Acer Aspire One

Acer Aspire ONE A150-1006 - Atom N270 / 1.6 GHz Processor - RAM 1 GB (expandable)- HDD 120 GB - GMA 950 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0 - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Win XP Home - 8.9 Screen
$399.00 with Free 2nd Day Shipping!

The Aspire one competes directly with Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) and small notebooks such as the HP Mini-note and the Asus Eee PC.

With a specifically optimized software interface to support connectivity needs, the Aspire one measure just 9.8-inches x 6.7-inches x 1.14-inches and weighs a little more than two pounds (0.9 Kg) with a claimed battery life of up to six hours.

The Aspire one comes standard with 802.11b/g WiFi built-in. It offers a simple Linux interface with pre-installed software separated by functions and presented in four distinct areas on the screen - Connect, Works, Fun and Files. The A150-1006 model offers Windows XP as the operating system and is well worth the $20 difference in price.

The Aspire one has an 8.9-inch CrystalBrite LED backlit display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels- great for web surfing, note taking and general use. Integrated in the top of the screen is an Acer CrystalEye webcam for live video streaming, video chats, video recording and conferences.

Initially available in blue and white, the range of colors available for the Aspire one will be expanded to also include brown and pink but the white housing is the most readily available right now.

The Aspire one is equipped with Intel Atom processor running at 1.6 Mhz, Linpus Linux Lite or Windows XP Home, and comes with 512MB or 1 GB of RAM memory installed. Memory is expandable but requires a full disassemble of the computer to get to the memory slot.

There are two alternatives for data storage: a NAND flash module of 8GB for the Linux system or an 120GB internal HDD for the XP system. In addition the Aspire one reads five different types of memory card - Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, xD-Picture Card.

Additional software such as OpenOffice 2.3, one Mail, Messenger, Acer eRecovery Management, Acer Launch Manager, Adobe Reader, McAfee Internet Security Suite, Microsoft Office Trial 2007 are also installed.

Pricing starts at $379 for the 8G Linux model and goes up to $399 for the 120G Widows XP system. I see no reason to not spend the extra $20 to get the substantially larger drive and Windows XP.

I held out for the 120G XP Aspire One after learning its price point would be just under $400 or $20 more than the $379 version with 8G and Linux. My patience paid off and I received my Acer Aspire One a bit more than a week ago. Its a replacement for my Asus EEE 701. I didn't need a replacement but wanted one!

The Aspire One has a better processor, larger screen, much more built in storage space and Windows XP already installed. I had already pimped out my Asus EEE with an 8G SD card, extra memory and Windows XP. Still the processor, storage limitation and CPU were being pushed to the brink. The Asus EEE created a large amount of heat and if used as a laptop had the added feature of assuring I would never have any more children (it ran very hot!).

Of course, the day the Aspire One arrived I cracked open the tiny box, slid everything out of the protective material and snapped the battery into place. The battery is a 3 cell lithium ion- by all measures I have used it last just over 2 hours in real world use- not the 3 hours claimed by Acer. Possibly 3 hours of battery use could be squeezed out of the One with the most conservative power settings and minimal use but that would not be very real-world now would it?

The case and overall look is sleek. It certainly looks more like a computer and less of a toy when compared to my Asus EEE. Much of the improvement in looks is due to the screen that takes up more of the lid surface. Like the EEEs there is no lid latch the Aspire One comes with a slide-in case. the one area where the EEE is better- the power supply. The Aspire One has a huge power supply cord and transformer box. I just don't see the point in making a sub 2 pound computer with a full size power brick. Asus has a much slimmer and smaller power source.

Lets talk about the screen. The Aspire One's screen is nice and crisp, bright and sharp. Even at its small 8.9" diagonal stature it represents well. You can surf the web, do word processing, hell- I even did some extensive graphics editing using GIMP and my aspire One. Something I would never dream of trying on my EEE.

And speaking of software- this is the first computer where I completely refused to buy any software for it. I use OpenOffice for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, NVU for html editing, GIMP for graphics, Filezilla for FTP, AVG for virus protection. Everything is open source or freeware- not costing a dime!

The Acer Aspire One has 2 card reader ports- one on each side of the keyboard. One takes SD cards and the other is a multicard reader. Two readers are nice for transferring images, music and other files from one card direct to another. I would have preferred a pc card port or a bluetooth reader other than the 2nd card reader but Acer never asked...

I already mentioned a bit over 2 hours of use with a charge. I pretty quickly went to work using my Aspire One by hitting the add-remove programs function and deleting all of the "included" programs I just didn't want or need. After freeing up a bit of space I ran the defrag utility to tidy up. Then I hit the web to download all of the open source programs I mentioned above (internet connection wasen't mentioned because my wireless network was found without problem and I was on in an instant).

The keyboard is a bit small (well the whole computer is small so its a scale issue) but you should easily adjust to the size difference after a few uses. The touchpad is OK. Personally I do not like having the buttons on the outer sides of the pad- it does not allow cross thumb action (hard to describe but a simple 1 minute use and you'll know what I mean). I suggest an external mouse anyway- it will save lots of frustration and give you better accuracy.