The Asus Eee PC 1002HAE is one of Asus’s trademarked minor netbook upgrades with a slightly new name. In other words, it’s basically an Eee PC 1002HA with a letter E tacked onto the end. What that letter E brings is several new color options, the new chiclet-style keyboard, and a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU instead of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor.
Portable Monkey has a thorough review of the new model, and it turns out there are a few other minor changes, and not all of them are for the better. For instance, unlike earlier models, the Eee PC 1002HAE has plugged up the screws on the access bays beneath the unit. This means it’s going to be very difficult for users to upgrade the RAM, hard drive, or other hardware. The new model also has a battery that’s awkwardly placed near the front of the netbook, which means that it would be tough to design an extended battery that doesn’t raise the front of the keyboard uncomfortably.
Like the Eee PC 1002HA, the 1002HAE is thinner and lighter than other 10 inch Asus netbooks like the Eee PC 1000HE. But it’s not as thin and light as the new Eee PC 1008HA, and it doesn’t get the same kind of battery life either. The Portable Monkey review suggests that the battery is good for just 3 to 4 hours. While that’s not bad for a full sized laptop, I’ve come to expect more from a netbook.
You can find more photos and the complete review at Portable Monkey. The Asus Eee PC 1002HAE is currently available in Japan, but hasn’t yet been released in the US.