“Best” Netbook Under $400 Shipping Soon: ASUS Eee PC 1000HE
Last month, I was asked by one of our readers to recommend a netbook. We all debated on what the best netbook is for the price. I ended up concluding that the ASUS Eee PC 1000HA was mighty compelling for under $400. The ever-changing market has me reconsidering what I’d recommend if asked the same question today. I’m pretty sure I’d change my tune ever so slightly to the key of E, as in 1000HE.
Amazon recently had the netbook in a pre-order status for $374, but Liliputing says the product page now shows a 2-3 week ship date. At this price, I think the 1000HE is hard to beat if you’re looking for a 10-inch display. Harry McCracken is looking for netbook recommendations and folks seem to agree, although the 10-inch Acer Aspire One competes well on a spec-for-spec basis. The biggest difference I see between the two is the ASUS model using a slightly newer and faster Intel Atom CPU. That and the 9.5 hours of run-time ASUS claims with the battery and their Super Hybrid Engine. I’m expecting we’ll see 7-8 hours, and that’s fine by me.
I got a pre-order in for the blue Asus EEE 1000he at J&R for $364.99:
http://todaysepicdeal.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/asus-eee-pc-1000he-10-netbook-36499/
I think other retailers are shipping out earlier that J&R, but I can wait it out and save a couple dollars.
The 1000HE is a great looking machine. However, anyone looking for something tiny, may want to consider something else. As netbooks go, the 1000HE is a bit of a tank.
Which is the best Laptop for a techie ?
You’d have to define “techie” a little bit. One that is easiest to upgrade? Run Mac OS X? What requirements do you have?
Unfortunately, this one does not have the newest GN40 chipset but rather the same one as the old eee 1000’s. If you want a GN40 you have to wait. Supposed to come out sometime soon in Taiwan for $500.
The other difference is that the Acer does not have bluetooth as of yet. That was a big deal for me when I bought my Samsung NC-10.
Another killer is that this Asus and the NC-10 has amazing battery life.
I was >this< close to ordering the 1000he and then I saw pics of the new T91/T101 (with the swivel screen) and now I’m going to wait.
I would like to use the netbook as a replacement for my sony reader as well as an anywhere machine and the rotating screen locks that in.
I’m just hoping that they come in less than 400 bucks.
My concern with the 10 inch netbooks is that they might not be that much smaller than my current MacBook and that’s going to be a hard sell to the better half..
This is going to be a pretty good Netbook. If you can get at least 6 hours of battery life, and if the price is low enough, it should sell very well. I think the 10″ screen size is a great size for any netbook, for it to be portable and yet have enough to be able to use Internet, Word, Excel, etc…
This is the best laptop I’ve ever had. It’s amazing. I feel sorry for the big guys. I appreciate that the number for tech support is written on the back of the machine. Try finding that number when you buy a Dell. My only complaint is that I’ve almost lost it twice. It’s so damn small and light you got to keep track of it. I’m off to Nepal for a month and a half and I’m not even going to notice it in my pack. Oh, yeah the glossy screen is a drawback. I don’t know why they did that. But I give it five stars anyway. It’s that good.