With the global mobile worker population estimated to rise to more than one billion in 2011, companies need to look for solutions that will permit their employees to work effectively from any location.
Smaller than a laptop yet larger than the initial netbook line sparked by the EEE-range from Asus, the Acer Aspire One integrates technologies from both platforms into a single, mobile platform.
The Aspire One runs Windows XP Home, which works well on the compact form. When you start the device, you're presented with some configuration options for the basic Windows XP installation.
A trial version of Microsoft's Office 2007 is preinstalled, along with Symantec's online storage tool, McAfee anti-virus, and some additional games. However, if you're the kind of person who doesn't like all that 'bloatware' installed, the desire to immediately format and reinstall the operating system is fairly high.
Unfortunately, the Aspire One doesn't come with a replacement version of Windows XP. Even worse, the process of installing Windows XP from a removable flash drive is fairly complex, so reinstalling the operating system becomes a chore if anything goes wrong.
The Aspire One features a 5400RPM hard disc with 160GB space, which provides users with ample space to store documents and applications, and is fast enough to play some simple games. With Windows XP Home, the device boots fairly quickly, although not as quick as the NAND-based flash drives in the early versions of the netbook lines.
The keypad is fairly large, so typing is not difficult or cumbersome when one considers the width of the netbook. The touchpad is also a good, usable size and extremely responsive. The great thing about the touchpad is that it supports gestures, giving you quick shortcuts to interact with applications, such as pinching your fingers to zoom in when looking at images.
Looking at the technology behind the Aspire one, it sports the Intel Atom N270 CPU, giving it a 1.6GHz processor. It features 1GB DDR2 RAM and an integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics adapter.
Integrated into the Aspire One are three USB 2.0 ports, two SD memory card slots, microphone and headphone jacks, local area network (LAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), and VGA out. The LAN and VGA adapters are located at an angle towards the rear of the machine, so cable management becomes a pleasure. It also has the Acer Crystal Eye Web cam.
Acer states the operational life on the standard three-cell lithium-ion battery pack to be approximately three hours. However, careful management of the device by turning off the WLAN and reducing the screen brightness allows one to extend the battery life quite significantly. The three-cell pack can be fitted with an optional six-cell battery pack, boosting the operational time to last up to seven hours.
In summary: The Aspire One is a powerful, portable netbook that functions more like its laptop counterpart. It might be a little more powerful than the needs of a home device.
I say: Combines the best of laptop computing power and netbook mobility.
Plus: Great portability, fairly long battery life.
Minus: Applications and games that come pre-loaded with the Aspire One bloat the machine, with no operating system replacement to reinstall on the device.
Dimensions: 249 W x 170 D x 29 H
Audio: High definition audio support, built-in speakers
Display: 10.1-inch LED LCD (1024 x 600)
Hard disk: 160 GB
RAM: 1GB DD2
Connectivity: LAN / WLAN
Battery: 3-cell lithium-ion battery
Webcam: Acer Crystal Eye
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