Review of the Acer Aspire One Netbook

2011 may very well be "the year of the tablet," but netbook computers, such as the Aspire One from Acer are still hugely popular. Netbooks occupy a middle area in computing power and mobility, somewhere between the average tablet computer and the standard laptop. The Acer Aspire One has been a bestseller now for over three years; one of the first, most popular, and most trusted netbook models out there. This latest incarnation of the Aspire One, the AOD255E, released in early 2011, aspires to hold its share of the computer market despite the huge success of the latest tablet computers such as the iPad 2. Here we provide a close look at this popular netbook computer to help you determine whether it's the right one for you.

Like previous generations, the Aspire AOD255E comes in a variety of vibrant colors including bright red, light purple, black, and aquamarine. The 10.1-inch LED-backlit display - at least 2 - 3 inches larger than your average tablet PC, but 2 - 3 inches smaller than your standard laptop, has a 1024x600 resolution - specs common to most netbook computers currently on the market. Although fully plastic, the Acer One has always had a very solid feel to it. With the standard 6-cell battery, the device is very light compared to your average laptop at only 2.76 pounds. This may be heftier that might expect, however, especially if you are use to working primarily with a tablet computer or smartphone.

With a heftier body comes more processing power, allowing you to run applications you may not be able to use on a tablet. Under the hood is a 1.66 GHZ Intel Atom N455 processor with 1 GB of DDR3 RAM. The computer also has Intel integrated graphics for (very) light gaming and basic multimedia functions. As is standard these days, the Acer One is wi-fi ready with a wireless-N wi-fi network.

One of the best features of the Acer Aspire One netbook is the caverness hard-drive. At 250 GB, the Aspire One has one of the largest hard drives of any portable device. This is, of course, an important feature if you plan to use the netbook as your primary computer. Like previous models, the AOD255E also has an integrated 1.3-megapixel webcam for those skype conversations.

The Aspire One has the standard ports, including 3 USB, ethernet, VGA video output, and a 2-in-1 media card reader that is compatible with SD and MMC type cards. Unfortunately, the device still does not come with a digital HDMI or DVI port, so you can't connect your computer to some monitors that may only have these newer digital ports. This is generally not a problem, however, as most monitors and projectors also have a VGA connector.

The mutli-gesture touchpad works as expected, allowing you to scroll, rotate, zoom in, and flick through photos and music albums with ease. While this feature can come in handy while using a variety of applications, there are instances where you might want to turn it off. Thankfully, this can be done, saving you from accidentally moving your cursor with palm and wrist.

Finally, the 6-cell lithium-ion battery has a reasonable charge life of about 5-7 hours of minimal use. Acer claims the battery can last up to 8 hours, but with normal use this an unreaslistic expectation. You can, however, purchase an aftermarket 9-cell for about $30 that will easily last 8 hours. This is quite a bargain for all-day portability and especially useful if you do a lot travel.