Since the end of last year I have been using an Acer Aspire One netbook, so thought I would share my experience with you.

The initial reaction of many people on seeing this little computer is something like, “oh … it’s so cute!” … and it is!

The Aspire One’s small size (approximately A5) and light weight (around 1 kg) means that it is very portable and easy to slip in a bag to take with you. The battery life I have found to be 4 hours and sometimes more, so taking the power cable is often optional, although I do make sure I plug it into mains power each night to re-charge it ready to go next day.

The wireless connection is fast and reliable (a network cable port is available too), and  while web browsing requires more scrolling around on some sites, using the full screen display (press F11 key) often helps.

The screen has a good clear display, although I found that a bit of ‘fiddling’ is needed to get it to work with an interactive whiteboard. I often use the external display (VGA) port to connect to a larger monitor when one is available … perhaps it’s a reflection of my aging eye sight!

The smaller keyboard is surprisingly easy to use, although I have found the touch pad a little more challenging.

It has a built-in microphone and web cam for use with communication tools such as Microsoft Communicator® or Skype®. I find that an external microphone is worthwhile plugging in; it has jacks for microphone and headphone as well as 3 USB ports available.

It doesn’t come with a built-in CD/DVD drive, so installing software that comes in that format needs to be done either by plugging in an external CD/DVD drive or accessing a shared drive through the network.

The Aspire One won’t do tasks that require a lot of processing power such as large video editing or running Google Earth 5.0, but then a netbook is designed for general web browsing and using basic applications such as word processing, creating presentations and spreadsheets, and I have found that it does those things very well.

It has plenty of on-board storage (120 GB), a storage expansion slot and a ‘multi-in-one’ card reader; so there are no worries about storage space for every-day tasks.

Physically, it seems quite robust and mine is travelling well … although I suspect that compared to the treatment an Aspire One might get in the hands of students, mine is a bit like ‘the car driven by a little old lady to church on Sundays’ … I guess time and experience will tell. I think the ‘clam shell’ case is a very worthwhile addition.

If you have some experience with a netbook, use the ‘Post a Comment’ link to share your thoughts.