Acer's first Aspire One mini-notebook was a Linux-based model that impressed us despite its modest components. Now the Windows XP Home version of Aspire One is here, packed with a larger hard drive and more RAM. Though it isn't superswift, the latest Aspire One is a fine machine at a fantastic price.
Acer Aspire One (XP-Based)

Pricing
Latest Price: $399.00
- Lab Tested
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Pros
Spacious keyboard for its size
Great value price
Cons
Poor battery life
Maddening mouse pad buttons
Bottom Line
Considering its bargain-basement price, the Aspire One is a steal. That is, until you realize you need the six-cell battery.
Acer Aspire One Mini-notebook (Windows XP)
Aspire One (XP-Based) Review, by Darren Gladstone, PC World October 13, 2008
The sizes and prices of models in the mini-notebooks category continue to escalate, but the Aspire One comes in at just $349. That's $100 less than the next-lowest-priced XP-based model, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10. Acer's well-constructed, elegant entry measures 9.8 by 6.7 by 1.1 inches, roughly the same size as the IdeaPad S10. It's significantly lighter than the S10, though, at 2.3 pounds versus 3.6 pounds.
The XP-based Aspire One retains the physical profile, excellent keyboard, and small but crisp 8.9-inch screen found on the Linux-based model. Significant changes lie beneath the surface, however: A 120GB hard-disk drive replaces the Linux model's paltry 8GB flash drive. An SD Card slot for additional storage supplements the unit's 5-in-1 card reader. The system also bulks up to 1GB of RAM (the Linux model had 512MB). And yet the price is virtuallly unchanged.
Unfortunately, the Aspire One earned a mark of just 34 on our PC World Test Center's WorldBench 6 tests, putting it toward the back of the pack of Atom-based mini-notebooks (whose scores have hovered around 36). The Windows-based Aspire One did easily outpace HP's 2133, whose Via C-7M CPU led it to an anemic 26; but it fell well short of the Lenovo S10's surprising 41.
Even worse, the Aspire One's three-cell battery lasted for just 2 hours, 16 minutes. A six-cell battery costs an extra $100, which negates the Aspire One's price advantage.
I also have a design complaint: The mouse buttons flanking the touchpad are mounted vertically instead of horizontally--an unconventional approach that makes navigating documents unnecessarily difficult.
A less significant issue is the Aspire One's software bloat: Our test system came preinstalled with (among other items) Adobe Air, Acrobat, a 60-day trial of Microsoft Office, McAfee Security Center, and Intervideo's WinDVD (with the MPEG-2 codec for video playback).
I hope that Acer notices what Lenovo did with the IdeaPad S10. Though that machine went the minimalist route, it offered a thoughtful system recovery tool that lets you set restore points and backups to CD (after you attach an external optical drive). The Aspire One's threadbare recovery management software amounts to little more than a reset switch: no restore points, just the ability to institute a full system recovery or to reinstall some of the unnecessary software.
Despite these shortcomings, the Aspire One is a fine little machine. If you need more hard drive headroom or slightly speedier performance, Lenovo's IdeaPad S10 may be a better choice. But Acer's Aspire One is one of the best category bargains around. Just stay near a power outlet or invest in the extra six-cell battery.
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- Rating Breakdown
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55
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73
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80
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Laptops
55
92
64
74
Performance
| Adobe Photoshop CS2 | 1314 |
| Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 DirectX | 1027 |
| Battery Life (Video Playback in hh:mm) | 2:16:38 AM |
| Firefox 2 | 766 |
| Microsoft Office 2003 with SP-1 | 606 |
| Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0 | 767 |
| Nero 7 Ultra Edition | 938 |
| Number of Included Batteries | 1 |
| Winzip Computing WinZip 10.0 | 631 |
| World Bench 5 Multitasking | 1111 |
| WorldBench 6 Score | 34 |
| WorldBench 6 Word Score | Good |
Average User Reviews for Acer Aspire One (XP-Based)
- Latest User Reviews 1 review
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Reviewed by: tkoband
Duration of ownership: 1 Month
Strengths: Extremely portable, 5 hour battery life, really nice and easy to work with keyboard, hooking up to wireless NEVER a problem and internet performs well even with low connection, has a battery saving shut-down/sleep mode I love, really great screen picture/size/resolution for the price, love the extra storage expansion and large hard drive
Weaknesses: That you ever have to charge a battery all. Not sure if its a weakness, but the lack of any CD drive.
Overall: Wonderful, functional product for someone really ON THE GO who just needs to 'get the job done'.
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by: bklynlinda25
Strengths: can go anywhere, & fits into a small purse, a knapsack,etc.
Weaknesses: doesnt burn cds..
Overall: i love working on this mini. its faster than my full size laptop, is great for my small hands, is convenient to travel with& does almost as much as my full size laptop. baby blue, is my first serious TOY, im so glad i bought her. im writing on her right now.
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Reviewed by: junjunxu
Strengths: Mobile without noticeable compromising.
Weaknesses: Original 3-cell battery lasts only 2 hours.
Overall: I bought this just because it was a decent deal at first place. After using for almost 3 month it actually becomes my main laptop and mobile reader. It's much lighter than my 15-inch toshiba lappy, around 2.2lbs with 3-cell battery and about 2.8lbs with 6-cell battery. The atom cpu is not slow at all for daily home tasking like surfing the web, checking email etc. The only shortage is the 3-cell battery that only lasts for about 2 hours with wifi always on. I got a 6-cell battery from ebay, which gives me almost 5 hours power time.
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Reviewed by: SilverSpring20910
Strengths: this is a fabulous little netbook.
Weaknesses: 3-cell battery life is weak, lasting about 2.5 to 3hrs. not sure what could be draining the battery so much for such a small laptop. maybe the hard drive?
Overall: This 2lb 8.9" laptop is fabulous. the screen is good sized and the LCD brightness quality is adjustable from dim to bright. There's a plentiful 3 USB ports, VGA out, mic in and audio out. This netbook comes with a webcam and mic so you really won't need a mic in. There's a SD card slot for transferring photos to your netbook and a kensington security slot for locking down your netbook to something unmovable. Overall, the keyboard quality is fairly good for something this small. Response is good but the the touch pad mouse is something that is not well liked. It's small and the left and right clickers are difficult to tap, almost requiring a sturdy press. But that's not a huge problem because you can plug in a USB mouse to it. The netbook is stylish and the LCD hinges are STURDY. The wireless network card is quick and responsive, locking into my wireless network at home without problems. I read that many users have problems with the noisy fan but I really do not hear fan. In fact, I think the newer models might be fanless!
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