 Acer One D250 with Windows 7 |
| Review Date: October 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: N. Himert, |
Update (17 Nov 09): After a fair amount of travel I stick by my initial rating. Construction is solid and I have had no issues, even after it has been thrown around a bit with my carry-on. Also, you shouldn't have to worry about the "big" battery sticking out. The extra battery life is worth it and the netbook fits easy in your typical sleeve. I bought a standard netbook sleeve off the shelf for a bit of extra protection and the computer fits in with no issues. In fact, I'm able to get my travel mouse and power cord in with it, zipped up and all, which makes travel even easier.
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So I was recently in the market for a netbook for travel reasons and happened upon the Acer One. After days of reading reviews and visits to local electronic stores, I had narrowed my choices down to the Asus (10 hour battery life) EeePC and this Acer One. As luck would have it, I was in the market just as Windows 7 pre-orders began and both machines came through Amazon with the new OS. In the end, the AC adapter issues with the Asus kept me away, and I figured 10.5 vs. 9 hours of battery life wasn't too big of a difference (and neither would live up to the claims regardless).
The netbook arrived the day after Windows 7 was released and I immediately got to work removing the "extras" that come with the computer. Surprisingly though, Acer did not load too much bloat on the machine and getting it off took no time at all. So then began the installation process. Avast, Office, iTunes, CD Burning software, VLC, Chrome, Firefox, Skype and Quicktime (the usuals) were all immediate needs and all went on with ease. I did purchase the extra gig of RAM that is recommended on most other netbooks (read around and you'll see) as well, however, it did not come until 3 days later so I had a decent amount of time to play around with this machine with just 1g.
Even with 1 gig, iTunes ran smoothly, I was able to watch Hulu with no hiccups, Office didn't lag... I was actually quite surprised. The 2 gig showed up eventually though, and things got even better. Installation was a breeze (just open the memory "door" and clip it in) and took only 30 seconds. The computer recognized it instantly. Once up and running again, the system was noticeably faster... very noticeable. Having open multiple programs is not a problem at all (something I will admit I was concerned about initially).
Along the same lines as the memory upgrade, an external DVD drive may be another buy you will want (just like with every other netbook). I did not invest in one, simply because I will not be needing it, but just a thought when pricing out your "full" purchase.
So, what is good and what is bad?
Pros:
Battery life - lives up to the advertisement (for the most part). I run it on the intermediate setting and get 7 hours easy. Currently at 45% right now and have 4 hours and 5 minutes left.
Wireless N and Bluetooth - while not "necessary" these are very nice. I can pick up signals with my netbook that other laptops in the house cannot get. Range is amazing.
Speed - A lot faster than what I was expecting and blew away all my expectations. Just make sure you spend the extra 20-40 bucks and get the extra memory. You will see a big difference (keep in mind though, she does fine with 1 gig). 2 is always better though.
Display - Very clear and easy on the eyes. Thought I might have issues with the small screen but it looks amazing.
Windows 7 - you can read the reviews about it specifically but it runs great. I'll leave it at that.
Cons:
Keyboard - slightly smaller than some other netbook keyboards out there and can be tricky sometimes.
Touchpad - Acer, as with others, boasts a multi-touch pad (similar to an iPhone or iPod Touch). Maybe I just haven't found the right use for it, but I find it nearly worthless and even when I can get it to "work," it is slow and not very useful. Also, some may find the touchpad a tad too small (at least I do). Finally, the click bar on the touchpad is not broken up into two buttons, and while this is fairly common, the click bar can be tough to click sometimes and there are times I will try to click and hit the middle, which does nothing, and you don't "know" until you look down to see what you're clicking. I think two distinct buttons would have been better and easier.
In the end, this model (and it's brightly colored siblings), in my view, are an excellent buy if you're in the market. At around $400 (depending on how much you get the RAM for), this machine comes with features that you will only find in more expensive netbooks. While I've only had it for a week, I will say I am very pleased with my investment. If time permits, I will update this to review how it holds up with travel, etc... but based on simple home wireless use, I have very very few complaints. |
Another Fine Netbook from Acer
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| Review Date: October 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: A reader, Berkeley, CA |
WARNING: netbook specs change rapidly, as do their prices. So be sure to research any changes since the date of this review.
OVERVIEW: bright, clear screen; snappy response (based on a couple of hours of adding and removing programs, after the 31 updates to Win7 first downloaded); tolerable streaming video (ran HD Apple trailers in 480 mode fine; Hulu was sometimes "choppy"; ran "Large" non-HD Apple trailers fine; ran ABC.GO.COM tv shows tolerably well; won't run Hulu in 480 mode or full screen; ran HQ You Tube fine). Smaller screen and smaller keyboard at a time when other netbooks are bumping up against super light laptops, but at least this is under 3 pounds WITH the charger. And you can't beat that battery life!
WHAT COULD BE BETTER: The 11.6" screen on some Aspire Ones is superb - more pixels = ability to see NY Times online full screen without scrolling (the 10.1" on this one requires slight scrolling, but you are only missing "ad boxes" on the right hand anyway). HOWEVER I bought a 10.1" because all the 11.6" models come with downgraded Atom processors (z520 with GMA 500 chips vs. the N280 and GMA 900 on this one). SHOULD come with 2 GB of memory to match the other upgraded specs on this otherwise upgraded version, but unfortunately, doesn't.
NOT ALL ASPIRE AOD250'S ARE CREATED EQUAL DEPT.: Danger Will Robinson! Danger Will Robinson! Danger Will Robinson! PLEASE NOTE that Aspire has put the AOD250 label on a WHOLE HOST of widely different netbooks. Things to watch out for: the N280 is MUCH faster than the N270 - not because of the processor speed (1.66 vs. 1.6, nothing!) but because of the front bus (memory) speed (677 vs. 533, a lot!). This version, as of the date I write this review, also comes with Win7 while many come with XP; comes with 250 GB hard drive instead of 160 GB on most AOD250's; has wireless N instead of G (a LOT faster, when internet cafes and other locations upgrade); has Blue Tooth; has the 6 cell battery (AND it's in the 5200 m.a. version, not the 4200).
WHAT I DID ON DELIVERY (ymmv so think before you leap:
1. BEFORE inserting the battery, I removed one easy screw from the middle back panel, pulled a couple of side clips off the existing memory module, and did a 5 minute total upgrade to 2GB of RAM. Super simple.
2. Install the battery, plug in the charger, boot up.
3. Wait for normal set up; enter minimal information.
4. Load Internet Explorer and click on Windows update - the computer will update soon on its own, but this speeds it up.
5. Installed 38 security updates and 3 non-essential updates. Note: Acer has its own update program to check for BIOS and device driver updates, a nice touch, I went in and changed the update frequency to monthly from daily.
6. Uninstalled the trial antivirus program. Which virus program you choose is up to you; I've had good luck with Panda (paid) and with AVG (free, no ads). Based on what I read since then, I decided to try Microsoft's new, free basic protection program, Microsoft Security Essentials (Google: download Microsoft Security Essentials) and quickly installed it. It's not supposed to be as up to date as some, but it's overhead is low and I have some confidence that MSFT will try to make it work well in conjunction with their Win7 patches and updates. NOTE: Security Essentials has its own Malware program which replaces Windows Defender which comes with Win7. Make sure both aren't running at the same time (make sure Security Essentials DID turn off Windows Defender).
7. Uninstalled all the junkware (trial Office, Norton BackUp, eSobi, etc.). Uninstalled all the excess MSFT baggage - Silverlight, Live Essentials. If you ever use a program that wants chunks of these, they will ask to download and reinstall and you can decide then. NOTE: you don't want tags of too many programs running in memory, that slows down the computer especially video - the "load" from the antivirus can be especially significant.
8. Downloaded Quicktime; iTunes; Flash 10 (already installed - good work Acer! - but there was an incremental update since the build they installed on my hard drive.
KUDOS TO AMAZON DEPT.: I got this overnight, with the memory chip to upgrade, for only $28. Wow. I could have had free delivery by waiting a week or two with Super Saver. And they actually got the right computer to me - given how my AOD250's variants they stock, and colors, that's no mean feat.
WHY YOU MIGHT WANT GET THE SMALLER BATTERY DEPT.: The humongous runs forever battery is fatter and heavier. Heavy, not a problem; wider not a problem; problem is, it juts down from the body which means it doesn't fit well in a flat computer slot. On the other hand, it elevates the rear of the deck slightly for better cooling.
YOU SHOULD GET THIS IF: You are cheap or on a budget or want a very light, very small, very functional computer for travel. If you write, blog, browse the web, watch YouTube, download to iTunes (250 gb helps).
YOU SHOULD NOT GET THIS IF: You want to watch Hulu in higher resolution and/or at full screen; if you burn a lot of DVDs; if you do Photoshop or make movies; if you play video games that make demands on hardware. Get the new white Macbook instead.
MY CRYSTAL BALL SAYS THESE THINGS WILL CHANGE IN ONE YEAR: Dual core Atom chips (already available); lower power consumption support chips instead of the ancient 945; better graphics chips (from Intel, or from 3rd parties, Nvidia already has the Ion); standard 2 gb with optional 4 gb; 11.6 as the "premium" netbook niche and 10.1 as the "standard" niche with small screens disappearing; XP disappears, finally replaced by Win7.
AND THE QUESTION YOU WANTED ANSWERED FIRST: Yes, Win7 works out of the box. Abiword works fine with it. Yes it is as fast, to my eye and hand, as XP. Yes, it will be supported a lot longer in the future than XP. NO, stay away from Vista even on a close out model. I had it one one netbook and had to return it, it was so slow. Win7 Starter has no "eye candy" for the desktop but it is FAST. |
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