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NetBooks (Mini laptops) Acer - Aspire

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Colton H

Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
So I am thinking of getting one of these laptops. I play no games other than maybe a few browser games made by flash programs. I will use it for on the go usually at the library or to type a paper in class without lugging around my big laptop that I dread.

Do you think its a pretty good computer? I see nothing wrong with it for the tasks that I will use it for. Does anyone who has owned one of these could give me some info on them? Like how well does the mouse pad work, is the smaller keyboard awkward? Can you read stuff on the screen?

Thank you.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8967335&type=product&id=1216425209738
 
thats a pretty good price for the specs... one thing i did not like what so ever about the acer is the track pad and the location of the left and right click buttons, also the build quality seemed well lacking.

This is why i opted to go with the dell mini 9 (hasnt arived yet). I am with you i hate draging around a big laptop, thats why i have stuck with my old sony ultra portable with a 4:3 10inch screen. I actualy find that i type quite a bit faster on it than i do on my desktop... and its keyboard is only .5in wider than the mini 9 of which has been optomized and has pretty big letter keys.

Another reason why i went for the mini 9 is i am gettin it for cheap, friend is buying a studio 15 laptop and i added on my mini 9 for 100 bucks :beer:
 
For my kids Christmas, I just bought 2 Asus netbooks from Bestbuy for the same price, and they are a pretty zippy little machine (same specs for cpu hdd and ram and overall size).
I put my office cd on the 8G Ultra II SD cards I'd bought with them and the install just flew.

My one and only complaint with them is on the Asus versions, the keys are a bit awkward between the shift and up arrow...strange positioning...but the touchpad buttons are at the front edge instead.

Wouldn't mind having one myself actually.

The build quality and feel leans much more towards computer than toy also, which is a huge plus!

*almost forgot to mention that the touchpad works excellent(ly), but you drag two fingers to scroll pages instead of using the edges of the pad.
 
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That's only a 3 cell so you're looking at around 2-2.5hrs of battery life. For an extra 1/2lb, you should look for the 6 cell though it does limit the angle the lcd can tilt at in comparison since the battery sticks out the back.

I got used to the touchpad quickly, no issues plus the synaptics gives you some neat options to set for scrolling/glide/pinch and what not. Not as feature-packed as the Elantech that comes with the Asus models but worlds better than the MSI Wind's Sentelic touchpad (junk, imo).

No issues with touch-typing on the acer and it has a real right shift key unlike the Asus models. I'll probably swap the key on the Asus and remap so i can use the up-cursor key as my shift key.
 
I would personally pick up the MSI wind (and I did). Winds cost the same, have a bigger screen and keyboard, and inho have a better build quality.

If you have any questions about the wind ask away.
 
I would personally pick up the MSI wind (and I did). Winds cost the same, have a bigger screen and keyboard, and inho have a better build quality.

If you have any questions about the wind ask away.

Not up here, they don't. The Acer with 6 cell/160GB HDD can be had routinely for $399. The MSI U100 is easily over $100 more.
Keyboard may be bigger (slightly from what I noticed in using the Wind) but the odd size of the comma/period keys introduced many mistakes for me when touch-typing.
The units i tried (4) all had screen wobble, not too noticeable when on a flat surface but still present. When not using on a table, it was very noticeable and unbearable for me.
Build quality, is pretty close to me. My AAO doesn't have any flex but the top panel (with LCD screen) feels much more solid than the MSI. It's thicker (which probably helps) but doesn't wobble on any surface.
The Wind does run cooler and quieter, which is a plus.
The touchpad is junk though, and they would have been smart to leave it with the Synaptics instead of going to the Sentelic.
 
My hands are too big, I type with only about 5 fingers total (3 left, 2 right) and I still couldnt type on the eee without making so many typos that I got annoyed.

Ended up refreshing my NC6000, with a 120gb HDD and 2gb of Ram and I have no complaints.

Which EEE did you try? the 900/901 are definitely small. The 904/1000 series have substantially bigger keyboards which may have suited your hands better.
 
Ya, my girlfriend uses the EEE 900, and omg, me typing on that thing is horrible. She has small hands though, and so she doesn't have a problem with it.
 
I would avoid the Acer Aspire One.

It's a 8.9" netbook in a 10" form factor, so it's a bit larger than it needs to be. Many units also suffer from fan noise (the blades rub against the fan chassis, creates an annoying hum). And to make matters worse, it's not very upgrade friendly. You have to disassemble the entire netbook to access the hard drive and RAM. It also features a smaller battery (I think 3 cell), which gives you around 2 hours of run time (not very impressive).

But it does look nice, and it has a larger keyboard than most other 8.9" netbooks.

I would recommend the ASUS EeePC 900HA or 901 instead. The 900HA has the same size screen but it smaller, has a 160GB hard drive, .3MP webcam, Atom N270, etc.... The 901 is similar to the 900HA, but has a 4GB + 16GB SSD (ok speed), bluetooth, wireless n, larger battery, 1.3MP webcam, and fancier design. Avoid the 900A and 900 16G like the plague, unless you plan on upgrading the SSD (they are very very slow, write speed is around 6MB/s, which is slower than most SD cards).
 
I would avoid the Acer Aspire One.

It's a 8.9" netbook in a 10" form factor, so it's a bit larger than it needs to be. Many units also suffer from fan noise (the blades rub against the fan chassis, creates an annoying hum). And to make matters worse, it's not very upgrade friendly. You have to disassemble the entire netbook to access the hard drive and RAM. It also features a smaller battery (I think 3 cell), which gives you around 2 hours of run time (not very impressive).

But it does look nice, and it has a larger keyboard than most other 8.9" netbooks.

I would recommend the ASUS EeePC 900HA or 901 instead. The 900HA has the same size screen but it smaller, has a 160GB hard drive, .3MP webcam, Atom N270, etc.... The 901 is similar to the 900HA, but has a 4GB + 16GB SSD (ok speed), bluetooth, wireless n, larger battery, 1.3MP webcam, and fancier design. Avoid the 900A and 900 16G like the plague, unless you plan on upgrading the SSD (they are very very slow, write speed is around 6MB/s, which is slower than most SD cards).

it's not really a 10" form factor. Yes, the bezel around the screen is bigger than it probably needs to be but if not, you don't get the larger keyboard. It's not like the MSI Wind U90 or the Asus 904HA.

Define "many". I have played with 3 (owning 1) and none have that. Yes, 3 is a small sample size but they were all bought at different times from different retailers.

6 cell version is available. Yes, the 3 cell is commonly found but so is the 6 cell.

I won't disagree about having to dismantle the whole thing to upgrade ram and HDD. It isn't all that difficult though, just a bit annoying.

The 900 series from Asus (save for the 904) are all very small. Nice and portable for sure but the keyboards are not for everyone. I'd rather tote something a bit larger if it allows me to type on it with more comfort/less mistakes. To each their own though, and if it works for you, that's great.
 
i have been looking into the msi wind also.. it seem to be upgraded easily... i have even seeb a few videos of people playing some games on them...

Somewhat. You do have to remove a screw that is under a "warranty void if removed" sticker. Some have had no problem with MSI giving them a replacement sticker. I asked about voiding the warranty if sticker is broken and haven't gotten a response back (3+ weeks now and counting).

There are many units (all 5 that I have tried, all new from the sealed box) that have screen wobble. Not as bad when on a solid surface but if on your lap, it wobbled when I typed (touch typer here) so much I couldn't stand it.

The other thing I didn't like about the MSI Wind was the keyboard. The comma/period keys are too small and I made many mistakes because of it.

It does run very cool though, and the overclocking feature (only on AC power) is a nice touch. The matte screen is nice.
 
Check out the Samsung NC10. You'll have to drop about $480 on it but from everything I've read, it is the best. It comes standard with a 6-cell battery that will last for 6.5 hours when browsing the web. I've also heard that it has the best keyboard of all the netbooks.
 
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