Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 512 MB RAM, 8 GB Solid...

Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 512 MB RAM, 8 GB Solid State Drive, ... | Excellent - But With Some Small Problems

computers & hardware:

Acer Aspire One 8....

	Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 512 MB RAM, 8 GB Solid State Drive, ... Acer Acer average customer review:based on 118 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

It is what it is

My husband and I had been eyeing this little jewel at Walmart for awhile until he finally decided to go for it. He travels extensively and was tired of the weight of a standard laptop. The plan was that he'd test it for 15 days (Walmart's return policy), and if all went well, I'd get one as well. I travel too, and we both wanted to be able to take advantage of the webcam feature.

He loaded all of his resource-intensive programs (CAD), including programs that allow him to talk to other machines on his job. They all worked beautifully! We tested the webcam. He hooked up an external CD/DVD drive for loading programs. There were no problems. YouTube videos looked and sounded great. We were sold, and then I got one too. His is blue, mine is white. I love the pearl white finish, although color was not an issue with me.

I rated the Aspire One a 5 star because I feel that for the price, the assets of this netbook outweigh the drawbacks. As I said in the title, it is what it is.

PROS:
Well-constructed.
Weight and size are just great.
Display resolution is excellent. I got a warning message upon installing Google Earth regarding the display resolution, but I can't see any problems at all with Street View.
The keyboard is just fine for me. My husband says it's no problem for him either.
There are no problems with fan noise.

CONS:
Battery power, but it does last 2.5 hours. Keep in mind, this is the less expensive 3-cell.
The mouse pad is too sensitive for me, but I use a wireless Microsoft mouse that plugs right into the side USB port.
We use Skype for webcamming. It's a bit slow and pixelated at times (which could be our connection too) but it's nothing that would keep me from using it.

We've read the reviews for all of the netbooks and looked at others and overall, I think that the Acer Aspire One gives us the best bang for our buck! We are both thrilled with it.

for more information click here

Excellent - But With Some Small Problems

I got mine for [...] w/free s&h from Amazon.com. This makes it a great buy for what the Aspire One can do. However, there are some small problems:

1. In white, it's too pretty. Using mine in a Hot Spot Cafe makes me look like an old gay guy.

2. The keyboard is too small for me to touch type.

3. The Touchpad is too difficult for me to efficiently control the pointer.

4. After downloading all the upgrades and patches, etc., I was left with only 3.6GB of hard drive.

Okay, now I will tell you how I overcame these problems:

1. I ignore the first problem. I'm 70. Why should I care.

2. I type slower and more carefully to solve the 2nd problem. Actually, I do most of my real work at home on a standard keyboard. In a Hot Spot I am either shopping at nearby Sears or Circuit City and Goggling for competitive prices on line, or I'm using the Aspire One to read email or entertain myself or others.

3. To solve the pointer problem I downloaded the driver for my Logitech Cordless Optical Mouse for Notebooks. The download for Apple computers works fine. Downloading from a Hot Spot is much faster than downloading on my desktop computer - which is connected via 56K modem. I live close to a Hot Spot so I can use their unsecured Internet connection for free. Private files are kept only on my desktop computer.

4. I purchased the 8GB HDHC memory module to solve the HD shortcomings. Installation requires only plugging it in and updating the BIOS - both of which are simple. This gives all the memory I need, but a 16GB HDMC is also available. And with no private information on the hard drive, I can go on line without any special security programs which take up space and slow processing while on the Internet. I can just use the recovery disk if files on the hard drive are corrupted by a virus or whatever.

All the features and programs have been very well thought out for popular use. It is lite and can go anywhere. It uses very little electricity so it doesn't get very hot - like my full size laptop does. The Operating System, Linux, is very simple and almost completely intuitive to use. THIS IS A VERY USEFUL LITTLE COMPUTER AT A VERY LOW PRICE. In fact, if I didn't have very large photo, music, and so many other files, it would be my favorite.

for more information click here

A very well made Netbook

The Aspire One is very well made and worked flawlessly right out of the box. The small size and weight make this netbook a joy to carry. The keyboard take a little time to get used to but I have no problems typing. The battery in my book is a 3 cell and will power the computer for approximately two and one half hours. Windows XP is loaded and I for one prefer this system over Vista. It starts fast and the wireless catches signal instantly. I can't stress enough how well made this netbook is made. I bought one for my daughter for Christmas and every one at my work who has seen the Aspire, wants one too! If you can get by without a disk player, I can't imagine a better computer than this.

for more information click here

Good for your basic computing activities

This is a good choice for those who are in the market for a good, basic, and cheap Laptop. I highly recommend this Laptop for websurfing, and all your Office applications. If you want more than that you will be disappointed. Keep in mind that this is a single core low energy Intel processor. As for the hard drive and RAM they put plenty in this small case so that helps the overall performance.

The exterior looks nice and shiny. Keyboard is not that small, Unfortunately the display is kind of small, I think they wasted too much space in the frame.

Battery life is very good, I get 3 to 4 hours on normal settings.

I purchase two of this Laptops one for me and one for my niece. She's 12YO and she use it for school as a replacement for her paper notebook. She's very please with this little thing. I use mine as a traveler replacement for my new HP DV51010US compare to that the Acer is no more than a toy, but is much lighter and the battery life is way better too. So I rather carry this around when I'm away.

for more information click here

Not to bad, if you are a kid

Not enough memory and /or software. Could
not activate built in camera??? Didn't recognize
my HP wireless printer. Screen to small, only one
display resolution. No sound out; and Firefox
kept tying to hog the computer, before I even
had wireless internet set up.

Very simple icons, no guts to speak of. What
you get is a bare bone computer that will do
an ok job on the move, quick email checker
and other apps.

Lettering for icons a to small for me, hard
to read. But, nice lay out and keypad not to
bad. Mouse pad really sensitive. Bright display.
For the price, a good deal, if you want something
small and easy to use.

for more information click here