By Rory Reid, CNET.co.uk on 24 June 2008 05:18 PM
Tags: acer, aspire, netbook, one, battery life, there, linux, eee
Manufacturer: Acer
I picked up thee 8GB Linux model for $399 after cashback from The Good Guys, which is cheaper than the uber-cheap PC hardware stores are selling for right now.
I love it - fast performance and great flexibility even with the default version of Linux; it can be tweaked to act like a full blown Linux installation, so hit the 'net for a list of tweaks!
The good: Memory can be upgraded to 1.5GB with a normal laptop memory DIMM. The first 512MB is soldered to the motherboard. Space reserved in the chassis for a 3G HSDPA card. Either wait for Acer's or solder in your own.
The bad: The CPU fan is a bit noisy and comes on too often, however there is a tool you can download which fixes this.
The Aspire One is a good laptop for the price when you take off the "cash back". The on-board mouse is the biggest problem, but a wireless external keyboard and mouse fixes those problems when at home. You don't want to be typing too many long documents when away in the "pure laptop" mode.
The good: Portability and weight.
The bad: The Acer cashback offer is a nightmare, and this seems to be a consistent problem (do an internet search yourself and see how many people are complaining!). You really have to fight them to get your cashback, which, without the cashback, makes the laptop not such a great deal.
I have been using my AAO for a while now and still am happy with it. I haven't had any troubles with the keyboard after a bit of getting used to it I have found myself typing at the same speed as a normal keyboard. While the battery life is low, making sure you have the power saving settings for battery set up well you can last a bit long on the three cell. As for the cash back, while I have seen many complaints about it I have to say that mine went through without a problem, and the times I have contacted Acer either by phone or email the response time was good, the people I dealt with polite and helpful. Overall since having it, I have slowly but surely migrated to using it all of the time. Leaving my pc to acting as my internet connection and disk player. If I get the chance, I will be buying one for my daughter next year, because I could see this netbook being very useful for students.
The good: Overall design is simple and clean. 3 USB ports 2 memory card slots. Built in web cam. Price Compact without being cramped. Easily connected into LAN. Looks uber cool when having coffee in the city. lol.
The bad: Track pad. (Using small wireless mouse) Battery life. Should have been release with six cell battery from the start.
had a acer aspire bpought as a xmas present having masive problems connecting already tryed differenr mobile boad band suppliers still cannot get connection tried talking to linkuc not having much help is ther anyone who can help mewith this problem
For the price its brilliant in that it is almost the disposable laptop - by which I mean I'm not paranoid about losing it - $500 is significant but not fatal if you keep yours critical documents backed up on a plug in chip. Also the size is that of a book. It could be improved and I guess will be but I'm old enough to be still impressed by what you get. Regarding the comments I've tried not to repeat.
We just took this laptop to north and south america - perfect for photo editting and viewing from the camera, and easy to recharge. And when you get into a hotel its easy to plug into the internet - viruses? - maybe but again there the 'disposability' or risk factor is now tolerable and its light enough to take anywhere.
What would be good would be a slightly larger screen and developing it into an electronic book as its the right size already and more flexible than the specialist stuff being released.
I strongly agree with the
The good: Convenience and reduction in paranoia. I just plugged the XP one we have into my 1900 X 1200 monitor and it works perfectly so in truth this is a laptop which can be used for anything if you really want to - the 120 GB drive does the trick and for most people its fast enough. This is a computer you can use on a plan in economy class when not jet lagged
The bad: The keyboard is cramped for older people with fatter fingers. Such is life. An optional extra would be a good extended foldable keyboard - I have still yet to see a good one. The short battery life is a big nuisance. The salespeople as usual are clueless. My real dream here is to taken it on the sailing boat for which I wonder if I need a 12 V battery or something external and equivalent - having a system that fits into the computer is not actually essential - just a convenient and non explosive powersource.
I am an Irish citizen traveling around the globe at the moment and bought the Acer Aspire One in New Zealand for the portability and general usefulness of having a notebook / laptop / netbook while traveling. However while the machine is impressive on spec. I have had a lot of problems with mine in the first 1.5 months. Firstly after 2-3 weeks there was a bios issue that required upgrading (blank screen so had to bring back to Noel Leemings who contact Acer to fix) and then 2 weeks later the hard drive packed in. The machine is currently with Acer getting the drive replaced. As maybe understandable I am very disappointed with this Acer product. First acer product I bought and don't know if I will purchase one again. Will have to wait to see what happens after drive replacement. Want to give the benefit of the doubt as it looks like a great machine for the money it costs. Still will always have doubts now about Acer products.....
The good: Excellent spec for the price
The bad: Pretty bad first experience with an Acer product
I've had Acer laptop previously and absolutely loved it. For that reason I chose Acer ahead of Asus or any other brand for netbook computer. This one is a somewhat of a disappointment.
The good: Great specs, plenty of ports, good size screen.
The bad: Battery life is a disgrace. It is noisier than any other laptop I've seen. It has a shiny scratchable surface. Sometimes it shuts down for no apparent reason (maybe a windows issue).
The most frustrating is (as with most all computers and laptops in Australia) it's currently $200 in America. Taking exchange rates into account, that should come to about $230, now.
Naturally none of these places offer international shipping, so we're stuck paying around twice as much.
The Acer Aspire One is better than most netbooks. It's fantastic for anyone who wants a small, cheap machine on which to type and surf the Web. However, its battery life lets it down slightly.
RRP: AU$599.00
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Got one yesterday in Rockhampton from Officeworks. Absolutel fantastc for the price, $399 after cashback. As a mac and linux user it suits me better than the windows model and its cheaper.
The good: Lightweight, keyboard size, usb ports, SD ports, excellent screen.
The bad: Battery life