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Review: Asus Eee PC 1005PE

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Asus Eee PC 1005PE
Asus Eee PC 1005PE

The most popular netbook of last year was unquestionably the Asus Eee PC 1005HA. It still remains a very popular choice today. Now the company has brought out its Asus Eee PC 1005PE netbook.

Asus have taken the 1005HA and added the latest Intel Atom N450 processor. The “Seashell” design is exactly the same for the Asus 1005PE, but now it has a more energy efficient electronics under the hood which should see longer battery lifespans.

While the UK only gets the 11-hour version, in the US there is a choice between 11-hour and a 14-hour version.

The build quality is not bad, it feels sturdy and when you pick it up it doesn’t seem to bend. The seashell design comes with a gloss finish (matte for the display). This gloss finish unsurprisingly picks up fingerprint marks as soon as you touch it. Overall, it is nice and slim and the curved edges are pleasing to the eye.

The front of the 1005PE gives little away with only two small speaker grill and some LED status lights. To the left, there is the power connector, VGA output, a USB 2.0 port, Kensington lock, and an air vent. While the right features a multi-card reader (SD/MMC/SDHC), head phone and mic ports, two USB 2.0 ports and an Ethernet connection.


The Asus Eee PC 1005PE sports a chiclet keyboard which should make for easier typing. This keyboard has been made as large as possible by stretching it to the very edge of the device. The keys are a good size, preventing users from pressing the wrong key.The keys are well arranged with a good-sized backspace and space bar.

The trackpad only gives itself away by the small raised dots. It boasts multi-touch features so you can pinch zoom and scroll with two fingers, and swipe forwards and back with three. The button is on a silver bar rocker and works well enough.

Performance-wise, the Eee PC features a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor. While this doesn’t boost speeds, it does boast battery life. It also runs cooler and quieter.

You shouldn’t expect to watch 1080p videos on this, it simply isn’t powerful enough, but 720p should be possible (just). The 10.1-inch display has a WSVGA resolution (1024×600 pixels) and the matte finish should cut down on glare and reflections, which is important if you are working outside.


Sound comes from two speakers at the front of the netbook. There is a distinct lack of bass but it is loud enough.

Among the software included is Asus Super Hybrid Engine, which allows you to change the performance of the netbook by pressing the “Fn” key and the space bar. This cycles through the profiles. Of course, when unplugged it will run in power-saving mode and performance mode when connected to the mains.

Overall, with the inclusion of Windows 7 Starter Edition, better hardware inside and longer battery life should make this a winner.

The Netbook is available for £290 from Amazon.

Rating: 8/10

Specifications on next page…

Asus_Eee_PC_1005PE


Specifications

  • 10.1 inch WSVGA 1024×600 Anti-glare / Non-gloss
  • Intel Atom N450 1.66 GHz Processor
  • 250 GB SATA Hard Drive
  • 500 GB Eee Storage
  • Intel GMA 3150 Graphics
  • 1 GB DDR2 (upto 2GB)
  • 11 Hour Battery Life (6 cell 4400mAh 48/h)
  • Multitouch Touchpad
  • 802.11b/g/n/ WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth
  • 0.3 Megapixel Webcam
  • Multicard Reader
  • Three USB 2.0 ports
  • Windows 7 Starter
  • 26.2cm x 17.8cm x 25.9 – 36.5 mm, 1.27 Kg