Acer Aspire One NetBook

The One's spec varies quite considerably. The One varies on RAM (512MB or 1GB), storage (8/16GB Solid-state drive (SSD) or 120/160GB Hard drive) and choosing either Linpus Linux Lite or Windows XP operating system. Phew! Price naturally varies depending on the exact model, from about £180 for the basic Linux model (512MB) with 8GB SSD, to £280 for Windows XP (1GB) and 160GB mechanical hard drive.

I own and am reviewing the basic model (in white), costing just under £200 at time of purchase. Initial impressions were good, the glossy coating looks stylish and it's hard to believe just how small it is. The weight is equally diminutive at just under 1kg (hard drive models are heavier). The device is ready to use straight out of the box. Upon hitting the power button, the device boots speedily to desktop in around 5 seconds, and will be usable in around 12. The most impressive of the One's talents in my opinion, excellent for when you need to quickly look up something (oddball Wikipedia facts usually!).

After a couple of minutes of playing around, the first negative showed itself. Though very low power, thanks to the Intel Atom processor and SSD, the One is not passively cooled. The tiny fan soon whirs into action. While not at all loud, the noise is quite high pitched and noticeable if there is not much background noise. Luckily, I found a partial solution to this, which I will mention in the next section...

Other details to note are the slightly unusual layout of the trackpad area, buttons being placed either side of the trackpad. For a regular user of a laptop, this would take some getting used to. Unfortunately, the side buttons are also a little too hard to press, but the trackpad is smooth and default sensitivity is good.

On to the software! Linux Linpus Lite should appeal to those used to Windows. The desktop having nice large short-cut icons giving one-click access to the most used programs. The most important being Firefox web browser, email client, media player, office suite and file browser. The included software I've found to be easy to use and highly functional. The bundled software should satisfy most users needs.

The One uses built in Wifi connectivity to automatically find and connect to wireless networks. The Firefox browser is reliable and easy to use, featuring the useful 'tabs' feature. Unfortunately, the One can struggle to cope when multiple, media rich web pages are open simultaneously. This would likely be cured with the addition of more RAM (or buying the 1GB version to start with of course).

And thus concludes my main thoughts on the One! (I'm sure I've missed out smaller details, please let me know If I have). Read on for aftermarket bits and bobs.

To give a brief recap on my thoughts:

VALUE: A fully fledged mobile computer for under £200. Can't fault it on this. 5/5

FEATURES: Comes with all the basics most would need. The specification is up there with rivals, although lacking battery power in comparison. The right software is here to suit all tasks the One might be expected to undertake. Even comes with a built in webcam. 4/5

DESIGN: Neat and compact, the One looks very good and feels solid despite it's small size and weight. The glossy coating on the case and screen attracts smears right from the start however, spoiling it's good looks somewhat. The fan can also be distraction. 3/5

USABILITY: Keyboard is nicely laid out and will be fine for those without overly large fingers. Applications are easy to use and should be straight forward even for a computing novice. The unusual trackpad button placement is the biggest let down here. 3/5

OVERALL: 4/5

A plethora of software and hardware can be found for the One. Below is what I have encountered/used...

Of the potential upgrades for the One, what stands out most for giving this machine more clout as a portable device is a 6-cell battery upgrade. Battery life is arguably the most heavily criticised aspect of the One, with a max of 2.5 hours light usage, not much in comparison to rivals offerings. Larger 6-cell batteries are widely available from around £40, roughly doubling the battery life. This comes at a cost however, the increased size battery pack will hang out the back of the machine, increasing the One's footprint and making it look a little less compact (and cute, perhaps).

Next, for those with 512MB RAM spec model is a memory upgrade. An additional 512MB RAM stick can be had fairly cheaply, and being very easy to install prove to be a very worthwhile upgrade. This should allow more applications to run concurrently without the One stuttering under heavy loads.

Many applications can be found for the One, often freely available from the large user community. Some of these will be aimed at models with Windows XP (which can be installed on a Linpus model, with some difficulty). Installing applications on Linpus can be a challenge for novices to Linux, however instructions are often present.

As aluded to earlier, fan whir is an annoyance, but luckily there can be found software to help. Many of these are written for XP, but some scripts exist for Linpus. A particular script running on my own One, starts with the operating system and simply raises the temperature the systems needs to reach before the fan kicks in. Now for the most part, the fan is completely silent, although expectably the underside feels a little toasty after a prolonged period. Use at your own risk!

Feel free to leave me a comment, from One owners or otherwise!