We already knew that the Asus Eee PC 1000HE chiclet-style keyboard was compatible with older Eee PC 1000 and 1000H models, thanks to the work of some nebtook hackers. But now it looks like Asus has confirmed things by playing a little mix and match with some netbook parts. Netbook News.de spotted a few older Eee PC models including the Eee PC 1000HA and S101H in Taiwan sporting shiny new chiclet-style keyboards.

Now, just because these models are showing up in Taiwan doesn’t mean you’ll be able to find them globally. In fact, Asus has pretty much stopped selling the Eee PC 1000-series in the US altogether. But Netbook News reports that Asus is considering making the keyboard available as an upgrade kit for existing Eee PC owners.

Update: You know, I had a feeling this story sounded familiar. We first reported that Asus was starting to add the chiclet-style keyboard to the Eee PC 1000HA back in April. But the chiclet-style Eee PC S101H is still new, as is the possibility of an upgrade kit, although that last bit still hasn’t been finalized yet.

Over the last year, a bunch of companies have relased a bunch of mini-laptops with incredibly similar specs. You don’t know how tired I’ve grown of typing “1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 10 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, and Windows XP Home.” But when the main specs are so similar, you can really focus on the little differences that make each netbook unique, like the battery, keyboard, or screen quality.

Portable Monkey has taken a detailed look at three of the most similar netbooks around, the Asus Eee PC S101, Eee PC S101H, and Eee PC 1002HA.

I won’t spoil the full results. But in a nutshell, the S101 is the smallest, quietest, and gets the best battery life. But there are certainly some reasons to consider the others as well. Or if you can live without the sleek metallic styling found on these netbooks, you can get a very similar, but plastic-coated machine like the Eee PC 1000HE or 1000H for a lot less money.

The Asus Eee PC S101H was released in Japan this week. On paper, the netbook isn’t much difference from the Asus Eee PC S101. But the new model has a hard drive instead of a solid state disk, and it’s a little thicker than the S101.

Portable Monkey has a review of the new mini-laptop. The computer is more professional looking than cheaper netbooks from Asus like the Eee PC 901 or Eee PC 1000H. But Portable Monkey reports the display isn’t as bright as 10 inch displays on other netbooks, and that the viewing angles aren’t as good.

The Eee PC S101H does support virtual screen resolutions (with scrolling) of up to 1920 x 1080, which is a departure from earlier Eee PC netbook models. The keyboard, speakers, and other hardware all seem to pass muster, but one major compromise Asus made with the Eee PC S101H is a lower capacity battery than you’ll find on many other Asus netbooks. The 2 cell 4200mAh battery does provide 3 to 4 hours of battery life, which isn’t bad by full sized notebook standards. But at a time when other netbooks are offering 5 to 8 hours of battery life, it feels a bit silly to pick up a pricier netbook which can only run for half the time.

Asus will begin shipping the Asus Eee PC 1002HA and Eee PC S101H in Japan this weekend. The Eee PC 1002HA is already available in the US for around $430, but the company currently has no plans to release the Eee PC S101H in the US.

The Eee PC S101H is virtually identical to the Eee PC S101, except it has a hard drive instead of a solid state disk, and it appears to be a few milimeters thicker. According to Portable Monkey, the S101H will cost about 64,800 yen, or about $728. While that might sound like a lot of money, it’s about $50 cheaper than the price Asus charged for the Eee PC S101 when it launched in Japan.

The Asus Eee PC S101H is basically just an Eee PC with a hard drive instead of a solid state disk. I got a chance to see one at CES, but didn’t think too much of it since it seemed to have pretty much the exact same specs as the Eee PC S101, right down to the 10.4″ x 7.1″ x 1″ dimensions. I was also told that there are currently no plans to release the S101H in the US.

But Johannes of Eee-PC.de got a chance to shoot a few photos of an Eee PC S101 next to an Eee PC S101H, and you know what? The model with the hard drive is a little thicker. You can find some more photos of the two netbooks next to one another at Eee-PC.de. And you can see a few images of the Eee PC S101H that I snapped at CES after the break.

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One of the main complaints I hear about Asus netbook keyboards is the awkward placement of the right shift key. On the Asus Eee PC 700, 900, and 1000 series of netbooks, the shift key on the right side of the keyboard is located to the right of the up-arrow, making it difficult for touch typists to hit. I personally use the left shift key more than the right one so this doesn’t bother me much, but it drives some people crazy.

Well, it looks like Asus may be planning to change its keyboard layout. Netbook 3G found a user manual for the Asus Eee PC 1002HA/Asus Eee PC S101H, and there’s a picture of a keyboard that doesn’t look like any Eee PC keyboard I’ve seen so far. The right shift key is on the left of the up arrow, and there’s an additional Fn key to the right of the up arrow. 

The Asus Eee PC 1002HA I recently reviewed had the typical Eee PC keyboard, so either this is the keyboard we’ll see on the Eee PC S101H, or it’s a misprint.

Asus may be preparing to launch a new mini-laptop, which Fudzilla reports will be called the Eee PC S101H. The company’s Eee PC S101 netbook is the thinnest netbook in the Eee PC line, and at 2.4 pounds, it’s the lightest netbook with a 10.2 inch display that Asus offers.

While there’s no official word on what features will make the Eee PC S101H different from the S101, the H would suggest that the new model will have a hard drive instead of a solid state disk. The Eee PC S101 is only available with an SSD at the moment.

It’s possible that Asus will be able to bring the price down a bit by offering a hard drive instead of a solid state disk. The Eee PC S101 is currently the most expensive member of the Eee PC family with a starting price of $699 (although bargain hunters can find it for a few bucks less on Amazon).

via PortableMonkey