Asus EEE PC 1000

It’s seems that every time a company announces a rival to Asus’s Eee PC crown, the Taiwanese company sees this as a direct challenge and announces another model in the Eee PC range.

So, hot on the heels of the 901 comes the 1000. It takes the same styling as the 8.9-inch model, so packs in a six-cell battery and the same design styling around the screen and hinge and even uses the same high-gloss plastic.

The main difference is the use of a ten-inch screen, which supports the standard 1,024 x 600-pixel resolution we’ve come to expect from netbooks. The quality of the screen is sharp and if you just want to use it for surfing the internet or answering email, it’s more than enough.

That said, this machine really delivers in terms of battery life. We’ve been using it for a week or so and found the battery easily delivers five hours at any one time, making it a great machine to use out and about every day.

The screen may be great but what it means is that Asus has finally released a machine that offers a near-full sized keyboard. The company claims the keys are 95 per cent full-size but you’d never notice, as the keyboard is a sheer pleasure to use.

When it comes to usability, this is a great machine as the extra space makes it far more comfortable to use. There are three USB ports, VGA-out adapter and an SD card slot that still supports high-capacity cards.

The only problem with have with the Eee PC 1000 is the size of it. The bigger chassis may be comfortable to type on and use but it lacks the all-round portability of the smaller 901.