Mini Review: EEE 1000H Generic Leather Cover/Case/Sleeve

I just got this in the mail today off ebay and I really like it so thought I would share it with everybody in the form of a little mini review.

Basically its a little leather wrap around that multi functions as a few things so I am not exactly sure what you would call it.

It covers & protects the EEE like a sleeve
You can carry it around like a book so its like a case
It keeps it off of any dirty surfaces and raises it up some so its a bit easier to type with so it kinda even acts like a cooling pad.

I say Generic because I got a cheapo no brand off ebay, here is the link to the seller & item I got. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=110290342322

If you find that you like the idea of this and prefer a more genuine version from what I can tell the "real" version of this would be from PDair http://www.pdair.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=10900000_11000202_11000317&products_id=7967

However $60 is too much for me
The Generic was like $25 + free shipping

So first the pictures, no big photo shoot like usual since this is just a mini review and my camera battery is almost dead

Normal Use Open


Top Closed


Bottom Closed


Side View



Reasons for buying:

Well the EEE is my new toy, I really really like it. Its not a powerhouse like my desktop & G50V but it has a ton of charm and it does one thing the other two could never hope to do, be ultra portable, also it does not require me to be anywhere near a power source for a long time. You can very realistically get 7 hours of battery life on the 1000H if you tweak it.

So to help compliment that ultra portable nature I wanted something to carry it around with. No more 45lbs bookbag like my g50v with all of its accessories, the EEE can travel alone and do great.

So that means charge it up at home, grab it and go out the door. Its multi gesture touchpad easily replaces a mouse, and the battery life eliminates the need for the power brick.

The Nano in the pictures I just got from a forum member and was testing it out, its a good compliment to the EEE, same color & size but I seriously do not feel the need for a mouse on the EEE and I got that just because it was being sold so cheap. ($35 Shipped)

This little case was the best way I could think of at first to take just the EEE with me, the foot print is super small obviously since it wraps around the EEE, its smaller than the included sleeve, it kinda makes it so your carrying a book around with you. So its like an E-Book (EEE-Book?)

Also the EEE is like most glossy black objects a finger print magnet so this keeps you from ever touching the unit directly for the most part to eliminate the finger prints.


Build Quality & Design:

Well the design is great, it looks good, it feels good. I was kind of worried that this might increase the temps on the EEE but I have been running all night with it with everest monitoring temps and they did not go up even 1c, infact it looks like it may be cooler than before! Those areas you see on the bottom side picture that are shiny, thats actually a metal mesh material to allow for venting, and when you fold the top half under like I have in the side picture it lifts the front vents up off the table surface allowing them to vent, the vents near the back/middle of the EEE are not blocked as the EEE's feet holds it high enough off the surface that the air flows like normal.

It has a magnetic clasp to keep it closed and it feels just right, not too loose or too tight.

My only gripe with it is the "build quality" the main outside portion is not really leather its like pleather or something and its really thin with what feels like cardboard inside??? So I suppose that full leather is what the $60 PDair version might get you, but the area that covers the palm rests is full leather and the construction is well stitched and seems like it would hold together for a long time.


Conclusions:

If you want to gain any of the benefits I listed above like keeping your EEE off surfaces when you take it out, have a light travel load, block fingerprints, things of that nature this is a good way to do it.

Im pretty sure my wife is going to make me get her one of these, I ordered a ZeroShock III sleeve the other day and was going to give this to her but after using it I may want to keep it

It looks nice and professional and its comfortable to type with and does not intrude in any way when typing or using the touchpad, also you can still see all the function leds in the front.

Id say it was $30 well spent and will give it a good comparison vs the zeroshock III when it arrives in the next few days.

 

Does this case have the straps in the corner that keep the led lid and the top portion of the case together?

I've seen a few pictures of cases on ebay that have it while most of them (including the pdair) don't.

I'd love to be able to open it and still have the leather backing attached.

 

Looks kinda weird, but I guess it does the job it needs to do.

 

It looks pretty decent. I just wish the stitching was black.

 

No thats why you fold it under like I did in that side pic.

 

Eh, I guess it looks that way in the pics, but in person it looks good because the keys are black with white letters, so it matches the keys when you have it open, when its closed you really dont see any stitching.

 

Gotcha!

How much give is there with the case?

I'm thinking about ordering one with the N10.

The dimensions on the N10 are ever so slightly larger than the 1000H at

10.8"x 7.6"x1.2"-1.4"

Do you think this badboy can be squeezed in there?

*edit* - Thank you for the review and pictures btw! I'm sure a lot of us are looking this day planner type of case for our netbooks and you've reviewed one of the ones I've had an eye on!

 

Id have to see exactly how much bigger the N10 is vs the 1000H, since it is leather like it will give some. Its not a very tight fit on the EEE but its definitely not got a lot of room to grow.

If Best Buy stocks the N10 like they do the EEE now I would gladly take it to the store and try it

You also may ask one of the resellers of the case if it will fit, they may know some time shortly.

 

This is an awesome review. I just snagged a REI case, I should/will do one.

 

The REI E-Sling?

I liked that too but again too pricey for me. Im shopping on the cheap right now.

 

lol yes i know this is gonna sound sad but what if i buy this notebook just to play SNES, Genesis games thats it. I mean it can do things like that right? Im sure it will i wanted to start getting back into the whole rom thing but decided maybe i should use a smaller notebook for that purpose only, maybe i could run some N64/PS games on it

 

I guess you have not seen my video

Im gonna say thats half the reason I got it too.

Video Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fllo6F-UP5o

Thread Here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=303559

Runs nes, genisis, snes, n64 like a champ, have not done much playstation on it but it seems to run that too from what I can tell.

At some point will put mame on here too, also I put a 250gb hdd in here so I have a ton of music/movies. With the long battery life this thing is way better than a portable dvd player or mp3 player

Speakers are very good too and I am surprised by it, louder than the g50v and sound just about as good.

 

Update: if anybody wants another clone somebody linked me this one on the eeeuser forums: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15961

$20 w/ free shipping
probably similar build quality to the one I have, I plan to get this one for the wife I think as she definitely wants one after seeing mine.

 

I have used that site before, they're pretty cheap...

 

Another update, somebody showed me pics of there PDair one and I noticed that most of the palm rest area is covered on the outside edge, this means less ventilation and also blocks the speakers.

Given that even if it is a higher quality material, I do not think it will function nearly as well as these cheaper ones. So I do not recommend the PDair one at all after I noticed that.

 

V.. you mentioned there were no issues with venting, do you notice any heat build up issues due to the leather? Where are the "hot-spots" on the 1000h?

 

I dont have any hot spots, it run very cool. CPU stays at like 50 and HDD at like 42.

I would assume the most cpu intensive task I would do is play a high res video or maybe PlayStation emulation and it still did not get hot to the touch/feel but I have not run a temp monitor while doing that so guess thats on my to do list.

I did do a cooling mod to mine (not a big surprise to most of you probably ) really easy mod tho, no dremell or anything like my c90 mod.

Just take a razor blade and cut away the metal & plastic covering that goes over the vent above the HDD, it droped my cpu temp like 4-5c and the hdd temp by like 2c.

* Note that I did not actually do a before & after test, but rather compare my moded unit against my wifes non moded unit so it is possible that i did not make a dramatic change, but other users have done the mod and also report nice temp drops.

Another "mod" that only one person has done that I know of that reported HUGE drops in temps was replace the stock thermal compound in there with some nice Artic Silver stuff. I would do it but I only have AS5 and he used AS Ceramic, due to the nature of the heatspreader and how it has a gap I do not think AS5 would be a good idea and since my temps are already nice and low I just have not bothered with it.

 

Dam, taking away that little 1x2" dropped it a lot. I was reading about the mod over at eeeusers. I think I will do it, and find some kind of thin filter or something to just protect against dust maybe. Right now I have a pretty constant 50C temp for almost any tasks, which seems high, but has been said to be ok. Sorry to tropic jack...o and in answer the the REI case, I don't have the sling, I have the laptop velco wrap. It made it through its first day of class...and still has 3 hours of battery life and is in 1 piece

 

I got mixed up on the cases. REI makes the velcro wrap which seems pretty cool.

Its Case Logic that makes the E-Sling the extra small is supposed to be a perfect fit, and dell has this really good case for there mini 9 but its probably just a smidge too small for the EEE 1000H.

I would not worry about a cover for dust there is not much airflow and the other vents are still open, any kind of "filter" is probably going to limit what little airflow you would get.

My next "mod" is going to be installing a Wifi Link 5100 or 5300 + Antenna in here probably. Just so I can do it and write a guide on it. I dont even have a N router to use those cards.

The new driver/software for the Ralink card is AMAZING, I have never seen so much detail and options in a wireless software. I have to post some screen shots of it later and its interface.

 

I have been on the edge of whether to upgrade to the 4965, 5100. or 5300 and give this wireless n card (rainlink) to my mom for her new white 1000HA. but you convinced me on upgrading the drivers and doing that vent mod.

 

Can someone give me more info on how to set up a SNES/Genesis/Playstation machine on my machine?

 

I seem to be the only one that likes the ralink drivers, everybody else is having problems with them. I guess maybe because I am an advanced user?

You can still use the new drivers with the Microsoft wireless config, but I like the new ralink config its much more advanced than anything microsoft ever had. Shows all the different channels the AP's are broadcasting here at work on the wifi, it found my network at home with a blank SSID so I could connect while microsofts would just say no networks available and I had to manually set it up.

Tells you the gain of the signal, the packets and just a lot of stuff.

 

I guess it just tells you how many people can correctly install a driver I thought it was an art, but after figuring out the correct process when testing video drivers on my g2s a while back, it comes second nature now.