The Asus EEE pc 1000HA. Is it a Winner?

The Asus EEE netbooks have been out for a while now, and they seem to be very popular. This one with a 10 inch screen and Windows XP caught my eye recently:


ASUS Eee PC 1000HA 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 10 GB Eee Storage, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

Technical Details

* XP-Preloaded with 160G large HDD.

* ASUS Super Hybrid Engine and 6 cell high density battery pack allow for longer battery lifespan of up to 7 hours. Super Hybrid Engine offers a choice of performance and power consumption modes for easy adjustments according to various needs.

* High Speed Connectivity Anywhere with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g. Eee Connect for an easy way to connect two or more users through a remote desktop feature for easy troubleshooting.

* Exclusive 10GB Eee Storage with easy accessibility anywhere online.

* Free 1 YR Warranty (6 month for battery, 30 day ZBD Guaranteed)

Here is a portion of the Amazon.com product description:

[...] Much more compact than a standard-sized notebook and weighing just over 3 pounds, the Eee PC 1000HA is perfect for students toting to school or road warriors packing away to Wi-Fi hotspots. The Eee PC 1000HA also features a 160 GB hard disk drive (HDD), 1 GB of RAM, 1.3-megapixel webcam integrated into the bezel above the LCD, 54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g), Secure Digital memory card slot, multiple USB ports, a VGA output for connecting to a monitor.

It comes preinstalled with the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system, which offers more experienced users an enhanced and innovative experience that incorporates Windows Live features like Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Live Mail for consolidated email accounts on your desktop. Complementing this is Microsoft Works, which equips the user with numerous office applications to work efficiently. [...]

The full description is quite long and detailed, with lots more photos and information. And always of great interest to me, are the reviews by people who own it. 287 reviews so far, and most give it high marks:

Customer Reviews

Very interesting. I've been looking at a lot of netbooks, and this one looks like it could be among the best that's available. For someone who doesn't need a really high powered laptop, and who wants Windows XP instead of Windows Vista, this could be just the thing. Asus is supposed to be a good brand, I've heard, so hopefully it will hold up well with use. Time will tell.