The Asus Eee PC 1000HE is a revised update of the 1000H.  This new version includes an upgraded Intel Atom N280 processor, as well as a bigger battery.  Asus is certainly pushing this aspect in its marketing, which promises you can 'enjoy all-day computing' with the Eee PC 1000HE.

Handling
We were infuriated by the keyboard on the 1000H, which was not only loud but also sagged in the middle.  The new keyboard, with spaces in between each key, is not unlike the one on found on Apple's MacBooks.

Typical webcam shot

Asus has clearly put a lot of effort into improving the keyboard, and it has certainly paid off.  Compared to a 9'' netbook like the Hercules EC-900 XP, the improvement in comfort while typing is substantial.  In front of the keyboard is a large, responsive trackpad.  Like on the 1000H, the two buttons sit flush with the edge of the computer and are a little stiff.

The webcam is guilty of Asus' usual faults: a reddish tint and visible flickering, especially in dark environments.  The microphone is reasonably good.

Around the outside of the computer are three USB ports, an Ethernet connection, a pair of mini-jacks for sound, a multi-format card reader and a VGA video output; Asus has all the usual bases covered.  Underneath the netbook, undoing two screws gives access to the 2.5'' hard drive and 1 GB of DDRII 667 MHz RAM.

VGA video ouput	Audio output and input
Trackpad	Ethernet and USB

Processor Power
Our new test procedure for notebooks and netbooks was partly inspired by the tools we use to test CPUs.  We focus on practical, real-life tests, like editing photos, compressing files or playing video.

On all of our tests, the Eee PC 1000HE was faster than the Hercules EC-900 by 7-10%.  The only exception was handling audio in Cubase, where, inexplicably, the 1000HE was 31% slower.  Alongside full-size notebooks, we found this netbook to be anywhere between two and nine times slower, depending on the task in hand.  Booting up is very fast and only takes around 40 seconds.

The video chipset still doesn't support very demanding HD content like Blu-ray, but you can enjoy some less resource-hungry HD videos.  One of our test clips would have left a desktop PC struggling just three years ago but was perfect on the netbook's screen, and just as good at 1920 x 1200 pixels on an external monitor.

Audio
The speakers are good enough for watching a film in a quiet environment, but you're better off with a pair of headphones to get the most of the soundtrack.

Portability & Battery Life
For a netbook, the 1000HE is a heavyweight at 1.45 kg.  Fortunately, the extra weight ensures that this netbook has the best battery life we've ever measured: 5 hours 54 minutes of continuous video playback, using our standard conditions (screen at 100 cd/m², headphone plugged in and WiFi turned off.  That puts it a good hour ahead of the Samsung NC10, which is only 150 lighter.

Online Storage: 10 GB
Hercules was the first netbook manufacturer to give customers a storage boost by including free online backup, but now Asus is including access to its Eee Storage system, with 10 GB of online storage to complement the 160 GB hard drive.  The space is free for the first 18 months.