Customer Reviews

Acer Aspire One AOA150-1553 8.9-Inch Onyx Black Netbook - 6.5 Hour Battery Life

5 star:		(135)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Recently there has been a small revolution in computing of sorts... the "netbook" or 'mini laptop'. What is a netbook? Well, they are tiny laptops that are in a new class of their own. Up until recently, the smallest class of laptops were defined as the "ultra-light" or "super ultra-light". These laptops usually had 12 inch screens and weighed around 3 pounds. Many of these ultra-lights did not have DVD or CD drives, but relied on "media docks" for these capabilities.

The new kids on the block "netbooks" are even smaller... having screens roughly 9 to 10 inches and weighing around 2 pounds. Many have hard drives that are flash based... also called solid state hard drives. So what has brought about this tiny revolution? Well, today's technology has finally made it possible to have tiny laptops that are powerful enough, light weight, and energy efficient enough to be practical. Also, the Intel Atom chip (which is a minuscule marvel that offers 1.6 Ghz of computing power while sipping electricity) is a big reason why these netbooks are even made possible. So as you read this review, keep in mind that these computers are not mere toys... but are in reality tiny little work horses :)

Review: The Acer Aspire One

This review is for the Acer Aspire One with 160GB hard drive, 6-cell battery, 1.6 Ghz Atom processor with 1GB of RAM, and Windows XP pre-installed. Please note that there are several different versions of this Mini-laptop. Some of them come with different hard drives (some with solid state hard drives), and some with different battery options (like a 3-cell instead of 6-cell), and different Operation Systems too (Linux lite). I picked this one because the 6-cell battery lasts 5 hours or more, it has XP included, and it comes with a 160GB hard drive. It also makes this version the most expensive... if you're wondering why there's so many different prices floating around for the same model laptop.

Well, I've had this laptop for few days now and I'm very impressed and happy with what it can do. It runs Windows XP very well and you can have several programs open at the same time... meaning that it can multi-task pretty well. It seems to have a very solid build, strong screen hinge, and a beautiful (glossy) high contrast screen. The colors are very vibrant and the black level looks great. I am surprised at how quickly it can load web pages and video from youtube... there is very little lag time. For example, if you're watching a video on youtube and you switch to full screen mode, it doesn't slow it down and switches quickly. And although one of the drawbacks of this netbook (or any netbook for that matter) is that there is no DVD or CD drive, it played DVD videos off the hard drive great and (oddly enough) comes with Win-DVD software pre-installed. One of my worries before buying this was that I thought that the screen resolution might look pixelated since the resolution is only 1024 x 600, but it actually looks very sharp. The only thing is that you do have to scroll down more often while viewing web pages than normal due to the smaller screen size. Another thing that surprised me about this laptop was that even when you use all of the USB ports (it comes with 3 total) at the same time, it doesn't slow this laptop down. I found this out when I plugged in a USB Mouse, external hard drive, and external DVD burner ... and burned a DVD using data off the external hard drive. It passed the test with flying colors and didn't skip a beat. The only major negative thing about this laptop is the design of it's mouse. Not only are the mouse buttons positioned badly on the sides of the touch sensor... but the size of the buttons are super thin and tiny. I think they could have easily improved this by at least making the mouse buttons larger. The bright side is that you can always use an external usb mouse if this is a major annoyance for you. Other than that, this laptop has surpassed all of my expectations. Here's a quick list of pros and cons:

Pros:

-Beautiful Screen with vibrant colors, high contrast ratio, and bright!

-6-cell battery is amazing (offering 5 hours or more of use)

-160GB HD, Runs XP great, good multi-tasking capabilities.

-3 USB ports, and the Multi-card reader can read new SDHC cards

-Built in mic and web camera (video from camera looks good)

-Built-in Wifi worked well for me and web pages loaded quickly.

-So portable and light... about the size of a small textbook.

-Runs quiet and doesn't get hot while running.

Cons:

-Badly placed and designed mouse buttons

-No DVD or CD drive (but no netbooks available offer one)

-Screen could be larger (an extra inch could go a long way)

Conclusion:

If you're looking for an affordable and portable laptop that has enough processing power to run most applications, this mini-laptop might do the trick for you. It is perfect for the student that is always on the go... especially considering the long battery life. It's probably not the right one for you if you run processing intensive software though... such as video editing or gaming software. Overall, the Acer Aspire is an amazing little laptop that is a wonder (even for us tech geeks) to see in action.

Yup, I love this little gem. Now granted, this sized computer has limited use. You won't be doing spread sheets, or writing your latest novel. In fact, I have to use the old fashioned Yahoo mail page because Yahoo says my resolution is too small for the 'new and improved' mail service (I don't agree, but Yahoo controls the strings). But I'm a truck driver and I was looking for a dinky little computer that would fit in my overnight bag - easily. This is the unit! I can check my weather pages, road conditions, and yes, even my email as long as I don't want to spend hours writing stuff. It takes a bit of 'getting used to' the keyboard but in a couple minutes you're doing fine. The WiFi connection works great everywhere I've tried it (hotels, truck stops, etc), and I can take the memory chip out of my handheld video camera and slip it into the memory chip slot and bingo, videos. For the price, it's a great deal. At first you have to swallow a bit hard to imagine that you could get a much bigger 'puter for the same money, but then you're back to having to lug around a "much bigger 'puter".

So, if you're in that nitch market that needs a very small carry along computer that allows you to login anywhere, this is it. Screen resolution is good too.

I purchased the Aspire One 150 when it first came out in November. I showed it to everyone I knew and we were all equally impressed. After my demos, several people I know bought the machine. Then a few weeks ago, in the middle of February, I went to turn the machine on and nothing. Although the power button lit, the machine just wasn't booting. Fortunately, I purchased a "Square Trade Warranty." (No, this is not an advertisement for Square Trade. Although, I was impressed that when I sent the computer to them, they sent me a check minus the cost of the warranty, tax and shipping cost.) I liked the computer well enough to order another, the updated 10" screen. Should I have a problem again within a short period of time, I'll know it's a quality control issue.

Advantages of the Computer:

Size

Weight

Great Reviews

Case Color

Screen Resolution

Large Hard Drive (160 gig)

Keyboard is adequate although I would love a slightly larger one

Disadvantages:

Broke within a short period of time

Case is a finger print magnet

Would prefer a larger size screen (now there is a 10" screen)

Hate the mouse. It's overly sensitive and awkward to use.

When using the internet with my Sprint card, it does drain the battery. I would like a longer lasting battery, although this is satisfactory.

Summary:

I like the computer well enough to order another one.

This computer is great! It is super portable, always ready to work, reliable, quick, user friendly... A real charm :) It was well worth the 300 something that I paid for it.

The only real negative I have is that the mouse pad is very sensitive and sometimes, when I'm trying to move the cursor, I end up accidentally zooming in or zooming out of the page.

Another minor issue is that the screen, as would be expected, is a bit small and this can be frustrating at times...

Still, highly recommended!

Those of you who are considering a netbook you already know what it is. Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Winbook, and a couple of other companies have jumped into this new hot market. Considering how easy it is to transport and how functional it is I can see why.

For netbooks, this one is great. It has the largest keyboard of the different versions and is very easy to type on. However, my black netbook has a very hard to push backspace button, but I'm hesitant to send it in becuase it usually takes three to four weeks for Acer's repair depot to return your laptop.

The screen is very bright and clear. For those of you who find that the resolution is too low and you can't get all the text on the screen, here's a tip: hook up an external monitor and restart the laptop. While the laptop has an external monitor active, you cand adjust BOTH monitor resolutions to higher thus more data displayed. Once you've increased the resolution remove the external monitor and you'll permanently have more real estate on your screen.

About performance. I don't understand it. I have a high powered 1,500 computer at work with a 22" monitor and that computer running Vista Ultimate Business takes four minutes to load! This little laptop that I'm using to write the review takes about one minute to load Windows XP then connect to the wireless network!? I do notice a difference when having multiple windows open. There's a lag in performance and pages lag while scrolling.

I have an activated Office 2007 for Home on this laptop and I can load spreadsheets, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations. Although it's not really fast, it does function and I've actually sent spreadsheets and documents to staff at work while on vacation via free airport wireless connections.

The little guy comes with considerable bloateware and you have to uninstall it. I removed the Norton Antivirus which costs 60 a year and installed Avast which is free. I noticed better performance and haven't gotten a virus in years.

The battery life on this is outstanding. I can couch potato through a movie and two TLC What Not To Wear episodes my wife watches and still have an hour or two left of computing time. I always turn down the display brightness to the lowest level because the screen is inherently bright and sharp by nature, you'll find the lowest level easy to read.

Light? You bet. The office supply catalog at work is bigger and heavier.

All in all a great value. If there are any technical issues make sure to get the laptop back to Amazon or the store within the first 30 days. Amazon has the greatest support of all the online stores, and living in Alaska we buy as much as we can from them since we live remotely.

My wife has a pink version, I have a black one, and I have a spare white one with a 3 cell battery that's waiting to be given to a granddaughter as a gift. That's one last item. Make sure you get the one with six cell battery, the 3 cell battery lasts a skimpy 90 minutes.

Great product, recommended if bought from Amazon.

This review is for the Acer Aspire One, AOA 150-1784, with 160GB hard drive, 6-cell battery, 1.6 Ghz Atom processor with 1GB of RAM, mouse and Windows XP pre-installed.

Pros: Fantastic monitor, plenty of ram, 160GB of storage, great webcam, 3 USB ports, great wifi connectivity.

Cons: The touch pad is not so good. Fingerprint magnet.

The bottom line is, for $329 this is an unbelievable value. I wholeheartedly recommend this product.

The Pros:

Although not a substitute for a larger office PC or a full featured (and much larger) laptop, it has a fantastic looking monitor, plenty of RAM for running MS Office applications, surfing the web, and lots of storage for music, pictures and videos. I am very impressed with the display. Graphic are very clear. It also has 3 USB ports, a VGA port, an SD card slot, and a Multi-in-one card reader. WLAN connectivity is fantastic. Connectivity is surprisingly strong and fast. I was up and connected to the internet in a matter of minutes. The web cam works really well.

The Cons:

First of all, let me say that I have no real complaints! I am more than pleased! This netbook is perfect for someone who travels and doesn't want to carry around a laptop the size of an aircraft carrier. This netbook is less than half the size of my Toshiba laptop and does everything I need a travel computer to do! It is so small in fact, that my wife can put it in her purse! That said, there are a few things that take getting used to. The graphics card is limited and I don't like the position of the buttons on the touch pad, but the mouse that came with it fixed that problem, although I will probably buy a wireless mouse to replace it. It comes with Windows XP Home and takes a little time to set up. The small amount of bloatware was easy to remove. I even got rid of the 60-day trial edition of MS Office Home & Student. I was going to get rid of Microsoft Works as well and install Open Office but realized that, on the road at least, I won't be doing complex spread sheets, or writing your latest novel. I probably won't do anything more complicated than what can be handled by Works. Besides, I bought this thing to do e-mail, surf the web, and store the pictures I take on vacation.

I chose this one because it comes with a 160GB hard drive and a 6-cell battery that Acer claims will last 5.5 hours, and I believe it. I've been working on it now for over 4.5 hours straight, running multiple applications, and the meter says it has a 35% charge remaining. I'm finding hard to put this thing down. It seems to be sturdy, well made and strong enough to last for awhile, or at least until something better comes along. This laptop has surpassed all of my expectations. The price and performance put it well above anything else out there. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone with portable internet, or general computing needs.

I bought the black 8.9 inch model with the 6 hour battery for $329, and followed the suggestion I read in the Amazon reviews to remove the free trial programs. I borrowed a removable CD drive, and I loaded AVG, and my old version of Office, and Acronis back-up program. It worked very well, and I cloned the Hard drive to a removable Hard drive - only took 10 minutes for the added insurance that I could restore my computer to exactly what I started with. Acer does have a process of restoring it to the point it was when it comes out of the box (you hit Fn-F10 during the boot process and it restores from a hidden part of the Hard Drive - but I can no go back to my initial setup). I am using my Acer on a trip right now to write this review. I found the same computer at Costco for $299 with the 3 cell battery, and decided to buy it for my brother. Both machines worked extremely well, and we are both thrilled with the decision. Since this is his first and only computer, I picked up an external Sony DVD/CD Burner, wireless mouse and keyboard, and a Video RGB Cable to hook to his 42 inch Digital TV. It is perfect for him. When hooked to the TV, there is a wide selection of screen sizes, and it compensates for the limited viewing area you get on the 8.9 inch display. The full size wireless keyboard is far easier for him to type on than the smaller keys - and well worth the $20 that I paid for the mouse/keyboard. He can how sit back in his recliner, keyboard on his lap, and use his 42 in screen to surf the web. And so can I!!

If the mouse buttons on either side of the track pad were a little easier to use, this would be a world class killer computer, but you know what? I over look that one little deficiency completely, because this is one of the best computers I've ever owned. My full size laptop has become my desktop, and my Acer Aspire One has become my laptop for all occasions.

I can't think of a single con to owning this computer other than the funky track pad buttons. The computer itself is a dream, and no, the screen is not to small for anything except maybe editing photographs.

But I do everything else on it, including power points. No CD-ROM? No problem. I shared the CD-ROM in my desktop, then mapped it to the Acer as a network drive. 99% of my software allowed me to install it in that manner. There was only one thing that balked, and the workaround was a piece of cake.

The six cell battery lasts for hours, even when really putting it through the grind. And it's not so big as to be objectionable.

Of course, XP Home is a great operating system. Would like to somehow upgrade to XP Pro, but the Home version works great.

I love this computer, and have recommended it to others, who have also found it a joy.

Very nice little computer - it is just too cute! Nice size hard drive. Only thing to be aware of is that these little computers do not have DVD/CD drives, so you will need to get an external one if you plan to download software you cannot download from the internet.

The small size is terrific for traveling because it is so tiny and light - not at all like hauling around my bigger laptop through the airport.

Love it!

Great product. No problems. Way more than I would expect for the price. It has replaced my travel/meeting laptop needs, and now serves as my pc-away from home. Recommended to colleagues and friends.

Only wish it was bluetooth enabled for linking with my Blackberry. Easy fix with a small USB bluetooth.