Customer Reviews

Acer Aspire AO721-3574 11.6-Inch Netbook (Mesh Black)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It has been a long netbook/laptop search for me. I've been looking for something that is small (but not too small), light, thin, and has a better performance than Atom powered netbooks. I looked through every brand and model, including Toshiba, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Dell, etc. Sure, there are some nice ones out there, but all of them have at least one considerable drawback: high price, Atom processor, or some kind of problem like sluggish mouse pad.
I've spotted an old model of Acer Aspire One 11.6" about a year ago. It looked nice. So, when I saw that a new model has been released, I immediately bought it. Now, as I am typing this review using my new Acer, I can not say enough how glad I am that chose this model.

Pros:
1. I really like 11.6" screen. Bigger than 10", but smaller than 13". Very useful for work! And it is very bright too.
2. Performance is great. 1.7 GHz processor is FAST. Clear advantage over Atom processors.
3. Keyboard. Full size keyboard is very comfortable.
4. Mouse pad is responsive and has a nice multi-gesture feature that allows you to zoom in or zoom out the page. Since 11.6" is not 17", it can be useful at times.
5. It is VERY thin (less than 1-inch!) and VERY light. It is so easy to throw it in your briefcase, backpack or purse and carry everywhere with you.
6. I really like that the power cord attaches on the side and can be rotated. This design keeps it from constant bending and breaking.
7. It has a web camera and mike. Skype lovers rejoice! :- )
6. 2 GB DDR 3 Memory is plenty (assuming you are not going to use it as your primary laptop for Photoshop or something like that). You can add one more 2GB card if you wish.
7. 250 GB Hard Drive.
8. Comes preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium! Update: Someone commented on Windows 7 and said that it is unstable and creates all sorts of problems. Praise God, I did not have any of those issues. Mine runs well and I did not have even a single instance of "hanging" so far.
9. Impressive ATI Radeon HD 4225 Graphics video card.
10. Of course Wireless Setup Card.
11. HDMI output so that you could share your photos and videos with your friends and family on a big screen.
12. 1366 x 768 magnificent resolution!
12. So far the fan was quiet and laptop did not heat above average. Of course, as with any other laptop, if you are planing to use it on your lap for hours and hours, plan also to get a cooling pad (unless it is a cold winter and you need to warm up :- ) By the way, cooling pad is a worthwhile investment-- it will prolong the life of your laptop.

Overall, it is a very nice laptop with VERY professional, stylish look, great performance and characteristics. If you want something small and inexpensive, yet powerful, Acer Aspire One is about as good as it gets.

Cons:
Well, it is hard to name any. It is good. There are though some things that you have to accept when you buy a laptop of this size and price.
1. Of course, there is no CD-ROM, but availability of wide range of flash drives basically takes care of this issue.
2. Speakers are clear, but, please, don't expect them to blow you away with a powerful sound.
3. The battery will last you about 5-5.5 hours (in economy mode). Yes, most Atom powered netbooks give you between 6-10 hours of battery powered work, but they are also slow. The bottom line, you have to choose what your are willing to sacrifice. Spend about $300 more and you can get something as powerful with an excellent battery life. Buy slow Atom and enjoy battery, or buy Acer and enjoy good performance with a descent battery life. Honestly, how often you will be away from the power outlet for more than 5 hours?
4. The hinges seem to be plastic. I would not mind them to be aluminum, but I have to remind myself that plastic is not all the same and can be pretty durable. I guess only time will show whether this fact is really a minus or not. Since overall quality of this laptop is very good, I expect this to be true about the hinges too.


The bottom line: my quest for a small laptop/netbook was finished with the purchase of Acer
Aspire One 11.6". I like it a lot and it meets all my needs for a VERY good price. Money is not your concern? Buy something better, otherwise enjoy this laptop and feel good that saved several hundreds dollars while getting a GREAT product!

We travel a lot and have been looking for a netbook that will show our HD video camera movies. I am greatly disappointed by Intel's shutout of Nvidia ion for the latest generation of Atom chips. Intel lags badly in the graphics area and does not make any graphics for netbooks that would suit our requirements.

We received an AO721 from Amazon a few days ago and I have been very pleasantly surprised at its performance. The AO721 not only plays HD well, but I can play my non-standard, difficult to play 1080/60P videos from my Panasonic TM700K with only a small amount of jerkiness in Windows Media player. My wife and I enjoy playing Unreal Tournament 2004. UT is playable at 40 - 50 fps which is very unique for a netbook. What is interesting is that in some UT maps where our older 3.2 GHz P4/ATI 9800 desktops fall below 20 fps the AO721 still ran above 30 fps.

All other aspects of this netbook such as the full size keyboard, touchpad, camera, weight, screen quality easily meet our needs.

Overall, this is fine performance netbook and priced at a bargain.

I'm an IT professional and I already owned a 10" netbook (MSI U230). I wanted some more graphic power over Intel's 945G poor offer, a bigger screen with better resolution and a bigger keyboard. I must say ACER delivers here. In my opinion, 11.6 inches is the perfect size for a netbook. Plus, add a 720p display (1366x768) and good graphics (HD 4225) and you have a winner! This is what this equipment is all about. Battery life is good 2.5 - 5 hours depending on power settings. I usually have a plug around, so I don't care too much about this.

Pros
- 720p resolution rocks! (1366x768). Far better than standard WXGA (1024x600) for web browsing. Fonts are bigger and easier to read. (And I really have to read a lot).
- GPU is better than anything else available on a netbook (ATi HD4225 with DirectX 10.1 and shader model 4.0 support!)
- Processor feels faster than Intel's Atom (Extra 100Mhz and 1MB cache makes a difference!)
- 2GB DDR3 instead of 1GB standard around (and 2GB extra can be added).
- Disk space is very good (250GB). Only one partition for Windows 7 and you data.
- Windows 7 Home Premium installed instead of Starter edition.
- Includes WiFi N (108Mbps standard) right out of the box instead of common WiFi G (54Mbps).
- 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN card. Note the 1000 Mbps link.
- Gesture enabled trackpad.
- Full sized keyboard is excellent!
- Nice weight and size.
- Nice finish.

Cons
- It has a glossy display. Not bad, very crisp clear although until now I preferred non-reflective displays.
- Draws a little more power. Nevertheless, trade off is really worth it! Not a real con if you are not going to be far from a plug for more than 5 hours.


I'll update this review after trying a few 3D games on it!

I needed a netbook for college as my 16.4" Sony Vaio was getting annoying carrying around and way too big to take notes on.

This little puppy is great - the extra inch over other netbooks makes for a real-feeling screen. The hardware is sexy and sleek, while the top could be better it reminds me of tire tracks or carbon fiber which isn't bad.

The performance of this is amazing. It runs as fast as my old Dell pentium M at 1.7ghz. 2GB of ram work admirably with Windows 7 and most programs but will probably end up getting more in the future when I have extra cash lying around (definitely not a necessity unless you plan on gaming). Battery life is pretty good. Definity better than most laptops at up to maybe 4 hours. I had no problems watching some streaming Hulu, ect for about an hour and a half along with a good amount of web browsing before returning to a plug. Screen is crazy bright. I see no problems with it being glossy outside because of how bright it can get.

Windows 7 is a lot of fun on this little thing - makes everything more simple. I love this netbook - I'd be more inclined to call it a netbook/laptop hybrid because of its higher performance. Definitely happy with it.

UPDATE 11/11/2010
Well, I've started losing the little rubber feet on the battery of this netbook. Lost the left one somewhere and now the unit wobbles when I type on it. I contacted ACER and they were very courteous but of no help at all on this. They said to go to a hardware store to find replacements... yeah, right... like they have them. Anyway they said they don't have them available. So I'm looking for a Plan B; any ideas? I ordered something called Laptop Lifts, don't know if they will stick to the battery since it's curved... I tend to doubt it. Am open to your suggestions.

I looked at a bunch of other netbooks and they all seem to have a much better way of attaching the rubber feet than the AO532h

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I had a chance to play with this at CompUSA yesterday. This is a really nice machine. I think the evolution of the netbook could center around this form factor as an ideal compromise of size and function. The screen is just the right size for web browsing. The fonts are bigger making it very easy to read. The 10" netbooks are a little hard to read unless you increase the zoom level to 110%. This unit also SEEMS faster than the AO532h, though I didn't run any performance tests or even look at Windows Experience, it defintely feels faster. The keyboard is the same layout as the 532h, but with nicer, bigger keys. Still no separate HOME/END keys, need to use Fn+pgUP/DWN. C'mon ACER.

While the 721 is a bit expensive it ships with a full version of Win7 and has 2GB (upgradeable to 4GB) of DDR3 RAM. So that largely offsets a lot of the cost. I don't understand why ACER chose not to put bluetooth in this model. Adding a bluetooth adapter is just a pain in the rear, gives up a USB port, and is one more thing to lose. -1/2 STAR for not including Bluetooth. (Rounds up to 5-Stars anyway. <grin>)

While this is a great 5-Star unit, I'm going to stick with my 532h because of the following reasons:
1) cost... the 721 is bordering on Laptop pricing
2) processor/video speed... Let's let evolution take its course, need faster less power hungry processors
3) battery... word is that the 532h still gets better battery time, which is really important to me (see #2, above.
4) cost... again, I can get 2 532h's for the price of a 721, so I'll let technology leapfrog this one.
5) power supply... it looks like they had to go back to a brick. The 532h has a very compact power supply. I'd be interested in knowing if the 721 will work with the Kensington N14 SmartTip power plug, like the 532h does.
6) HDMI/HiDEF Video - I really have no need for this, otherwise I'd definitely see the extra value. If you want/need HiDEF or the HDMI support, then I think your decision has been made.
7) Win7 Starter... how odd, I haven't found anything that Starter can't do, except run some specific Windows XP programs (which is a drag). Not sure what Win7 Premium would give me that would make any difference.

You'll note that I didn't put size down as a factor for the 532h. While it is more compact than the 721, I didn't think the 721 was too big for me at all. It's a great size/weight.

I've upgraded my 532h to 2GB RAM and a 500Gx7200 HDD and it's working really well right now. But it's a completely different class of machine than the 721, so if you are looking for a new netbook, I think this is the one to look at before you buy anything.

I think in a year or two after my 532h burns out, I'll get something like this for about the same price as the 532h...

I give this Notebook 5 stars, it's soooo much faster than any netbook that uses the abysmal atom processor. I got this baby for $409, lightyears ahead of my old Dell XPS laptop I bought in 2005.

So, why should you buy this netbook? My reasons are that they're approx half the weight of a laptop and as long as they're not an atom based CPU they can be fast enough for almost any use. I normally just use this while I'm in my bedroom so I have it plugged in with the battery taken out. Then, whenever I need to go somewhere on a trip I can grab the battery and put it in my backpack without even noticing the extra weight esp. compared to my old boat anchor Dell Laptop. I will say I would prefer this to be a dual-core CPU and true, Acer does make them but I'm overseas and it's hard for me to get stuff like this delivered via the postal system here. I saw this on sale from Newegg and they're very reliable compared to other places I've dealt with. If I could have reliably bought a dual core Acer NB for $500ish I would have but I just couldn't get it done.

Okay, Pros and Cons:
Pros:
1. Very light, this is obviously the number one reason to buy a Netbook, right?
2. CPU: This has an AMD Athlon NEO K125(1.7Ghz), fast enough to run Windows 7 Home or Ultimate. You can multitask without too much lag.
3. The layout of the keyboard is pretty much normal size and the mousepad works good for such a small computer.
4. The screen is beautiful, very important.
5. USB slots on both the left and right sides, noice.
6. It's cool, it just really is. You'd have to see one and then hold it in your hands to know exactly what I mean but trust me on this one. It's pretty stylish for a netbook, Acer seems to know what they're doing in this department.
7. Battery life is probably around 4 hours or more if you use the powersave feature, not shabby for a Netbook that's actually fast enough for practical use.
8. Cheaper than an IPad! Honestly, I know the IPad is very popular but I think the mobility and practicality of a Netbook is worth much, much more. Tablets do have their use but for me I really want and need a small device that closes like a clamshell and has a physical keyboard. I can lift this thing with my pinky folks!
9. The WEI rates a 3.4. My old Dell laptop rates a 1. Nuff said.

Cons:
1. It's hard to be negative on this Netbook, I guess it's a little slow but it's not very noticeable.
2. Just like every other computer, this isn't for everyone. If you're able to play with a display model that would be a great help.
3. Durability. This might be too light, too cheap, or too plasticy to last very long. Really though, how can I know for sure? This thing might last one year or it might last four like my last laptop. I use it a lot so if I get 2 years out of this I'll be happy with that.
4. Bloatware. I think every new computer comes with this, just delete the junk you don't want.

Conclusion: As you can tell, I'm very happy with this Acer Netbook. If you're looking for something different than a regular laptop I think you'll be absolutely amazed on how light and mobile this thing really is. I think we're getting closer and closer to the holy grail of computers as far as speed, mobility and battery life are concerned. If you think this might be for you go ahead and give it a shot, you'll probably be as satisfied as I am.

This netbook works great for me.
Lite weight and right size.
Battery life with Netflix Instant Movies about 2.5 Hours
Love this netbook, have it with me all the time.
Transfered files from older bigger laptop over wireless
network with no trouble.
Like keyboard better than any other I've used.

In the past, I have always doubted I would EVER buy a netbook. The many I have reloaded and repaired for others have only proven to me that the slow, underperforming specs and small screen and keyboard size would only annoy me- to the point of never using it. I have also never been a fan of the less expensive AMD processors. Having built hundreds of PCs over the last 17 years, I have seen the performance difference between AMD products compared to the "always better" Intel line of processors. Intel performs better and runs cooler. May I also say: ACER computer products have never impressed me... sharing a low ranking opinion equal (or slightly higher) than the crap e-machines garbage. With all that said, I eventually arrived at the point in my career (i.e.: in and out of many executive meetings each day) where I needed a smaller and lighter-weight computing solution than most standard laptops could provide. Many of my colleagues have purchased iPads, which I considered; but in the end, I decided I wanted a small device that would do more than just surf the web and read eBooks and corporate email. With all the positive buzz floating around the net about the new AMD NEO "atom processor killer," I shut my eyes and pulled out my credit card to buy this ACER. After wiping it clean and reinstalling Windows 7 Enterprise, I can honestly say I am more than impressed. 720p video is crisp and clean, looks great on a 56" HDMI TV, and the overall performance is on par with many ENTRY LEVEL, standard full size laptops. The full size keyboard is pretty good- and the slimness and overall size is excellent. I have been getting about 4 hours out of a battery charge- much less than most netbooks, but the performance is definitely higher than most netbooks- a compromise I am willing to accept. Don't get me wrong, this is still a netbook and performs as such... but better. Overall, I am very pleased with my decision. This is a great device that does exactly what it is designed to do. I would definitely buy it again if someone stole it! ;)

I was looking for portability so I could read e-mails, surf the web, read articles, etc. while hanging around the house. This "baby" is it!! Great screen size and definition. Battery life is approximately 5 hours, works for me.

The only drawback is the single core processor, but everything else is great. But for not much more you can buy the Acer 1551. They look identical(same body style and dimentions). If I would have known about the 1551 I probably would have bought that instead, but it was classified under as a notebook, not a netbook, which confused me because I was looking for netbooks. Like I said earlier it has a single core so don't try to multitask, and start up can be slow. It will run fairly complex games (like Halo 1 and Half-Life 2) at decent graphics and resolution. I even got it to run Call of Duty 2 (that was a where it drew the line). I'm satifised enough not to go out and buy the 1551 myself, but if you're looking for the superior netbook get the 1551.