|
Toshiba Thrive: The Thrive features more ports than any other tablet to date, but suffers due to its bulky design. However, its successor, the Toshiba Excite, should be the thinnest Android tablet yet at just 7.7mm (0.303 inches) and could add more confusion to the Android ranks.Samsung AA-PBONC4B
Nook Tablet: The original Nook Color was one of the first and most popular Android tablets even though it was sold only as an e-reader. As a follow-up, Barnes and Noble released the Nook Tablet which comes with a 7” display and 16GB of storage.Samsung AA-PB2NC3B
Motorola Xoom 2: The original Xoom was the first Honeycomb tablet to hit the market, but it didn’t fare too well due to various issues. As a successor, Motorola recently announced the Xoom 2, which comes with a 1.3GHz processor and a 10.1” display. It’s still too early to put a verdict on the device, but early reports seem comforting. Samsung AA-PB2NC6B
Archos G9: Though Archos may not be the most popular of manufacturers, its G9 tablets deserve a mention due to the ample amount of space included. The 10.1” 101 G9 and the 8” 90 G9 each come with up to 250GB of storage thanks to Seagate’s Momentus Thin HDD. Unfortunately, the tablets seem to have run into some delays, as their September 20th launch date has come and gone without any release. Samsung AA-PB4NC6B
In conclusion, the future of the booming tablet market appears to be even brighter due to increased competition and constant new entries. Of course, tablets may end up fading away like some of history’s other electronic fads, but at the moment the numbers indicate nothing of the sort. So if you’ve been on the fence over getting a tablet, then hopefully after reading this article you have a better understanding of the tablet market as a whole and are in a better position to make the most fitting choice.Samsung AA-PB6NC6B
Asus offers an almost unmanageable range of mini-notebooks by now. One among the many, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE "netbook", now shines with Intel's updated N280 Atom CPU and a 6-cell battery, making it an attractive endurance runner variant. Please read in our review where the differences to the remaining Eee-range by Asus lie, and how the mini-notebook performs in comparison to the competition...Samsung AA-PB0NC4G
Asus Eee PC 1000HENine different models of the Eee PC are to be found on the homepage of Asus Germany at the moment, and those do not even include all variations offered by retailers. Since those older models which are on sale, as well as the Asus N10 (not an Eee PC officially), are not listed, Samsung AA-PL0NC8G one has the great agony of choice at Asus alone. Eyes should be kept open due to the partly enormous differences concerning display, battery life, and configuration. The pros and cons should also be balanced to see which model is needed. The 1000HE is supposed to be especially stylish and enduring, and it additionally tries to convince possible buyers through user-friendly applications.
Asus 1000HE in plain whiteThe Eee PC 1000HE tested by us has a case which is of identical construction to the well-known Eee PC 901, 904, Samsung AA-PB0NC6B and 1000 series and is in principle available in 6 different colors. At the moment, one has to go without the alternatives of blue, gold, pink, and silver since only the black and white variant are offered here in this country. They all share a high-gloss finished surface, which makes a very classy impression when untouched, but does exhibit obvious traces of usage after some time in use (depending on the outside color). Our white test model showed very good conduct in this context, since its surface conceals finger prints and dust particles very well, it only reveals them on a close look. Samsung AA-PB1NC6B The otherwise monochrome look is broken up by the unobtrusive usage of some chrome-colored elements, such as the cover of the display hinges, the button bar above the keyboard, and the frame of the touch pad - it even gets a classy look.
The display's frame appears to be very wide and even somewhat clumsy, but it does in turn constitute a protective cover of great torsional stiffness. This can by the way be applied to the whole case, which has to be called very robust. One can only elicit a light creaking when applying stronger pressure to the area around the palm rest. The keyboard can also be dented a bit around the edges, but this does not have any negative influence on general usage. The display hinge performs its work in an exemplary way, but does, as a side effect, have the disadvantage of not allowing single-handed operation. Samsung SSB-Q30LS3
With case dimensions of 266mm (w) x 191.2mm (d) x 28.8-38mm (h), the 1000HE does not belong to the slimmest representatives of its kind, but it does skilfully hide the 6-cell battery in the area of the display hinge and therefore does not have an extension off-standing downward, as visible on some competitors. It thus leaves a compact optical impression, Samsung SSB-X15LS3 but can not quite keep that promise with a test weight of 1460g on the scale. A great amount of that is of course due to the already mentioned 62 Wh battery, which is a main argument for buying an Asus Eee PC 1000HE. It alone weighs 310g, fits in the case solidly, and can be locked additionally. Without the battery, there are no problems of standing, meaning the battery can be removed without problems during stationary usage.
Compared to the announced Asus Eee PC 1008HA, the 1000HE's design all in all definitely seems antiquated, and almost pudgy. It does, as will be shown later, convince through the intrinsic values of its inner components.Samsung SSB-X15LS6
Only one slot for system memoryThe ports offered come off modestly, as is typical of netbooks. Samsung SSB-X15LS6S The competion's level is reached with three USB-ports, a VGA output, LAN, audio, and a card reader (SD/MMC). In terms of wireless connections, the Asus offers a level of good average with Draft-n WLAN and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and thus fitting possibilities of connections for most scenarios. In connection with the 1.3 MP webcam located in the top of the display's frame, and the microphone openings located in the lower area, one is prepared for Skype and Co. adhering to standards. The customer only has to go without a UMTS-module, which would complete the wireless equipment. This can be upgraded at low cost via an USB stick when needed, as usual.Samsung SSB-X10LS3
We are completely happy with the distribution of the ports, apart from the audio ports located on the side, which we personally would rather have seen on the front. There are no limitations visible, all ports are located on both sides, as far back as possible and with sufficient space between them.Samsung SSB-Q20LS
Those components reachable via the underbody, such as system memory and hard disk, are located under a shared hatch (fixed with two screws), which can be removed quickly. Since the netbook has only one slot for system memory, one has to replace the 1 GB module present through a 2 GB module. Only very few would want to upgrade though, Samsung SSB-Q20LS2 the 1 GB system memory and the hard disk with a capacity of 160 GB are sufficient for the installed Windows XP Home operating system and most tasks.Asus ships a simple neoprene sleeve, a useful manual, and a cleaning cloth as accessories, the warranty is valid for a duration of 24 months.
The keyboard uses up almost all the space available horizontally and features nifty isolated keys (Chiclet), which are also convincing in terms of quality. The clear keyboad layout features keys with a size of 17.5mm and thus reaches 92% of the size of a standard keyboard. Samsung SSB-P30LS
The medium hub, the pleasant sound, and the stroke make it possible to attribute the aptitude for extensive typing to the keyboard based on its basic properties.
The smaller size (typical of netbooks) affects this in a limiting way, it needs a longer time of getting used to and might not convince every user right away.Samsung AA-PB5NC6W As usual, the Eee PC features several special functions in the area of the F-keys, available via an Fn-combination, e.g. controlling the display's brightness, or the volume. The numeric block, integrated through double occupancy, is a well-meant gimmick, but it will not be used as much in practice due to the shifted layout.
The quick start bar with four buttons, located above the keyboard, offers two functions (background lighting / resolution) pre-defined by the manufacturer, and leaves two freely definable for the user. These are per default pre-configured with the Asus-energy-saver-profiles and Skype, but can be, as mentioned, changed as one likes.Samsung AA-PB5NC6B
The touch pad could not really convince on our test model, it either did not recognize input at all, very lagged, or even severalfold. This behavior could barely be improved through changing the settings and has to be categorized as strongly needing getting used to. The multi-touch function did also not work corresponding to the presetup, it has to be called pretty sluggish. Samsung AA-PB2VC6BThis is unusual, as the Eee 901 and 1000H made a much better impression. The touch pad's keys, on the other hand, do not let any first sign of critique emerge and fulfill their purpose through good responsiveness and with pleasant sound.
The Eee PC 1000HE still has a matt display surface in the 16:10 format and thus spares its users unnecessary reflections, after more and more netbooks with trendy glare-type displays are released. The excellent contrast value of 832:1 and the comparatively saturated colors, which are not self-evident in notebook displays, are also pleasing.Samsung AA-PB2VC6W
Even so, the screen is suitable for mobile usage only to a limited extent, due to its factory-provided maximum brightness of averagely 155.9 cd/m². Although this is enough for not having to think much about disadvantageous lighting conditions indoors, the background lighting is simply too weak for working open-air. Samsung AA-PB2VC6W-B AA-PB3VC3BIt only makes a hindered reading of the screen's contents possible, if at all, and therefore is not pleasing any more after a short time. During mobile usage, the display's maximum brightness in addition is limited to 149.2 cd/m² per default, this setting cannot be switched off in the Bios.
However, the option of raising the native resolution from 1024x600 to 1024x768 pixels is pleasing. It can either be used through a custom, yet slightly distorted image, or through scrolling the desktop on the internal display.Samsung AA-PB3VC6B
The illumination has to be described as not optimal, but still good, with a distribution of brightness of 79%. This effect is only recognizable on monochrome contents on the display and does not lead to any objections during regular usage.Samsung AA-PB3VC6B-E AA-PL2VC6B
The display's stability of the viewing angle is good and visibly above average. There are indeed some image changes noticeable, in the vertical area rather than in the horizontal one. These do come up later than they do on some competitors. Watching movies with several persons would thus not be a problem and will only be limited by the small display size.Samsung AA-PL2VC6B-E
The only disadvantage is, as mentioned, the display brightness, which is not suited for outdoor usage. At ones own risk (and possibly with a loss of warranty), a remedy for this can be found in the overclocking tool eeectl - a maximum display brightness of up to 318 cd/m² can be reached at a moderate additional consumption of 1.3 watt.Samsung AA-PL2VC6W AA-PL2VC6W-E Through this, the limited display brightness during battery operation can also be circumvented. All of this of course is done at the expense of the display controller and can lead to an according affection of its lifespan, since it is far beyond the planned specifications.
Asus faithfully fulfills all guidelines from Intel and Microsoft in order to receive price-reduced processors, Samsung AA-PBOTC4Bas well as being able to offer Windows XP Home Edition as operating system. With Intel's Atom N280 CPU (1.66 Ghz clock rate / 2W TDP), 1 GB system memory, 160 GB hard disk, and 10.2" display, Asus submits to all defaults and does therefore barely stick out from the mass of mini notebooks. The now featured Intel Atom N280 CPU is the successor of the N270 processors and presents some minor improvements. Besides a reduction of the Thermal Design Power (TDP) by 0.5 watts, the front side bus has been risen from 533 Mhz to 667 Mhz, as has the connected CPU clock rate - slightly from 1.6 Ghz to 1.66 Ghz. Leaps in performance cannot be expected through this, but an increase in efficiency in detail is indeed measurable, if not always noticeable. Samsung AA-PBOTC4L
Besides that, Asus has turned the one or other setscrew with its own profiles, and overclocks the Atom CPU minimally to 1.69 Ghz in the "Super Performance Profile". This leads to 123 points in 3D Mark '06, 1475 points in PC Mark '05, and it calculates the 32M Super Pi Test in 4292 seconds. Therefore, the Asus is in the netbooks' top bracket and can score additionally through a reduced power input at the recording of the interval transit time.Samsung AA-PBOTC4M AA-PBOTC4R
The Seagate hard disk works pretty fast, with an average of 54.7 MB/s, it only stood out in our test model through temporary, loud cracking. We could not note any detriment of performance resulting from it.Samsung AA-PBOTC4T |
