ASUS EEE PC 1002HA REVIEW

Asus Eee PC 1002HA

For the last 3-4 years, buying a laptop computer is not it was before then. It’s no longer a luxury item, a toy for a spoiled grown kid who pretends to need it or just plain overpriced paper weight. I guess the main reason behind that is the fact that laptops are not being produced by a handful of companies anymore and the competition is once again good for the customer (if you’re planning to object this, please keep in mind that even Apple produced the same laptop model for almost 6-7 years with a monstrous price tag with no additions, since there was no one present to threaten it’s throne back then).

Yes, we’re now buying our laptops for prices well below 1000 Dollars a piece, and yet, even that wasn’t enough for Asus when they introduced their first Eee PC. If you ask me (and since you’re reading all these, I assume you do), that was the real revolution needed for the laptop industry to open itself to all consumers.

The first Eee PC was, well let’s be honest, a kind of a joke. Yes, it was revolutionary and all but after all, it was just a modified kiddie laptop. With this new model -1002 HA-, it seems like Asus finally perfected it’s star child. With the first glance, you understand that you’re in the presence of a true laptop. It’s no longer bad resolution, extremely low hard drive space and a cramped keyboard (well, the keyboard is much less the same actually) but a proper computer to do your every daily task.

Let’s start with ergonomics, since it’s the main issue along with economics, when we choose a laptop within this segment. The 1002HA is a bit thicker than it’s predecessor but thanks to it’s new screen arrangement, it’s smaller for other dimentions. Don’t let this last sentence fool you, since it keeps the same screen size but with much better quality. The new product is also 11 ounces lighter than it’s predecessor (now 42 ounces total) which is about the weight of a can of soda, which may seem little at first, but let’s keep in mind that this is a 20% weight loss (if you’re a 200lbs guy like me, that means loosing 40 pounds, which is kinda big thing and would make my mom so happy!). As you can guess, this is a great thing for an ultra portable like this, which also means that now it weights about the same with it’s predecessor even when you add it’s charger brick to the equation.

Just like Acer’s rivaling model –Aspire One- , Eee PC 1002HA also has one of Intel’s latest CPU’s, the Atom. As a matter of fact this is the same processor that was used on it’s predecessor too (Eee PC 1000H). With 1.6 GHz clock speed, this processor is sufficient enough to run it’s Windows XP and other programs smoothly. Another good thing about this CPU is that it really uses very small amount of energy –thanks to it’s hafnium-infused circuitry.
The computer comes with 1 GB of RAM, which is about enough for it’s purpose but then again it’s really not a wonder either. The PC2-3200 (DDR2-400) RAM is easy to find and cheap, so if you’re thinking about upgrade, it’s not that much of a problem.

Hard drive space is really impressive for a computer this size -160GB’s. When you consider even the long waited 17” MacBook Pro (which costs 2700-4500 Dollars according to upgrades you choose) comes with 320GB’s of hard drive (which is a shame!), so this little guy is doing pretty good for it’s size.

The best improvement with this computer is –from my point of view- it’s screen. The screen provides a really good image for it’s size (and price), with 1024x600 resolution. This resolution means two very important things ; first it’s a proper 1024 pixel wide screen, which is kinda industry standard for webpages these days and that means you don’t have to scroll from left to right and right to left constantly like you’ve did before with it’s 800 pixel (or less) wide predecessors, secondly even when you watch a movie with 5:4 aspect ratio, you’ll still be able to see it with 800x600 resolution (instead of 468 pixel or so height of old models). Let me repeat again, it’s a 10” diagonal WVGA screen with good quality – a thing you’d pay 3500 Dollars or more just 2 years ago!

As I’ve mentioned earlier, although this Eee PC shares basically the same inner structure with it’s predecessor, it’s measurements are way better. It’s 10.47" x 7.53" x 1.12" ~ 1.50" dimensions are really compact and when it’s closed, it’s sleek structure is also a treat to the eye too. If you ask me, go for the brushed aluminized look in black.

Since this laptop has no CD or DVD (and yes, you’ve guessed it right BluRay as well!) drive, it covers this fault by offering alternate solutions. The first and probably the most useful one is –surely- the card reader. When you consider that most of the cards today have more capacity than CD’s and DVD’s , the value of this reader can be understood better. As you can guess a RJ-45 Ethernet 10/100 Lan port also exists, but the thing that fascinated me was that this little fella has wireless b/g and n support (yes, it supports n, which is still not common on many laptops). When you have this kind of connection options, the 1.3 MP webcam is a very good thing to have, since this laptop was literally made for visual conference on the go. Last but not least it has 3 USB 2.0 ports and a VGA output.

When we come to the soundcard and the graphics card, well, I don’t say much. I’m really tired to make comments about onboard cards (well actually, they’re not that varied as well, 2 or 3 model for each laptop motherboard manufacturer, which equals less than 10 in total). Soundcard is enough to watch movies or listen to MP-3’s, as long as you use a headset. For the graphics card same logic goes as well, after all, since the screen has 1024x600 resolution it’s obvious that you’ll not be playing any games, but when it comes to office usage or web browsing it works well. It even allows you to watch movies!

Eee PC 1002HA comes with a 6 cell battery, which powers the computer for about 5 hours, which is less than Acer’s Aspire One. To be perfectly honest with you, 5-6 hours seemed a lot until 48 hours ago when I haven’t seen the battery life of the new 17” MacBook Pro. Apple managed to support a 17” laptop with a monster of a graphics card to run for 8 hours, so when you think of it, much less resolution (1920x1200 on MB Pro, 1024x600 on Eee PC 1002HA) and size (17” on MB Pro, 10” on Eee PC 1002HA) with only 5 hours is no longer impressive. With the same logic, we can expect to see 24 hour battery lives on these little guys real soon, so it’s up to you.

CONCLUSION
Asus Eee PC 1002HA is a real proper laptop. It may be a bit more expensive than it’s main rival Aspire One along with shorter battery life, but then again the general appeal and ergonomics are better. It’s price is no longer cheap for what it offers but it can’t be described as expensive either. The lack of DVD player is important but not a fatal problem. This is the perfect netbook for everyone, especially if your main concern is portability.

Pros
+ Really chick
+ Solid construction
+ The connectivity options are great
+ Has 802.11 n
+ 160 GB hard drive space
+ If you don’t count the Aspire One, a real bargain as an ultra portable

Cons
- Cramped keyboard
- No CD/DVD drive
- The battery life is long but not as impressive as it used to be anymore
- About the same price of a decent 15.4”

Photos


Value For Money

Our Rating

Reviewed by Mehmet Can
Notebookbox.com Review Team