Acer Aspire One review

Acer Aspire One Review

Reviewed by: Rory Reid

Reviewed on: 20 June 2008

Wireless technology in the One is arguably inferior to that of the Eee PC 901. There's no Bluetooth, for a start, and the wireless is of the 802.11b/g variety, which maxes out at 54Mbps. The 901, in contrast, comes with Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n and the latter allows connections with a maximum theoretical speed of 300Mbps.

Where the One gets one over the Eee PC 901, however, is with its optional 3G/HSDPA adaptor. Behind the battery pack, there's a SIM card slot into which you can plug your 3G SIM for go-anywhere Internet access.

Many of us will be familiar with Linux-based operating systems, but relatively few of you will have seen the particular 'Linpus' implementation in the One. The home screen is divided into four sections: 'Connect' for all Internet, instant messenger and email-related tasks; 'Work' for accessing OpenOffice word processor, spreadsheet, presentation and database applications; 'Fun' for the games, media player and photo management software; and 'Files' for accessing your data. There's also a search bar at the top right that can be used to search the Internet directly or the files on the hard drives.

Acer offers a basic one-year warranty, which can be extended to two years for an additional £49.99.

Performance
The Acer Aspire One feels quick in everyday use. It takes approximately 17 seconds to boot the operating system -- 3 seconds quicker than an Eee PC 901 -- and about 10 seconds to launch common apps like OpenOffice or Firefox. The Linpus interface is also a joy to use; it's quicker and more responsive than the Linux distributions on most of the One's rivals.

Battery life wasn't particularly impressive, though. As mentioned, the One ships with a 2200mAh battery as standard, which lasted just shy of 2 hours when playing a DivX movie. That's a far cry from the Eee PC 901's 4.5-hour figure. Those wishing for better battery life can purchase a 4800mAh battery for £79.99.

Conclusion
In some respects, the Acer Aspire One is better than an Eee PC 901. It has an excellent keyboard, solid performance and is highly portable. The Eee PC 901 still has the edge in terms of battery life and mouse input, so it's a close call between the two machines.

Edited by Shannon Doubleday