Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop Delivers
The New Acer Aspire mini-laptop is aimed primarily at the business customer who wants something lighter to carry around, but still gives an extra-long battery life, reliability and sufficient operating ability.
The biggest appeal of this product is definitely its size and portability. It weighs in at just 2.2lb, which makes it easily amongst the lightest of its class, and its compact size means it fits into a briefcase or similar with the minimum amount of fuss. Where the Acer Aspire wins is that it does this without actually sacrificing any of its processing power. Start-up time (with no additional programs installed) is regularly around 15-20 seconds.
The 1.6 GHZ Intel Atom processor was designed specifically to fit into machines of this size – this means that unlike other laptops it does not contain a processor that has been reduced or modified. The Atom Processor actually reduces the power leakage in transistors, which increases the battery usage up to around 5 ½ hours. Also, Aspire appears to have solved their issues with WiFi accessibility that plagued their earlier models.
Another feature that the Acer Aspire laptop has going for it is that it comes with ready installed with Windows XP Home (including Instant Messenger and email), as well as McAfee security software.
Trying to install a larger memory has proved problematic for many users, as the laptop is not really designed for modification. Also, more sophisticated software, when installed, has caused significant spiking and reduced processing time.
The memory can also be increased from 1.MB to 1.5MB, but again, this has proved a little problematic for some users – and there is really not much point in doing so – the extra amount of memory is not really worth it.
The mouse buttons on the touchpad, apparently to conserve space, have been moved to the side of the touchpad, which can make it a little awkward initially, and takes some getting used to. The fitted webcam, on the other hand, is nicely done.
The Aspire Acer laptop looks set to be the front runner in its class, and rightly so. The longer battery life will be a relief to any of you who have “gone down” on the last sentence of that important document, and the ease and portability of carrying it around make it something special.
