Asus Eee PC 1000H Netbook
External Design and Power
Looking around the unit, there are four ports to consider. On the left side, you have a security lock on the left side next to the RJ-45 network connector. You've also got a single USB 2.0 port (one of three) along with audio in/out ports. The audio ports are connected to a modern HD audio CODEC, and can pump out decent sounding audio through its headphones - although the integrated speakers of the Eee PC leave much to be desired. Between the USB 2.0 port and audio ports, you can see cooling channels which exhaust internally created heat. The heat exhaust is only slightly warm at times, as this notebook runs fairly cool inside.
;) Ethernet, USB, Audio Connectors |
;) Flash Reader, USB, Video Out Connectors |
On the right side, you have a memory card reader (MMC/SD/SDHC), good for digital camera users or those who want to expand the Eee PC's storage capabilities on the cheap. On this side, you have another two USB 2.0 ports, a 15-pin VGA analog video output port, and the power connector port. There are no connectors on the front or back of the unit.
Battery Life and Power Consumption -
The unit weighs 3.2 pounds, about half of that weight coming from the unit's six-cell lithium ion battery pack, which snaps onto the back of the unit (and is replaceable quite easily). Asus claims that the unit can last a full-day's worth of work on battery (7.5 hours). While great in theory, even with the most aggressive power-saving modes enabled, we were only able to average about 4.5 hours of battery life work standard browsing / work loads. This is certainly quite good for a notebook with a screen size as this and a large hard disk, but it's not a quantum leap longer in terms of battery life compared to what's out there currently. When plugged into the A/C outlet, we can see that the Eee PC 1000H consumes about 44W of power at its peak load, whereas most of the time when it's sitting at the Windows desktop, it can consume as little as 18W, which is pretty terrific for a fully functioning notebook.
;) 1000H with bundled battery pack and A/C adapter. |
Most Windows desktops consume at least 100-200 watts with towers and monitors. For those who only need very basic computing abilities, having an Eee PC instead of a tower and a monitor, could actually save quite a bit in terms of power bills. Especially if you are the type who leaves your computer on 24/7, as more people are doing lately due to the ubiquity of broad-band Internet connections and the need to be connected at all times.
We could see the Eee PC also being used as a portable, low-end server, as the hardware is cheap and it still has enough power for a lot of low-level server tasks, and it has a hard drive of usable size. The unit also starts up much quicker than a normal PC, as an average power-touch on to fully working desktop time is about 30 seconds. Starts up and shut down is much faster compared to most desktop PC's, and, you've got a one-touch button on the left side of the keyboard to turn the LCD display off - useful for both server environments or for presentations and/or meetings.
