Asus Eee PC 1001P: Our Favorite Netbook
by Vivek Gowri on March 16, 2010 11:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
In May 2009, Asus took the wraps off its new Eee PC 1005HA, the latest and greatest netbook model from the company that pioneered the segment. The 1005HA was the mainstream implementation of the Seashell design that garnered much praise in the form of the gorgeous but ultimately flawed 1008HA. The 1005HA set out to correct those flaws, with more ports and a larger battery in a slightly thicker but similarly sleek and attractive package. It delivered on those fronts and ended up as a resounding success for Asus.
Naturally, when it came time for Asus to update the Diamondville-based 1005HA to the new Pine Trail platform, Asus didn't want to mess with success. Beyond the new processors, the 1005PE was very nearly identical to the 1005HA, except with some minor changes to the keyboard and mouse.
Now, why is any of this relevant to the 1001P? The newest member of the Seashell line has strong roots in the 1005, sharing the same basic chassis and internal components as the more expensive model. Gone is the reflective, glossy finish of the 1005, replaced by textured, matte plastic. The screen also has a matte finish, thankfully one of the few computers to forego the trend of featuring a glossy screen. In terms of hardware, the two share the same basic components, headlined by Intel's new Pineview Atom N450 processor and a large 6-cell battery.
As noted in previous coverage of the new Atom chips, Pine Trail consolidates the entire platform into a two-chip solution—the Pineview processor and the Tiger Point chipset controller. Pineview moves the 45nm GMA 3150 core and memory controller onto the same package as the Atom CPU, reducing the overall power consumption of the platform significantly while offering a slight performance increase.
| ASUS Eee PC 1001P Specifications | |
| Processor | Intel Atom N450 (1.66GHz + SMT, 45nm, 512KB L2, 533FSB, 5.5W) |
| Chipset | Intel NM10 |
| Memory | 1x1024MB DDR2-667 @ 4-4-4-12 Timings |
| Graphics | Integrated Intel GMA 3150 |
| Display | 10.1" LED Matte 16:9 WSVGA (1024x600) |
| Hard Drive | 2.5" 250GB 5400RPM 8MB (Seagate ST9250315AS) |
| Networking | Atheros AR8132 Fast Ethernet Atheros AR2427 802.11g WiFi |
| Audio | Realtek AL269 2-Channel HD Audio (2.0 Speakers with headphone/microphone jacks) |
| Battery | 6-Cell, 10.8V, 4400mAh, 48Wh |
| Front Side | None |
| Left Side | Heat Exhaust Kensington Lock 1 x USB 2.0 VGA AC Power Connection |
| Right Side | SD/MMC reader Microphone/Headphone Jacks 2 x USB 2.0 100Mb Fast Ethernet |
| Back Side | None |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Starter |
| Dimensions | 10.31" x 7.01" x 1.02"-1.44" (WxDxH) |
| Weight | 2.80 lbs (with 6-cell battery) |
| Extras | 1.3MP Webcam Super Hybrid Engine (software over/under clocking) Available in White, Black, Blue, and Pink |
| Warranty | 1-year standard ASUS warranty (USA) Extended warranties available |
| Price | White 1001p-PU17-WT starting at $327 |
Spec-wise, the Eee PC 1001P doesn't do much to differentiate itself from the rest of the netbook crowd. It follows the same tried-and-true netbook formula, with an LED-backlit 10.1" WSVGA screen, the now-obligatory 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor and GMA 3150 integrated graphics, a standard 1GB of DDR2 memory, and Windows 7 Starter edition to top it all off. To that, the 1001P adds a 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, a 0.3MP webcam, and a 4.4Ah (48Wh) six cell battery rated for 11 hours of battery life in a slim and sleek 2.80lb chassis.
If this all sounds familiar, that's because it is. The 1005PE shares nearly identical specs, only adding wireless-n and a larger 5.8Ah (63Wh) battery worth 14 hours of runtime. In all fairness, when constrained to the 10"/Atom/Windows specs, there's only so much hardware variation that can be created, which is why many netbooks have such similar components. And, when you make as many different netbooks as Asus, such overlaps are inevitable.
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mczak - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - link
Conclusion says the only thing you give up over 1005pe is battery life. I think in this time and age, not having n-wireless is a fairly big omission too. Maybe not quite a deal breaker, but I'd consider that an important distinction between the two (maybe even more so than the battery life difference).I'm wondering though if we'll see most netbooks switch to the N470. Not exactly a performance demon neither, but every little bit helps...
ric3r - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - link
It's purely a cost thing, and honestly, so many public hotspots are still on g (or b) wireless that it's not really a necessity to have -n wireless. Yeah, it's nice to have, but not essential.As for the N470, yeah, we'll see. I haven't noticed any difference speed-wise between the N270, 280, and 450, but the N470 does offer a comparatively substantial speed bump so maybe it'll do better.
heulenwolf - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - link
Agree, I'm tired of the G-only devices holding up my N-network at home. Even the Nexus One found a way to put N-networking in the device. I guess it comes down to cost, though. A part costing $x more on an unsubsidized device tends to lead to a retail price $3x more. I don't think the mass market wants a netbook when the price creeps near $400. So, perhaps the G-only networking was a cost-cutting measure to keep the price well out of the range where people could even round up to $400.mucker365 - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - link
> I'm tired of the G-only devices holding up my N-network at homeHolding up, how? Do you have an internet connection with better throughput or latency than wifi g?
Veerappan - Thursday, March 18, 2010 - link
He could be referring to inter-computer transfers, such as streaming videos off of a NAS via wireless. I've had issues in the past with collisions on a 802.11G network impacting playback performance of HD video streamed from another computer on the network.I'd also love to do a NAS setup with my Linux boxes where there is a network-mounted home directory, but as it is the wireless speed of 54mbit/s (when I'm lucky, more often it's in the 30mbit range) makes that impractical.
It's also very possible that he is being held back by his router in his network speed. My FiOS connection at home has been clocked by DSL Reports at 25mbit/s down and 18.5mbit/s up (this has been echoed by real-world transfer speeds). Add those upload/download figures together, add in collision reset times, and 54Mbit/s could actually be a limiting factor.
Shadowmaster625 - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - link
I had the chance to play with a netbook with the same specs as this. I was impressed until I put it in sleep mode. I put my ear up to the vent and noticed that the fan was still running. It never shut off. I tried waking it up but it never came back on. Apparently during the process of closing the netbook lid (which puts it to sleep), I must have caused a hard drive I/O error which locked up the netbook. So it never suspended and the fan never shut off.What a joke. It had to be the hard drive. The hard drives in these things are nothing more than cheap garbage. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. Anandtech ought to be ashamed of themselves for recommending such garbage. Even the smallest, crappiest SSD is better than crap that breaks on a dime. I dont care what any of these morons say, do NOT trust a netbook hard drive any further than you can throw it.
strikeback03 - Friday, March 19, 2010 - link
So you write off the entire category because one example of one design had an issue?JonB - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - link
You would think a nice, solid state hard drive would be problem free, but it sure wasn't for me. I have replaced the failed 8GB Intel SSD with a cheaper and faster 16GB SuperTalent. This was an Acer AspireOne, though, not the Asus series.When an SSD fails, apparently it just goes away. No warning, no chance of recovery.
Hard drives, even cheap hard drives, usually give some warning.
mckirkus - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - link
I wasn't aware that Intel made 8GB SSDs. The new generation are around $100, 5x larger, and are rock solid. In fact, some say they're better at dealing with failures than the rotating variety.I'd rather have a super fast 40GB SSD in one of these things than a 250GB spinning disaster waiting to happen.
8 & 16 GB SSDs are really old tech.
JonB - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - link
Both the 8GB and 16GB SSDs are literally the size of a credit card and barely thicker. A short ZIF ribbon cable connection to the motherboard.My AspireOne is running a slightly modified Linpus so needs very little room and I store everything of value on SD cards. My netbook is not a desktop replacement in any way; more like a huge smartphone.