Top Netbooks: the Eight Best Netbooks Compared: Page 2

Check out the list of top netbooks:

ASUS 1000HE // Acer Aspire One // Samsung NC10 // Dell Inspiron Mini 9/Mini 10

HP 2140 Mini // Lenovo IdeaPad S10/S10e // MSI Wind // Sony Lifestyle PC

2) Acer Aspire One Netbook

Base price: $349

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Google: Acer Aspire

Amazon: Acer Aspire

Product page: Acer Aspire One 10.1-Inch Netbook

It’s a deadly duel: the Acer Aspire One constantly vies with the ASUS 1000HE for “best selling netbook” honors. To be sure, the Acer Aspire is sweet choice. Price matters, and Acer has worked to keep the cost down: considering the price tag, the Aspire compares nicely with any netbook.

This second generation Acer netbook, the AOD150, touts a spacious and bright 10.1 inch screen. That’s a big improvement over the original 8.9-inch screen.

Weighing in at about three pounds, the Acer still suffers some downsides associated with netbooks. The mouse buttons and touch pad could be bigger. The keyboard is 89 percent full-size, which gives you virtually all the comfort of netbooks with 92 percent full size. Whether that matters is a question of how big your hands are. (The nice units for keyboard size are the HP Mini and the Samsung NC10.)

Downside to the Acer: unlike pricier netbooks, it doesn’t have an ExpressCard slot. And if a deluxe option like Bluetooth is high on your list, the Acer isn’t your netbook.

On the other hand, it’s hot looking: it’s a tad thinner than the ASUS and it’s got a shiny svelte cover. Plus, the six-cell battery provides in excess of six hours of mobile computing, which is toward the high end.

And again, in the netbook market, price is King, and this is one of the economically-priced units leading the big shift to sub-portables. Bottom line: you can’t go wrong with the Acer.

Here’s an interesting YouTube comparison between the Acer Aspire One vs. the Samsung NC10. It’s a nice side-by-side of the respective screen quality (the ACER is really bright) and the reviewer claims that the ACER runs hotter, with the Samsung offering better ventilation. The reviewer leans toward Linux on the netbook.

Newslash: Acer just released an Aspire One 11.6-Inch. Is a unit this big actually a “netbook”? No, probably not, but this unit boasts Bluetooth, a multicard reader and Dolby Pro Logic Sound. Fancy, huh?

Netbook reviews: Acer Aspire One

Laptop magazine calls the Acer Aspire One “affordable, stylish and compact” and notes that it ran Windows XP about 9 percent better than the average netbook. It also booted in 50 seconds, or about 5 seconds faster than average.

CNET praises the Acer Aspire One for including “plenty of slightly more expensive options that add polish” – and gives the unit kudos for keeping the price near the low end.

Specs:

1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 6-cell battery; 1GB RAM; 160GB Hard Drive; 3 USB 2.0 ports; 54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g); Acer Crystal Eye webcam; 10.1 inch screen, with 1024 x 600 resolution; multi-format memory card reader; Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950; Multi-in-one card reader; 1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack.

The Acer Aspire One (photos courtesy of Acer)

Check out the list of top netbooks:

ASUS 1000HE // Acer Aspire One // Samsung NC10 // Dell Inspiron Mini 9/Mini 10

HP 2140 Mini // Lenovo IdeaPad S10/S10e // MSI Wind // Sony Lifestyle PC