Asus 1005PE review – PineTrail and 14 hours battery life

Asus 1005PE review summary

This 10 inch netbook is the follower of perhaps the most popular netbook ever existing, the 1005HA. Called EEE PC 1005PE, it upgrades its predecessor with the new hardware platform, but also brings a couple of new goodies on the table. And all these were enough to make it the best selling netbook on Amazon.com in less than a months after it was launched.

All in one, is right now perhaps the best laptop you can get in terms of features/price. Comes with the best battery life (up to 14 hours), good display, ergonomic keyboard/touchpad, nice software pack and very good connectivity options.

In fact, the only things I can really brag about are the same glossy case and display that Asus used us with. But if you can stick with these, the 1005PE is definitely the mini laptop for you.

Pros:

• fancy looking, as part of the Seashell EEE PC series
• amazing autonomy out of the 6 cell battery, best in its class (up to 14 hours on paper, 11+ hours in practice)
• standard hardware features: N450 Atom processor, 1 GB of RAM, 250 GB hard-drive
• improved keyboard, now with independent chiclet keys and more ergonomic
• extra features are also very nice: good speakers, decent webcam and mic, etc
• comes with a useful software pack (Asus EEE Docking, Data Sync, SHE software for overclocking, EEE storage)
• you can easily upgrade RAM but hard-drive access is a little bit more difficult
• offers LAN, Wi-fi N and Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR connectivity

Cons:

• has the same touchpad with tiny bumps and single click button. They could have improved this part too.
• the glossy exterior is a fingerprints’ magnet (update: there is also a matte version available now, see info bellow, in the pricing section )
• ultra-glossy display is difficult to use outside or in strong light conditions

Conclusion:

Like i already said, Asus managed to lift the bar even higher with their standard 1005PE netbook, making it one of the best in the 10 inch class. You can get better, but not for the same money. Too bad for the glossy body that still catches lots of fingerprints and scratches from the moment you get it out of the box, otherwise this device would be spotless.

Update: This problem is now partially solved with the new matte version available.

All in all, the 1005PE is just perfect for everyday activities, providing excellent value for its price and stellar battery life, unmatched by no other 10 inch netbook on the market right now.

Where to buy:

There are in fact several different versions for the 1005PE, all available on the US & Canadian market (prices might change in time. Click the links for the up to date ones at any time, plus more details, reviews and pictures).

• Asus EeePC 1005PE-PU17-BK - $379 + Free Shipping (offers all the features mentioned above; available in Black or Blue)
• ASUS EeePC 1005PE-MU27-BK - $339 $299 + Free Shipping (comes with no Bluetooth and only an 11 hours battery; available in Black or White; Kindle for EEE PC preinstalled for free)
• Matte Asus EEEPC 1005PE-PU27-BK -  $369 + Free shipping (offers all the above, but with a new matte case; can only be found in black for now) – this version was replaced by the Asus 1015PED, with better matte casing, new features and some improvements (in terms of build quality, trackpad, hardware). Details about the new version via this link.

If you happen to live in the UK, only the poorer version is available for you right now, for 299 285 pounds . However, you also get the new version, called the EEE PC 1015PE (with minor aesthetic differences over the PED available in the US), for 279 pounds, which is a great deal that will make it to the list of top 10 inch netbooks available in UK.

If you’re living elsewhere and have difficulties in finding the right 1005PE in your country, then shoot me an email via the contact page and i might be able to give you a hand. Just make sure that email is in English