Here is a view of the Asus Eee PC-1000HE keyboard, with a US Quarter-Dollar coin set on top of it, to help with the size perspective.
Note that the main keys are claimed by the manufacturer to be 92% of standard size. I can only say that they are "big enough", even for my relatively large hands. I can actually type pretty well on this keyboard. The function keys and cursor keys are smaller, but that's not a problem. Like many notebook and netbook computers, many of the keys have an additional function. In this case, the blue colored legends indicate what function the key performs if preceeded by a press of the (blue-colored) Fn key.

Here is a comparison of the MacBook keyboard vs. the Asus EEE PC keyboard side by side.

The keys are similar in size to one another. I think that the Eee PC keys have more depth (and more keystroke travel, a good thing in my opinion). The space separation around each of the keys is probably quite similar, but it looks like there is more space around the Mac's keys because of the silver vs. black contrast as compared to the black surrounding black on the Eee PC keys. Spacing is good, so that clumsy fingers hit only the key that they aim for...

Here is the lower right side of the Asus keyboard, which shows the embedded cursor keys. Some netbooks have such cramped keyboards that you have to hit a function key first to access a cursor motion key, but that's not the case here.

If you look closely, you'll see that the most frequently-used cursor motion keys, namely Up/Down/Left/Right are a single keystroke. The less-frequently-used motion keys, namely Home/End/PgUp/PgDn, require you to tap the blue Fn key first, and then one of the four main cursor keys. This is a very acceptable arrangement for maximizing the utility of the available space on a compact keyboard.

Here is a view that shows the entire keyboard.

On the subject of embedded keypad keys, note that up at the top right corner of the keyboard are the frequently-used Insert and Delete keys. These are dedicated single-stroke keys, as befits their frequent use. Their secondary functions, which are accessed by using the blue Fn key as a prefix, are the very infrequently-used Num Lk (Number Lock) and Scr Lk (Scroll Lock) functions. Yes, you can actually hit Fn / Num Lk to turn on an embedded numeric keypad mode:
U= 4   I= 5   O= 6   P= *
  J= 1   K= 2   L= 3   ;= -
    M= 0   ,=   .= .   /= +
...but trust me, if you are doing a ton of numeric input, you would be far better off buying an external USB 10-key keypad!

There is also a built-in pointing device, a touchpad, with left and right buttons to emulate a mouse.

The two buttons require a solid push and give a satisfying click for feedback, which is appreciated by me. In addition to simply moving the mouse cursor around the screen as you move your finger around the touchpad, this one can do a number of special tricks by use of two or more fingers at a time. For example, dragging two fingers side-by-side up or down the touchpad can emulate the scroll function of a "wheel mouse", and with certain finger motions you can do exotic things like pop up a "magnifying glass window" over the cursor location. Unfortunately, the special functions of the touchpad are not documented in writing in the Asus user manual, or in any online manual from either Asus or from the manufacturer of the touchpad mechanism that I can find. The only way to learn how to use the keypad to its fullest is to use the online help of the keypad driver. Maybe someday I will type up the information so I can print it out and look at it!

Ok, that's the quick tour of the keyboard.

Let's take a look at some other design features: (Click here for Page 4)

Last edited January 1, 2010 by WØJT