Asus Eee PC 1018PB tested and appreciated

The Asus EEE PC 1018P, one of the most awaited 10 inch netbooks of 2010, is already available for preorder in some places in the States. Yet, few managed to get their hands on it, and some of these few are the guys at Cnet.com , who got the EEE PC 1018PB-BK801 and gave it a quick test.

Now, as you might know from our previous posts on the Asus 1018P, there aren’t many things changed on this 10 incher from the existing lines in terms of specs and hardware, but there are lots of improvements in terms of design.

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Update: You can also see here the Asus 1018P review i’ve posted on this site. Also this other post on the differences between the Asus 1018P and the 1018PB.

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So let’s start with the looks, which were greatly appreciated on the 1018PB. The device is thin and compact, with a new brushed metal casing. This makes it sturdier and more resistant to scratches, smudges or fingerprints, unlike the previous glossy generations. The bottom part is still made out of plastic, but you should notice that the upper part is now flat, so this means the 1018P is not part of the Seashell series, but of a new one, called Prime. Inside you get a chiclet keyboard and a redesigned trackpad, now bigger. The guys at Cnet complaint about the fact that some keys are too small, but that’s the case with all 92% Full-size keyboards available on 10 inchers. Arm-rest area is now matte too, and so is the 10 inch 1024 x 600 px display.

Asus 1018PB brings a new metalic casing and improved looks

As for the inside components, they are similar to what you can find on current top netbooks like the Asus 1015PE or Toshiba NB305 : Atom N450 1.66 Ghz processor, 1 GB of DDR2 memory, 250 GB hard-drive, 3xUSB 2.0 ports, card-reader, webcam, Windows 7 Starter and Wi-Fi N connectivity. Unfortunately there’s no Bluetooth, at least not on this tested version.

So in terms of performance, the 1018P remains inside the segment’s limits: good for browsing, chatting, writing texts, bad for multitasking or gaming. Battery life is also fair for this category, with 5 hours 15 minutes in video playing (tested) . That might be translated in around 6-7 in everyday regular use, which is quite fair, but bellow what others can offer.

Design is now flat and thinner (0.9 inch in height) and ports were rearranged  on the sides

Overall, Cnet gave the 1018PB EEE PC a 4 out of 5 mark, with higher points for design and build quality and fewer for performance. All in all though, for $349 as it sells in the US, it is for sure a good pick. Slightly thinner and lighter than the average top 10 incher, this one really has a chance to become a bestseller, at least till the new devices with improved hardware will enter the market, like the Asus 1016P .

See more details in the review on Cnet. And I can say that I just can’t wait getting my hands on it, which hopefully will happen pretty soon with a little bit of help from my friends at Asus.

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Tags: Asus netbooks, fancy netbook, light netbook

Last updated: September 12, 2010 | Published: July 15th, 2010 | Add the first comment!