ASUS Eee PC 1001P

When it comes to netbooks, a lot of progress has been made in terms of design, usability, and performance. But for customers who want to spend the least amount possible, there haven’t been many compelling choices. That’s why we like the ASUS Eee PC 1001P. At $299, not only is this machine $50 to $100 less expensive than many netbooks, but it looks the part of a luxury netbook while lasting more than 8 hours on a charge. You give up some of the features of the more premium ASUS Eee PC 1005PE-P (Seashell), such as 802.11n wireless, but for those on a tight budget the 1001P is a very good choice.

Design

Hailing from ASUS’ Seashell line, the 1001P looks practically identical to the 1005PE-P. Though less svelte than the inch-thick 1008HA, the 1001P has similar curved panels and a sharp look. Instead of a glossy lid that attracts fingerprints, the 1001P has a white lid (also available in black) with a textured checkerboard pattern of tiny concentric squares. This matte lid keep smudges at bay, and it makes the 1001P look more expensive than its price suggests. The same pattern extends onto the keyboard deck, which is also white; however, the bezel is still a glossy black.

The 1001P measures 10.3 x 7.0 x 1.4 inches— nearly the same footprint as the 1005PE-P. The 1001P is also a bit thicker than the Toshiba mini NB305-N410 (1.2 inches). At 2.8-pounds, this netbook didn’t put any strain on our shoulder when we tossed it in a messenger bag, even with the charger (which brings the entire package up to 3.4 pounds).

Keyboard and Touchpad

Unlike the 1005PE-P, the 1001P doesn’t have an island-style keyboard; rather, the keys (like those on the Dell Inspiron Mini 10) abut each other at the base, but are terraced and slightly smaller at the tops. While we didn't mind the 1005PE-P's keyboard, we found it a bit easier to type on the 1001P, especially given the relative size of netbook keyboards. More importantly, the right Shift key isn't shrunken (as on the 1005PE-P).

The white 2.5 x 1.4-inch touchpad is fairly easy to distinguish; while it sits flush with the deck, it lacks the same pattern. Instead of the braille-like dots found on the 1005PE-P, this touchpad has a matte surface that exhibited very little friction. As with other Eee PCs, the touchpad also supports multitouch gestures; using two fingers to pinch and zoom in on a Web page in Internet Explorer was easy, and the image quickly rendered in its new size.

ASUS equips the 1001P with a single mouse button. Unlike some netbooks we’ve tested, this implementation was comfortable for making selections around the desktop. However, we still prefer the Toshiba mini NB305’s larger touchpad and dedicated right and left buttons.

Heat

Like the 1005PE-P, the 1001P kept its cool. After playing a video at full screen on Hulu for 15 minutes, the temperature between the G and H keys reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The touchpad was a temperate 91 degrees, and the center of the underside got as hot as 93 degrees; the bottom near the exhaust vent reached a rather hot 102 degrees. (We consider temperatures above 95 degrees unpleasant, and above 100 degrees just plain unacceptable.)

Display and Audio

The 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel LED-backlit display on the 1001P provided decent image quality. A streaming clip of How I Met Your Mother from CBS.com looked smooth, and colors were bright. Horizontal viewing angles were good, but to get the best picture you need to tilt the screen back about 30 degrees. When the display is at a right angle the image washes out.

From afar, the rather thick 0.8-inch glossy black bezel looked as if it was flush with the screen; up close, however, you could clearly make out the raised frame.

The speakers (located on the netbook’s bottom front edge) sounded somewhat soft when we streamed songs from Pandora, but they were no worse than the 1005PE-P. The Who's “Who Are You” came through quite tinny, even after we tinkered with the settings through the Realtek HD Audio Manager control panel.

Ports and Webcam

On the left side of the 1001P is a USB 2.0 port, a VGA port, and a Kensington lock slot. On the right side are a 3-in-1 memory card reader, an Ethernet port, two more USB 2.0 ports, and headphone and microphone jacks.

Above the display, the 0.3-megapixel webcam provided clear—if grainy—images; we detected little motion blur when we waved our hand quickly in front of the lens.