they needed at a bargain price. Sony and Appple can take a hike!
> 
> Small size, good Wi-Fi range, no hard drive = MarkF's dream PC
> 
> The 7" is fine for what I want, the 9" is better but the % increase in purchase cost for the extra 2" was not justifiable, technology eh? The Linux OS is great, I've never had to refer to the instructions and I am none too bright with gadgets. Great fun too, all I have to do is whip it out and everybody wants a look (steady on Jase :lol: ). It is the best technology purchase that I have ever made, it set me free!


I thought you were buying it for your mum? :huh:


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

Silver Hawk said:


> I thought you were buying it for your mum? :huh:


What's this got to do with Julians 10 incher? My mum has my old home PC


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## Julian Latham (Jul 25, 2005)

Mark,

I went for the Windows version. Bought as a laptop replacement as it is small enough, & battery time long enough, to take to work and use with my USB 3G roaming broadband gizmo. No need to plug into mains and screen clear in both dull and well light areas. Also overcomes complaints of 'electric spaghetti' when used in the living room.

Once I have overcome the problem with .avi files it will be the perfect gadget.

Julian (L)


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

MarkF said:


> Silver Hawk said:
> 
> 
> > I thought you were buying it for your mum? :huh:
> ...


Nothing...sorry Julian...I went a little fftopic:



MarkF said:


> Has anybody any opinions or experince of these gadgets? Laptop
> 
> They seem unbelievable value, my mum wants a laptop and I was thinking of getting her one of these for Christmas. I am not cheap (I am, I am) but a normal laptop is wasted on her, she just uses her PC for browsing and keeping in touch with family.


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## langtoftlad (Mar 31, 2007)

Try smplayer or vlc - pretty much play everything

check out eeepc forum for some good suggestions for small but powerful applications ideally suited to the Asus...

This public service message was brought to you courtesy of McDonalds Free WiFi and my Asus Eeepc 901XP :tongue2:


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## Julian Latham (Jul 25, 2005)

langtoftlad said:


> Try smplayer or vlc - pretty much play everything
> 
> check out eeepc forum for some good suggestions for small but powerful applications ideally suited to the Asus...
> 
> This public service message was brought to you courtesy of McDonalds Free WiFi and my Asus Eeepc 901XP :tongue2:


Thanks. SMplayer did the trick. Copying across a few .avi files now.

Julian (L)


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## Julian Latham (Jul 25, 2005)

A few days on and still very impressed. The battery life is amazing and the screen pin sharp. With the recommended software installed it now plays all my .avi ripped DVD's without hesitation.

NIGGLES

Keyboard is O.K. but if I had the chance to re-configure I would have the right shift key larger and more to the left. Space bar works fine but poor assembly quality makes it look to be loose or ill-fitting at one end.

The shiny black top cover shows EVERY mark and finger print.

I hate touch pads - you can jab your finger end down hard and get no response, or brush it with a sleeve cuff and get the equivalent of three left button clicks. I was hoping to keep peripherals to a minumum and carry only the roving broadband dongle, but a wireless mini-mouse may be on my Christmas list.

OVERALL

Excellent piece of kit, easily carried, compact and functional as a PC. Worth a look.

Julian (L)


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

I thought I would get in on this thread and see what the colective thought would be on this minibook from maplins.My homelaptop has given up the ghost and I need a internet browsing machine for upstairs, this will be its primary function ..

This looks like good value for the money but the weedy processor is niggling me,should it?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Module...532&C=41257

Should I look for a better spec machine ?

Obviously budget is important, but I dont mind spending a bit more to get a better machine...


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

Hi Jase,

Why not spend the peanuts more it will cost you to have the original and iconic Asus EEE? IMO Asus deserve your business 

That is a very good price and comparable specification, TBH I'd be amazed if it was up to the build quailty of my Asus, you'll have to check them out to see, however it certainly looks a bag of bollox design wise....moocho tacky. Buying an EEE will see you find out any information you want immediately from the very useful forum and you will be able to take advantge of the numerous accessories for the Asus. How long will this thingy be available for? What'll you do when you have a problem and need support? I think you will be wishing you had spent Â£30/40 on the Asus and had all help you need readily available. 

I use mine 100% for business, I have a 8GB card with everything I need loaded on it, I have nothing actually on the limited internal memory. It is fast for browsing and best of all it has a superb wi-fi range. TBH, for a lot of web browsing the 7" screen might drive you nuts, you will constantly be adjusting to see 100% of a lot of pages. For me it's not a problem as 90% of my time on it is just emailing but for leisure browsing maybe you need the "full" 8.9" screen available from.........Asus


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Donâ€™t know about that one Jason but Expansys do the Asus starting at Â£174

Haven't had a discount code from them for a while though


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Cheers guys, thats just what I thought and wanted to hear, now to find one in stock for a good price...


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

jasonm said:


> I need a internet browsing machine for upstairs,


:naughty: needs to be fast for live streaming then :naughty:


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Ahhhh you were number 3 on my list as to who would pick up on that ...... 

The other 2 havent logged on yet I guess..... :rltb:


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

jasonm said:


> Ahhhh you were number 3 on my list as to who would pick up on that ......
> 
> The other 2 havent logged on yet I guess..... :rltb:


What do think I meant by leisure browsing? I was being polite 



MarkF said:


> but for leisure browsing maybe you need the "full" 8.9" screen


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

:lol:


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

:rltb:

Browsing ebay just now, looking at asus eee's, there was one with 37 seconds left to go, as new, couple of months old, shall I ? Shant I?

hit the bid button and won at Â£142  With 3 seconds to spare.

And the seller is in Peterborough 20 mins away....


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

jasonm said:


> :rltb:
> 
> Browsing ebay just now, looking at asus eee's, there was one with 37 seconds left to go, as new, couple of months old, shall I ? Shant I?
> 
> ...


Hope you got the one with the very useful webcam


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## DavidH (Feb 24, 2003)

..watching this with interest. Is there a handy way of having a moblie internet connection to these, a data card or whatever they use these days.

Things move so fast I've missed the latest developments!

thanks


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## langtoftlad (Mar 31, 2007)

DavidH said:


> ..watching this with interest. Is there a handy way of having a moblie internet connection to these, a data card or whatever they use these days.
> 
> Things move so fast I've missed the latest developments!
> 
> thanks


Depends on what you need for your "mobile internet connection" :huh:

The processor are either Celeron or Intel Atom 1.6ghz

OS is either WinXP or Linux

The hardware has three USB sockets & one SDHC slot.

I had the eeepc 701 (4G) Linux 7" screen and it was fab but now I have the 901XP - larger 9" screen in the same sized box as well as WinXP - and it's bloody brilliant :lol:

For all things eeepc visit eeepc forum

You'll be amazed at what some guys get their little machines to achieve.


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

I'm a real fan of computers (of any design) that use energy efficient CPU and chip-sets. Most of us would like a desktop (complete system) that uses less than 100w in idle mode and a portable device that will run on a small battery for hours. In theory that would not be too much of a problem.

Until you come across such "software" as Adobe's Flash Player (and other greedy software, that doesn't need to be if well written).

What the hell is Adobe up to? Is it trying to force internet users to burn out their CPUs before they should, or force them to upgrade hardware just to comply with its shitty software? Sadly, many websites insist on using flash to provide content that many low powered (but very efficient) computers struggle to cope with.

Your computer may cope well with Flash player, but it will kill your battery (or increase your electricity usage) in short order.









I hate it, and I use FlashSwitch to control how it has access to my computer.

Did I say I hate Adobe Flash and the shitty player it forces on internet users to get the "full" experience?

Maybe I did.


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

I am a bit of a numpty when it comes to computers, I have probably got all the things that teh cognoscenti hate ... Norton, Flash, Adobe :lol:

Anyway ..... I travel a lot and find myself lugging around a Dell laptop which has more functionality than I need when I am on the road and certainly a lot more weight!

I have been looking at Dell's XP loaded Inspiron Mini 9 but the EEEPC looks like an option as well.

Question .... I need MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint mainly) can these little machines cope with that? And I know it might sound dumb but how the hell would I load MS Office without a CD drive :lol:


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

John, I think they use a version of excel and word that should be ok for you....Not certain though.


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

JoT said:


> I am a bit of a numpty when it comes to computers, I have probably got all the things that teh cognoscenti hate ... Norton, Flash, Adobe :lol:
> 
> Question .... I need MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint mainly) can these little machines cope with that? And I know it might sound dumb but how the hell would I load MS Office without a CD drive :lol:


Not as much of a numpty as me I'd bet and I would not have felt confident enough to buy the Asus without the forum support. That forum is worth a lot IMO.

Mine came with Open Office and I was in a right panic about transferring MS files across and back again, I have had zero problems with the translation. PC MS Office files to USB stick and they are then kept on the Asus's flash drive as Open Office equivalents.

The most suprising thing for me is that I have got used to the Linux OS and prefer it to Windows, although I only use it, I don't intertact with it.


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## langtoftlad (Mar 31, 2007)

If you get a Windows powered version then a standard version of MS Office can be used without issue - it can be installed via usb stick, or SDHC card or an external dvd drive.

Of course, it makes sense to "custom" install to only install those elements you actually need, not all the bells & whistles.

As MarkF says - OpenOffice is free, can be used on both Linux & Windows versions and is completely compatible with MS Office documents.

There are also versions of MS Office which are 'portable' which reside on a USB stick and don't actually install any files on a pc so can be used on several different pc's safely & securely.


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Picked up the 701 eee today and its great :rltb:

Does just what I wanted it to do with no fuss, yes the screen is a bit small but it fine...

Aly likes it so thats all that matters 

Thanks all for your help..


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## Julian Latham (Jul 25, 2005)

I'm still well impressed by mine - with my 3G dongle I can get onto the internet almost anywhere (still think its a tad expensive, but no doubt it will get cheaper as more suppliers enter the market), the key board is fine, if a little sloppy, and the battery lfe between five and six hours depending on type of use. The screen is big enough for internet use but a bit small for any prolonged word processing. I would suggest these netbook machines are more of an 'as well', rather than 'instead of', if you make heavy use of office software.

Ideal for watching movies rendered down to .avi files or web browsing during meal breaks / the odd quiet moment on night shifts.

Niggles - (some) tacky keys, case that shows every finger print, sensitive touch pad. Petty points really. A definite 9/10 :thumbup: .

Julian L


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