Acer Aspire One (Linpus Linux Lite, White)

With recent entries from Asus, MSI, Sylvania, and models from Dell and Lenovo on the way, the Netbook field is becoming increasingly crowded. While many of the second-generation Netbooks are creeping toward mainstream laptop prices, we're pleased to see the smart-looking Acer Aspire One holding the line at $379, without skimping too much on features or design.

Despite the wallet-friendly price and large keyboard, we have a few reservations. For one, the system comes with only 512MB of RAM, which limits its performance. For another, the battery life is nearly as bad as that of the otherwise excellent MSI Wind; both hover about the 2-hour mark--far too little juice for such a mobile machine. And the Linux OS of our review unit limits its mass appeal, though we're pleased to see that an XP Home version of the Aspire One also includes 1GB of memory and a 120GB (spinning) hard drive for only $20 more.

Still, this is easily the best all-around Netbook we've seen for less than $400, although similarly priced upcoming entries from Lenovo and Dell may make the Aspire's window of opportunity rather small.

Price as reviewed / Starting price	$379
Processor	1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
Memory	512MB 533MHz DDR2
Hard drive	8GB SSD
Chipset	Intel GM945
Graphics	Intel 945GME Express (integrated)
Operating System	Linpus Linux Lite v1.0.2.E
Dimensions (WDH)	9.8x6.7x1.1 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	8.9 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	2.1/2.8 pounds
Category	Netbook

Physically, the Aspire One is very similar to the slightly larger, pricier 10-inch MSI Wind, with a reasonably large keyboard that's much easier to use than the tiny almost smartphone-like keys found on the Asus Eee PC 901 or the Sylvania G Netbook. That's because the Aspire is a little wider than the Asus, and it's also a few ounces lighter, thanks in part to only having a small 3-cell battery. We were please to see that it includes dedicated page-up and page-down keys, which are especially useful on devices with smaller screens that require lots of scrolling to get through long Web pages.

The touch pad is wide, but not very deep, giving it a letterbox-style look, similar to the one found on the HP 2133 Mini-Note. It's reasonably easy to use, at least as far as the small touch pads on Netbooks go. The mouse buttons are positioned to the left and right of the touch pad--not below it--which may take a little getting used to for touch-typists.

The 8.9-inch wide-screen LCD offers a 1,024x600-pixel native resolution, which is the same as found on other 9- and 10-inch Netbooks, such as the Asus Eee PC 901 and the MSI Wind. It's wide enough to display most Web pages correctly, but you'll find yourself frequently engaged in vertical scrolling.

	Acer Aspire One	Average for category [Netbook]
Video	VGA-out	VGA-out
Audio	headphone/microphone jacks	headphone/microphone jacks
Data	3 USB 2.0, two SD card readers	2 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Expansion	None	None
Networking	Ethernet, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi,	Ethernet, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Optical drive	None	None

The Aspire One is generous with the USB ports, offering three, but there's no Bluetooth, so tethering your smartphone for mobile broadband is out of the question (which we've successfully done with the Asus Eee PC 901). Like all Netbooks we've seen up to this point, it lacks an ExpressCard slot, which the upcoming Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is expected to offer, making it easy to use a mobile broadband card. The dual SD card slots are handy for expanding on the 8GB solid-state hard drive, especially since Netbooks with 20GB and 40GB SSD drives are now available (although at higher prices).

With Intel's new 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, specifically designed for low-power Netbooks, you're not going to find the same level of performance you'd get from even an inexpensive Core 2 Duo laptop. The Linux-based system wasn't able to run our usual suite of benchmarks (which use Windows and Mac applications such as iTunes, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Photoshop), but even the light Linux OS felt occasionally sluggish (thanks, in part, to having only 512MB of RAM) when using the preinstalled Open Office suite of productivity software, although Web surfing was generally trouble-free. For everyday use, however, our anecdotal tests showed that it offers a faster, smoother experience than another $399 Netbook we recently looked at, the Sylvania G Netbook.

The Acer Aspire One ran for 2 hours and 14 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, using the included 3-cell battery. That's barely more than the MSI Wind, which was also saddled with a puny 3-cell battery--and the biggest flaw for both systems. MSI plans to upgrade its battery to a 6-cell version in the near future, and Acer offers a 6-cell battery that we've seen online for $119--a large premium for such an inexpensive laptop.

The Aspire One includes an industry-standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty, and Acer has set up a separate mini-site for the Aspire One, including a page labeled "drivers and support." Unfortunately, that support page, and its subpages, have no content aside from a note that says, "Updates coming soon." The regular Acer Web site has some FAQs and driver downloads, but the tech support number is impossible to find (it's 800-816-2237), and the phone support hours are only 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT weekdays, and 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

General

System Type:

Notebook

Built-in Devices:

Stereo speakers, Wireless LAN antenna

Width:

9.8 in

Depth:

6.7 in

Height:

1.1 in

Weight:

2.2 lbs

Color:

Seashell white

Localization:

United States

Notebook type:

Ultraportable (Under 4 lbs.), Budget

Screen type:

Wide-screen, High-gloss/Anti-glare screen

Wireless capabilities:

802.11b, 802.11g

Processor

Processor:

Intel Atom N270 / 1.6 GHz

Data bus speed:

533 MHz

Chipset type:

Mobile Intel 945GSE Express

Cache Memory

Type:

L2 cache

Cache size:

512 KB

RAM

Installed Size:

512 MB / 1.5 GB (max)

Technology:

DDR2 SDRAM - 533 MHz

Storage Controller

Storage controller type:

SSD

Storage

Floppy Drive:

None

Hard Drive:

8 GB Solid State Drive

Storage Removable:

None

Hard drive type:

Solid state

Optical Storage

Type:

None

Optical Storage (2nd)

2nd optical storage type:

None

Card Reader

Card reader type:

Card reader

Supported flash memory cards:

Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, XD-Picture Card, Memory Stick Pro

Display

Display Type:

8.9 in TFT active matrix

Max Resolution:

1024 x 600 ( WSVGA )

Widescreen Display:

Yes

Color Support:

18-bit color

Features:

LED-backlit, CrystalBrite

Video

Graphics Processor / Vendor:

Intel GMA 950 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0

Audio

Audio output type:

Sound card

Audio output compliant standards:

DirectSound

Audio Input:

Microphone

Notebook Camera

Camera Type:

Integrated

Multimedia Functionality

TV Tuner Type:

None

Input Device(s)

Input device type:

Keyboard, Touchpad

Telecom

Modem:

None

Networking

Networking:

Network adapter

Networking / Wireless LAN Supported:

Yes

Wireless NIC:

Acer InviLink 802.11b/g

Data link protocol:

Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Fast Ethernet

Networking standards:

IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED

Expansion / Connectivity

Expansion Slots Total (Free):

Memory, 1 ( 1 ) x Expansion slot

Interfaces:

3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A, 1 x Display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15), 1 x Network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45, 1 x Audio - Line-out/headphones - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, 1 x Microphone - Input - Mini-phone 3.5 mm

Miscellaneous

Features:

Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately)

Battery

Technology:

3-cell Lithium ion

Installed Qty:

1

Mfr estimated battery life:

3 hour(s)

Operating System / Software

OS Provided:

Linux Linpus Lite

Software:

OpenOffice.org 2.3, Acer Aspire One Mail

Manufacturer Warranty

Service & Support:

1 year warranty

Service & Support Details:

Limited warranty - 1 year, Traveler warranty - 1 year

by businessweek.com