Review Acer Aspire One netbook
Acer Aspire One - 9-inch Atom netbook
If you are not already in the know, this is a special class of miniature laptops, characterized by low cost and focus on performing the simplest everyday tasks. Netbooks, initially seen only as an affordable and simple product designed to introduce the general population to computer technology, have suddenly become a new trend in mobile technology.
As it turned out, it was netbooks that users lacked all these years. Yes, a traditional laptop is powerful, functional and productive, suitable for all the tasks for which we use personal computers. But it is heavy, bulky and fragile and requires a special bag or backpack. A netbook, comparable in size to a small book, easily fits in a briefcase or handbag and does not burden its owner at all. And even if its capabilities are modest by today's standards, it is still a full-fledged x86-compatible computer, which costs less than a prestigious cell phone.
The inventor of the netbook class should be considered ASUS, which, with the support of Intel, released the Eee PC. Even before its birth, the mini-computer became a real hit - a source of genuine interest of users and black envy of competitors who themselves did not think of or did not believe in the success of the idea. And as soon as it became clear that the product "went", a real boom began - clones, analogs, accessories "in the style of Eee PC", components "for Eee PC", etc.
It should be noted that the appearance of a typical netbook did not take shape immediately, and not all of the ideas embodied in the Eee PC turned out to be successful. For example, the 7-inch screen size, borrowed from inexpensive portable DVD players, proved insufficient for comfortable operation, and netbook manufacturers quickly reoriented to 9-inch and 10-inch matrices. Further, replacing the hard drive with a flash drive did not justify itself - the volume with which you can equip a cheap computer is too small, and the increase in speed is almost invisible. Therefore, most netbooks today are equipped with traditional hard drives. Power consumption turned out to be an important aspect: the netbook's battery is small and the standard Intel hardware platform on which "real" laptops are built does not fit. As soon as Intel released the new Atom processor, featuring a highly simplified microarchitecture, but also extremely low power consumption of only a couple of watts, manufacturers lined up for the new platform (which ultimately led to a serious shortage of components for netbooks).
Only the laziest (or proud) mobile computer maker doesn't make netbooks today. Most of these devices are built according to the same scheme and differ in the main design and some parameters, for example, the type and volume of the main drive. Not everyone decided to experiment and search for new forms - the majority gave this right to ASUS as a pioneer. Now ASUS has dozens of netbook models with different functions and designs, while competitors have one or two proven options without a clear focus on a specific category of users.
Acer was one of the first to tackle netbooks. Her netbook Aspire One did not become the object of experiments - in appearance and hardware filling, it resembles the second generation ASUS models.
And nevertheless, the Acer netbook immediately attracted the attention of potential buyers who are well aware of how this company is able to produce sufficiently reliable and high-quality machines at a very affordable price. And the price for a netbook is perhaps the most important parameter that differentiates it from a classic subnotebook. In our review, we'll take a look at one of the most attractive options for the Aspire One - the one that comes with a standard 120GB hard drive.
The Acer model is conceptually no different from most other netbooks. It is a cheap sub-laptop with a small screen designed for simple entertainment and internet access. It is built on Intel's new mobile platform, optimized for this class of computers. The platform is based on an economical but low-performance Intel Atom N270 processor with a frequency of 1.6 GHz, and a relatively old integrated 945 series chipset containing an Intel GMA 950 graphics core with DirectX 9 support (hardware pixel shaders, software vertex shaders). The netbook can be equipped with an SSD-drive based on low-capacity flash memory (8 GB) or a full-fledged 2.5 "hard drive. Please note that the Aspire One case has space for a 2.5" mobile hard drive, the same as in " large "notebooks (therefore, it is easy to replace it with a more capacious one.) The netbook does not have an optical drive, to support the disks you will need to connect an external USB device (not included).
The netbook is necessarily equipped with wired and wireless network controllers. The Aspire One has a simple Realtek network codec without gigabit support and an 802.11b / g wireless card from one of the well-known manufacturers. The Bluetooth radio interface module is provided by the design, but may not be installed. There is a place for a GSM / UMTS modem, but it is not included in the standard package.
The set of ports on the netbook is cut, but the presence of three USB, two audio and a monitor output is required.
Perhaps the most important hardware difference between the Acer netbook and its counterparts is the presence of two card readers at once. The first one is multi-format, designed for SD, MS, xD, MMC cards and their variants. And the second is supposed to be used to increase the amount of disk space by installing a capacious SDHC card (they are the cheapest among the analogues). For a netbook with an 8 GB flash drive, this solution seems to be very successful, since there is a prospect of easily increasing the disk space by 16 or even 32 GB. A netbook with a hard drive doesn't seem to need a second slot. However, keep in mind that in the absence of an ExpressCard slot, you can add a non-standard device only through a slot with an SDIO interface, and the Aspire One has one.
The netbook battery has a reduced capacity for reasons of weight and size reduction (at least half the size of a typical laptop battery), but due to the exceptional economy of the Atom processor, its charge should be enough for several hours of operation without an outlet. How long the Aspire One lasts without recharging, we will find out a little later.
Yes, the Acer netbook has its own unique design, but in fairness it should be noted that some similarity with the ancestor of the netbook class, ASUS Eee PC, is still there. But the Aspire One does not look like other notebooks from Acer - neither in the contours of the case, nor in materials, nor in the details of design or finishing.
So design. The outer part of the top cover, as well as the surface around the keyboard, are made of a characteristic milky-white plastic with a mother-of-pearl texture, smooth and hard to the touch. The keyboard is also white, but matte and slightly rough, the sides and bottom of the case have the same texture.
The inner surface of the lid of the Aspire One is made of glossy black plastic, which not only visually enlarges the screen, but also creates an interesting contrasting transition that enlivens the design of the netbook. (However, now not only the "mirror" matrix, but also its background glares, which can cause serious inconvenience during work).
Acer offers not only all-white Aspire One netbooks, but also options for others flowers- blue, pink and chocolate. They have painted all surfaces, only the inner side of the lid remains black.
Screen The netbook is an 8.9-inch LCD with a resolution of 1024x600, produced by the Taiwanese manufacturer AU Optronics.
Information about the use of LED backlighting is indirectly refuted by the fact that a sticker on the underside of the case contains a warning about the presence of mercury in backlight lamps. This does not have the best effect on image quality and power consumption. In addition, as is often the case with netbooks, the matrix has excessive brightness - only the minimum level can be used to work with documents. However, since the netbook is more focused on viewing photos and videos than text and business graphics, this cannot be considered a serious drawback. But on the whole, the quality of the matrix is, of course, low: the viewing angles are small, especially vertical, the contrast is weak, the color reproduction is so-so, the color temperature is too high (the picture gives off in blue), etc.
Lid the Acer netbook does not have a latch; it is easy to lift thanks to the cut-off bottom edges, and the clear hinge holds it securely in the open position. Built into its upper edge Webcam with a microphone. The cover is fastened on two large hinges to a cylindrical protrusion that hides the battery underneath.
The cylinder contains four LED(battery, hard drive, numlock, capslock), which are clearly visible even when the lid is closed.
At the ends of the cylinder there are decorative silvery "screw heads" with glossy red rims. Actually, this design element is not supported by anything else in the design, and therefore it seems superfluous.
Reduced keyboard- the traditional weak point of the miniature computer. It should be noted that the Acer developers have successfully dealt with this problem.
The key pitch is indeed less than usual - 17 mm (in standard laptops - 19 mm), the height and travel depth are also reduced. However, the button mechanism is quite resilient, the buttons do not have a strong backlash and do not rattle. The layout is also successful - only the rightmost row was cut, from which two buttons were made (combined PgUp / Home and PgDn / End) and placed in the area of cursor buttons. In general, it is relatively easy to get used to such a keyboard, and after a very short time you will not notice its peculiarities.
The top row of buttons is marked with hot combination symbols. Their set is typical for Acer: calling proprietary utilities, switching to Standby, turning off the screen backlight, touchpad and sound. The laptop does not have separate "quick launch" buttons, as well as multimedia playback control is not provided. On the right side of the leading edge, which is wedge-shaped and sharp enough, there is a slide button for the wireless antenna with two indicators, which is shared by the Bluetooth and WiFi controllers.
The place for it was chosen very well.
Touchpad the Acer netbook has a normal size and unconventional layout - the mouse buttons are located on the sides.
This solution seemed to us very successful, since the touchpad buttons on the same Eee PC cause a lot of inconvenience. Although many users, judging by the reviews, are not happy with this decision.
Built-in speakers are located under the leading edge. Their quality, of course, is far from perfect, and the audio codec (2-channel Realtek ALC268) is very simple and has no special features.
I / O ports located on the sides of the laptop case.
On the right we find two audio jacks (external microphone and speakers / headphones), two USB and a universal card slot for most formats.
On the left there is a VGA out, a wall outlet, an inlet for a power adapter, and an SDHC card slot.
We finish the description of design and ergonomics according to tradition temperature regime... Alas, on this point the Aspire One, like most of its classmates, is far behind "full-fledged" laptops. The noise of a small built-in fan may not be heard in an office or classroom environment, but in a quiet home environment, it is particularly annoying with its monotonous hum. Even when typing, the fan noise is very annoying (it is not loud, but very unpleasant for the ear). At the same time, the surface of the keyboard remains noticeably warm, especially the near right panel, although the bottom, fortunately, warms up to a lesser extent. Unfortunately, this is a problem for all laptops with small internal displacement - it is not possible to remove all excess heat due to air currents.
All netbooks on the Intel platform, and the vast majority of them, are equipped with the same processor (Intel does not offer others yet). Consequently, it doesn't make much sense to look for a difference in the performance of netbooks from different manufacturers - it can really only be influenced by the type of main storage device (hard drive or SSD). Therefore, we will try to compare the performance of the Acer netbook with the most affordable and simple classic budget notebooks built on the Intel platform and equipped with Celeron M processors. As such, we chose two not very recent models:
Acer equips Aspire One models with a special version of Windows XP Home (for netbooks), and models with a flash drive - Linux (apparently, it is less demanding on disk space). Therefore, we conducted all tests in Windows XP SP2 Home environment, using old versions of BAPCo tests - SYSMark 2004 and MobileMark 2005.
Performance. It would seem that the Atom processor has a clear advantage over the Celeron M - it supports HyperTreading and provides parallel processing of two instruction streams. However, let's not forget that its architecture is greatly simplified to reduce power consumption.
As a result, we see a significant, at least a third, lag behind the Acer TravelMate laptop built on a similar platform. In a number of tests, the netbook loses to its "older friend" by half! Even the Fujitsu Siemens laptop, one of the slowest tested in the last year, easily overtakes the Acer Aspire One. The situation improves slightly if the netbook is connected to the power supply and the power consumption mode is set to "Always On" in the Windows settings (the dynamic frequency reduction system does not work):
Energy consumption Acer netbook in the MobileMark 2005 test is about 8.6 watts, which is 2-3 times lower than that of standard notebooks at the minimum cost. If instead of a hard drive in this model there was an SSD, this figure would be lower by another couple of watts. However, due to the low battery capacity, the Aspire One netbook still works autonomously for no more than 3 hours, which is unlikely to suit all potential owners of this computer.
But comparable entry-level notebooks run even less, although their batteries are more capacious.
Despite the fact that formally all netbooks are the same in configuration (with the exception of the hard drive), they have significant differences that are rarely reflected in the dry official numbers. In particular, the Acer Aspire One model, which is considered one of the most affordable netbooks on the market, also has its own peculiarities. We liked the workmanship and workmanship, the comfortable keyboard with 17mm key spacing, the side touchpad buttons, and the interesting design of the lid. A significant plus for a flash drive configuration will be the presence of a second card reader. The disadvantages of this netbook include, first of all, the unpleasant noise emitted by the fan, as well as the short battery life.
The cost of a laptop Acer Aspire One with a hard drive is $ 520-700 depending on the form of delivery
- high-quality assembly, pleasant materials;
- clear lid hinge;
- an acceptable keyboard with a familiar layout;
- the presence of a hard drive of a standard form factor;
- two card readers;
- interesting color options.
- unpleasant noise;
- heating of the case in the area of the keyboard;
- not the best quality LCD matrix;
- short battery life (no more than 3 hours).
(based on materials from the site GIGAMARK.COM)
The netbook market was once promising. Manufacturers created more and more new models, competed who would come up with a more interesting design, who would be the first to master the new platform, who would make the case thinner. Gradually, interest in this class of computers on the part of developers faded away. This is confirmed by the hype, or rather, its complete absence when the new Intel Atom platform appears.
Acer, for example, quietly prepared and released only one new model on the market - the Aspire One D270. And even then it can be called a new one with a big stretch, since in design it is identical to the budget Aspire One D257 netbook, released a year ago. What interested us in this, in general, standard model? Only that it is one of the cheapest netbooks of the new generation and definitely has the best price / functionality ratio among its counterparts.
Specifications
As is customary with Acer, the netbook considered in the review is made according to the formula "Cheap and cheerful": practically all possible (for this type of computer) peripheral devices and interfaces are squeezed into a simple plastic case. Installed: a webcam with a microphone, two speakers, two audio connectors, a card reader with support for three card formats (SD, MS, xD), three USB 2.0 ports, two video outputs (VGA and HDMI), wireless and wired network controllers. What is lacking in its hardware configuration is usually not found in budget devices: firstly, it is Bluetooth (it is not available in many configurations), and secondly, it is a built-in 3G modem.
The Acer netbook is equipped with a standard 2.5 "hard drive with a thickness of 9.5 mm, while many competitors have opted for 7 mm drives to reduce the thickness of the case. Despite this, the Aspire One D270 is thinner than many analogues (see Moreover, the developers provided for a large bottom cover, but we were unable to remove it - according to some reports, the cover is fastened with screws located under the keyboard unit.
As a budget model, the Acer netbook comes with a conventional 3 or 6 cell battery. Our test unit had the second option, with a capacity of 48.8 Wh (average for modern laptops). Despite the noticeable elevation in the rear of the case, the battery did not completely fit into the dimensions: it is installed at an angle relative to the plane of the case and protrudes from the bottom from the bottom, albeit only slightly (5 mm). Thus, with a case thickness of 25 mm (30 mm including the battery), the Acer netbook is one of the thinnest devices in its class, second only to the new Asus model - X101CH.
Design and construction
As we already reported, in terms of design, the Aspire One D270 follows its predecessor, the D257 on the previous Intel Atom platform. In general, the appearance of the device is rather modest and unassuming: chubby contours, rounded corners, usual thin hinges, inexpensive plastic. No chrome details, no accents in the interior, everything is laconic and simple. Only the lid is designed in a non-trivial way: a large relief is asymmetrically located on its smooth glossy surface, imitating diverging circles on the water.
The D270 is currently available in four colors: completely black and white and silver (like our test sample) variants are universal classics, and for fans of bright design, there are unusual blue-green and more traditional dark red options. The material and texture of the panels are the same in all variants: the lid is glossy on both sides, without relief, the panel for the wrists and the keyboard are slightly rough, the sides and bottom are grainy.
The body of the netbook is made of thick, but soft plastic. It is not possible to press the panels of the case and the lid, however, they resist torsion weakly, there is a slight creak. The lid hinge has been implemented quite successfully: it is moderately tight, with a clear fixation, without backlash, the opening angle is 147 ° (taking into account the angle of installation on the table). The build quality is flawless, but we cannot vouch for the resistance of materials to abrasion, especially under the wrists - the coating looks suspiciously cheap. However, this is typical for Acer: good stuffing in a cheap case.
Screen
It was not possible to establish the manufacturer of the LCD matrix in the test netbook (due to an error, presumably in the firmware of the matrix controller, the manufacturer's code is not available in software). Many potential buyers will be disappointed by the glossy, highly reflective surface of the screen. I also did not like the small margin of brightness, which clearly does not take into account the need to work with the netbook outdoors. In other respects, the Acer screen made a positive impression: good contrast, visual clarity, normal color gamut, pleasantly balanced image.
The screen gamma is underestimated by default, which visually enhances the contrast. Viewing angles are average, the image does not shimmer or distort, as on many cheap matte screens. Blue-violet coloration of dark shades is present, but not very conspicuous. Thus, aside from the glare and the lack of brightness, the screen of the Acer netbook is quite good, especially considering the cost of the device.
Sound
Acer netbook is equipped with two speakers, although many manufacturers in budget models get by with just one. However, this fact alone does not guarantee sound quality. So in the Aspire One D270, the speakers give out a pale, very limited in frequencies sound, without a volume reserve.
Keyboard
At first glance, the keyboard of the Acer netbook should be attributed to its obvious shortcomings. It has an awkward FineTip design, with flat, thin key pads and small gaps. The keyboard area is noticeably curved and follows the convex shape of the wrist area. Nevertheless, we did not experience any serious inconveniences, apart from the inevitable touching of adjacent keys, while typing. The mechanism of the keys has a pleasant, non-tiring elasticity, the actuation threshold is at the very beginning of the keys' travel, and the travel depth is standard 2 mm. The base of the keyboard and the keys themselves are firmly fixed, the flexing is almost negligible.
The keyboard layout of the Acer netbook is completely standard, with all service keys and long Shift, Enter, Caps Lock, Backspace. Cursor buttons are made flat and half, two navigation keys are added to them - PgUp / Home and PgDn / End, which may seem inconvenient. The key step is one of the largest among analogs, about 93% of the norm, which almost does not require adaptation. In general, despite the obviously unfortunate shape of the keys, working with text behind the Acer netbook is very comfortable.
Buttons, indication
The keyboard display of the Acer netbook, like other models of this manufacturer, is physically absent - only pop-up icons on the screen are provided. On the left side of the wrist rest, there are three LEDs, clearly visible when the lid is closed - power, battery and Wi-Fi. Additional buttons are usually absent in netbooks of this manufacturer.
Touchpad
The touchpad of the Acer netbook (in our example - manufactured by Elan) is located in the recess almost in the center and has average dimensions for similar devices - 78 × 37 mm. There are no complaints about the work of the panel: the finger glides well on a smooth surface, the cursor is responsive, scrolling, zooming and other multi-finger combinations work surprisingly clearly and without significant delays.
The function of detecting accidental palm touches was a little disappointing - there were mistakes when typing. Alas, the long touchpad key is unfortunate: tight, deep, slippery. In addition, in our instance, its left half worked every time.
Performance
The Acer netbook is built on a completely standard platform, has a standard configuration, and therefore demonstrates standard performance.
Based on the PCMark 7 and Windows 7 SAT benchmarks, the WD hard drive installed in our test unit did not perform well, which had an insignificant effect on the results of all PCMark 7 tests - among the analogues tested, Acer turned out to be the worst. However, the lag did not exceed 4%, which will not be noticeable in real operating conditions.
Battery life
Despite the typical battery capacity, the Acer netbook performed well in the battery life tests. With no load on the processor (MobileMark 2007 Reader test), it lasts almost 10 hours without recharging.
Active use of Wi-Fi will drain the battery much faster - in less than 7 hours. Average power consumption in the MobileMark 2007 Productivity test was 5.3W, a record for a standard netbook.
Noise and heat
Our test unit of the Acer netbook was equipped with a junior new generation processor - the Atom N2600. Its low power consumption makes it possible to get by with a very modest cooling system. The temperature measurements carried out at rest and during stress testing (built-in test of the AIDA64 utility) suggest sufficient cooling efficiency for the processor. So, in a state of relative rest, the CPU temperature, according to monitoring data, does not exceed 47 °. With active warming up with a stress test, it rises to 56-57 ° - not much, given the extremely limited internal volume of the netbook case.
The noise level under load is relatively low, although the rustle of the netbook will be heard well in a quiet room. The temperature of the case panels is moderate: the wrist area - up to 31 °, the keyboard - up to 34 °, the bottom - 32-36 °, except for the hot zone above the radiator (up to 40 °). In general, the temperature regime and noise level of the device can be described as optimal.
Output
In terms of technical characteristics, the new Acer netbook can be called an almost ideal device in its class: cheap, economical, quiet, thin and light enough, with a full range of ports, including HDMI. There are practically no questions about ergonomics: a normal touchpad, a more or less comfortable keyboard, a good quality screen (if you don't take into account its glossy surface).
The design of the model, of course, is rather weak, the unusual wavy lid does not save it - Asus and Samsung netbooks look much more interesting and advantageous. There are other drawbacks, mainly related to the construction and materials of the case, but on the whole, the Aspire One D270 seemed to us a simple and pleasant device to work with, having a much better price / functionality ratio than most analogs.
Advantages:
low cost;
full set of devices and interfaces;
adequate battery life;
small size and weight;
normal keyboard and touchpad;
nice screen;
good lid design;
no noise or heat in operation.
Disadvantages:
glossy screen without brightness reserve;
insufficiently durable and high-quality case;
weak design;
bad touchpad key.
Sourse of information:
After the Centrino took over the mass market, it might seem that in terms of configuration, all modern laptops are twin brothers. Although there are some differences, of course, there are always (the most important is the size of the LCD screen), but in general, even laptops of different classes offered the user approximately the same set of options. Plus or minus an additional graphic controller, plus or minus a TV tuner and a web camera. But with the advent of netbooks, it became clear what a really close configuration is - almost all netbooks on the market have such a similar filling that you often don't have to look at the table of technical characteristics of the new model. And although the performance of different models is not the same, but as our previous tests showed, by and large, only the speed of the ROM matters - the rest of the subsystems are completely identical. And who of the users will pay attention to the 10-15% difference in certain tests and understand its reasons? After all, netbooks are aimed at the mass user and are positioned on the verge of consumer electronics, in close proximity to communicators, e-books and other similar devices. In other words, the majority of netbook buyers are not the kind of people who would make a buying decision based on percentage advantage in performance tests. Here completely different factors matter (and reviews on our tests of netbooks confirm this) - the mass of the device, battery life, reliability. We will venture to add design to this series. Firstly, choosing among devices that are practically identical in technical characteristics, the user will inevitably give preference to the model with the best design. In the end, any high-tech "toy" also has an image function. Secondly, the share of women among netbook users is obviously higher than among users of full-size laptops. It is not without reason that some manufacturers focus on white models; moreover, there are even pink netbooks on the market! However, until recently, all netbook manufacturers have tried to make their devices as affordable and inexpensive as possible. The first netbooks were created under the OLPC concept (One Laptop Per Child - a laptop for every child), which limited the cost of a netbook to $ 100- $ 200. Accordingly, there was no need to demand special design refinements from them. After all, the development of a bright style, and, most importantly, the high-quality materials necessary for its implementation - all this increases the total cost of the netbook.
Aspire One developers clearly focused on the design of the model.
Nevertheless, there are models whose developers have focused on design. One of them - Acer's Aspire One - visited our laboratory. What advantages, besides an interesting design, can this model offer to the user?
Contents of delivery
The keys next to it will help you evaluate the compactness of the Aspire One box.
The exterior of the Acer Aspire One makes an impression even before the netbook is out of the box. This model comes in a colorful miniature cardboard box that's smaller than any of the competition - perfect for retail.
The package includes a branded case
However, the compactness of the packaging in this case does not mean a poor package, in the box, in addition to the netbook itself, the user will find:
- storage battery,
- carrying case,
- OS recovery CD,
- detailed user manual,
- power supply and power cord
Specifications
| Eee PC 901 | Acer aspire one | |
| CPU | Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz | Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz |
| Chipset | Intel 945GU + ICH7-M | Intel 945GSE + ICH7-M |
| Graphics controller | Intel GMA 950 | Intel GMA 950 |
| Screen | 8.9 inch, 1024x600 | 8.9 inch, 1024x600 |
| RAM | 1024 MB; DDR2-667 | 512 MB, DDR2-533 |
| HDD | SSD 4GB + 16GB | SSD, 8 GB |
| Flash card slot | SD / SDHC / MMC | SD, SD / SDHC / MMC / MS / xD |
| Interfaces | 3x USB 2.0 & 1x RJ45 & 1x VGA (D-Sub) |
3x USB 2.0 & 1x RJ45 & 1x VGA (D-Sub) |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b / g / Draft-n | Atheros AR5007EG (Acer InviLink) |
| Bluetooth | + | - |
| Network adapter | 10/100 Mbps (Atheros) | 10/100 Mbps (Realtek RTL8102E) |
| Sound | Realtek High Definition Audio | Realtek High Definition Audio (ALC268) |
| Additionally | 1.3 megapixel webcam | 0.3 megapixel webcam |
| Key pitch, mm | 15,5 | 17,5 |
| Battery | LiIon, 48.8 W * h | LiIon, 26.6 W * h |
| Size, mm | 225x176x39 | 249x170x29 |
| Weight, kg | 1,1 | 1 |
| Retail price, rub. | 16 000 | 13 660 |
| Operating system | Linux (Xandros) or Windows XP | Linux (Linpus) |
| Official manufacturer's warranty | 12 months | 12 months |
Like most modern netbooks, the Acer Aspire One is equipped with a 1.6 GHz Atom N270
The configuration of the Acer Aspire One confirms the words from which this article began - the design and hardware of all netbooks are very similar, and the list of differences is much shorter than the list of the same elements. Like most modern netbooks, Acer Aspire One is based on a motherboard with a mobile version of the Intel 945 series chipset - 945GSE. An Intel Atom N270 processor with a clock speed of 1.6 GHz is paired with 533 MHz DDR2 memory (one module is installed in the laptop). It is noteworthy that the Aspire One does not have hatches for access to replaceable components - to upgrade the netbook, the bottom panel will have to be completely dismantled.
GMA 950 graphics core built into the chipset
The graphics core - Intel GMA 950 - is built into the Northbridge and reserves part of the system memory for video RAM. The netbook's LCD display is 8.9 inches and has a resolution of 1024x600 - these are also familiar characteristics, although more manufacturers are announcing the release of models with a larger screen diagonal. But unlike most competitors, the Aspire One boasts a glossy screen finish that visually improves image clarity. However, not all users will like this, because the glossy coating glares and gets dirty easily. A 0.3-megapixel web-camera is built into the screen frame. A single 8GB SSD-drive with an ATA66 interface is used as ROM - the capacity is modest by modern standards. Apparently, the developers were well aware of this, since the Aspire One is equipped with two slots for memory cards at once. One of them is only compatible with SD / MMC and, according to the creators' intention, should be used as an additional drive. The second allows you to work with SD / MMC, Memory Stick (including Pro) and xD cards. Communication controllers are represented by the 10/100-Mbps adapter Realtek RTL8102E and the Atheros AR5007EG wireless module, which in the manufacturer's specifications is presented under the name Acer InviLink. But, despite the brand name, its characteristics cannot be called outstanding - it is compatible only with 802.11b / g, and does not support the faster 802.11n standard. And the saddest drawback is the lack of a Bluetooth module in the Aspire One configuration, because most of the competitors are already "blue teeth".
However, here it should be noted that most users connect GPRS or 3G modems via Bluetooth, and in the future Aspire One will acquire a built-in modem for 3G networks - this has been officially announced. The slot for SIM-cards is already there - it is located under the battery, which will have to be removed to install the SIM-card. However, there is no doubt that along with the 3G modem, the new Aspire One models will also have a Bluetooth module - after all, most competitors have it and the gap needs to be made up.
Miniature 3-cell battery included
The capacity of the supplied battery is 26.6 W * h
The package includes a compact 3-cell rechargeable battery with a capacity of 26.6 Wh. For an additional fee, the manufacturer also offers a six-cell version of the battery, according to the manufacturer, such batteries will soon appear in Russian retail. It should be noted that the dimensions of the six-cell model of the battery are, of course, larger - it noticeably protrudes beyond the dimensions of the netbook and with such a battery it will not fit into the proprietary case. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Aspire One's configuration is its active cooling. The netbook has a built-in miniature fan hidden under a circular ledge located closer to the center of the bottom panel. The noise level of this fan is very low, even in a quiet room, you have to strain your ears to hear the sound of its operation. At the same time, it provides a relatively low level of heating - the Aspire One is noticeably "cooler" than many competitors. Summing up the description of the configuration, it should be noted that the modification AOA110-A was provided for testing. On the Russian market, Acer also offers the 150th modification (AOA150-B), the main difference of which is that instead of an SSD-drive, a 120-GB hard disk is used (Serial ATA interface, 5400 rpm).
Design and ergonomics
Glossy lid with Acer logo
Of course, there are no comrades in taste or color, but, according to the author, the Aspire One is the most beautiful netbook presented in the Russian retail at the present time. The glossy case with a mother-of-pearl shine can be white or dark blue - it is obvious that the white models are intended for the fair sex, and the blue version will be more popular with men. As you can easily guess from the photographs, a blue netbook has visited our laboratory, we will describe the design in more detail using its example. The bottom of the case is made of regular black plastic, while the top and lid are blue with a lacquer finish. Unfortunately, the glossy surface of the lid and screen gets covered with fingerprints very quickly, but this is perhaps its only drawback.
The lid hinges are decorated with red metal rings
LED indicators are visible both when the cover is open and when the cover is closed
The lid hinges are adorned with red metal rings, and a few other highlights are the silver Acer and Aspire One logos on the lid and hinges. There are four LED indicators on the left side of the hinges, which are visible both when the cover is open and when the cover is closed.
The light of the LED built into the power button is not annoying in the dark
The silver power button has a built-in green LED window - its light is soft and dim, it does not irritate at all in the dark. On the front edge of the operating panel there is a silver insert, on the sides of which there are LED indicators that display the mode of operation of communication devices.
The netbook is compact and, most importantly, very light (in comparison with competitors) - exactly 1 kg. This is partly due to the active cooling system - it does not need a bulky and heavy radiator. The location of the I / O ports is well thought out and very convenient to use. The right side panel houses two USB ports, a 3.5mm audio jack for a microphone and headphone, a primary memory card slot, and a Kensington lock eyelet.
The left side panel houses a power supply connector, as well as an analog VGA connector, a network RJ-45, a third USB port and an additional slot for SD / MMC memory cards. There are no ports or connectors on the front or back (the only exception is the wireless switch on the right of the front panel) - this is reasonable for a model that the user will often work with while holding the case on his lap.
Keyboard
As a rule, it is the keyboard that becomes one of the weakest points of a netbook. Models with screen sizes up to nine inches are equipped with small and uncomfortable keyboards. And netbooks equipped with 10-inch displays with slightly less cramped keyboards are considered by some users to be too bulky and expensive for this type of device. But the developers of Acer found a middle ground and managed to offer a compact netbook with a comfortable keyboard. First of all, the Aspire One is equipped with a keyboard with 17.5-mm alphabetic key spacing - previously only ASUS 1000 series netbooks could boast of such. At first glance, two millimeters (most netbooks have 15.5mm keyboards) seem insignificant, but in practice the difference is more than noticeable. After all, the size of 17.5-mm alphabetic keys is much closer to full-size laptops (their key spacing is, as a rule, 18 mm) and typing is, accordingly, much more convenient.The key pitch is 17.5 mm and the "arrows" are placed in a separate block
In addition, the keyboard of the Aspire One is distinguished by the "arrows", placed in a separate block, full-sized and, well, the location of other function keys. Only the key is not too wide - the same as the alphabet keys.
The manipulator buttons are located on the sides of the touch panel
The wide touch panel of the netbook also seemed comfortable to us. The manipulator buttons are located on the sides of it, and not under it, as usual. This option is more convenient, since there is no risk of touching the touchpad with your middle or ring finger while pressing the button with your index finger.
Linpus
We have already mentioned the 150th Aspire One modification on the market. In addition to the type of drive, it has another important difference - the Windows XP operating system. Indeed, on the 110th model, including the one we tested, the Linpus OS is installed - a specialized version of GNU / Linux prepared by Acer engineers, which has a simplified interface and all the necessary drivers.Are the Aspire One makers trying to highlight the high quality of the LCD?
The owner of Aspire One has the opportunity to feel like the head of the Energy Center
The system interface of the netbooks supplied to the Russian market is completely Russified. It is really extremely simple - even the most inexperienced users can easily handle the netbook. Unless they get confused in the translation - the main items and sections of the menu are translated quite correctly, but in the depths of the dialog boxes you can find such sayings as "Enable power management for a specific monitor." However, the main menus can please, for example, "Energocenter".
But practically on all pages of the interface there is a search window that allows you to search for both local documents and send a request to search engines on the Internet - both are very convenient. But, nevertheless, for any experienced user, the capabilities of Linpus will not be enough, and the interface will seem too limited. Although, at first glance, everything you need is available, with long-term use you will surely find the lack of the necessary codecs and some programs. Updating Linpus on your own is troublesome even for someone familiar with Linux. So if you're willing to take the time to tweak the drivers, it's best to install full-fledged Linux, and if not, Windows XP.
Tests
| ASUS eeePC 901 (4GB SSD) |
ASUS eeePC 1000 (8GB SSD) |
Acer aspire one | |
| MobileMark05 Productivity, score | 70* | 127 | 71 |
| PCMark05 score | 1212 (1077*) | 1213 | ND |
| PCMark05 CPU, score | 1398 (1448*) | 1444 | 1443 |
| PCMark05 Memory, score | 1902 (1901*) | 1908 | 1863 |
| PCMark05 Graphics, score | 458 (455*) | 436 | ND |
| PCMark05 HDD score | 1604 (908*) | 1927 | 812 |
| 3Dmark01, score | 2728 (2772*) | 2867 | 2955 |
| 3Dmark03, score | 710 (706*) | 693 | 698 |
| HDTune, Average Read, Mb / s | 29,3 (26,4*) | 29,3 | 24 |
| HDTune, Access Time, ms | 0,5 (0,5) | 0,5 | 0,8 |
| MobileMark05 Productivity, hr: min | 4:22* | 4:32 | 3:18 |
| MobileMark05 Reader, hr: min | 4:27* | 4:41 | 3:36 |
| Battery Eater Pro 2.60 Classic, hr: min | 3:32 | 3:28 | 2:03 |
* 16GB drive was used in testing. While other netbook models are "awful on the face" compared to the Aspire One, they are noticeably "kinder inside" - they have better configurations. However, the expected drop in performance of the memory subsystem did not appear - the lag of DDR2-533 from DDR2-667 on test tasks is minimal.
Onboard SSD performance lags behind competitors
But the speed of the SSD-drive Aspire One is noticeably inferior to the competitors' models and this affects the results of other tests. Unfortunately, the PCMark05 test suite ran through unchanged failures and we could not find the cause during testing.
But the MobileMark05 Productivity score shows that the Aspire One's performance is almost equal to the eee PC 901's performance when tested on the slower of its two drives (marked with an asterisk). It can be assumed that the results of the Aspire One on those tests that it did not pass will be close to the values marked with an asterisk. And these values are generally less than the maximum performance of the eee PC 901. On the eee PC 1000, the Aspire One loses even more noticeably.
Acer Aspire One battery lasts two hours in Battery Eater Pro 2.60
Acer Aspire One also takes two hours to fully recharge
However, as noted above, hardly many buyers of netbooks are seriously concerned about their performance and compare the performance of individual subsystems. Enough power to view web-pages, read mail and work Skype and ICQ - and enough. But battery life is important for any user, and here the Aspire One, alas, again lags behind the competition. Under maximum load (Battery Eater Pro 2.60 Classic) the battery life was just over two hours. When working in the mode of simulating normal office work (MobileMark05 Productivity), the battery charge lasted for three and a quarter hours, and in the most gentle mode (MobileMark05 Reader) - for three and a half hours. Not bad results for a regular laptop, but not enough for a netbook with a 9-inch screen, LED-backlit display and an economical SSD.
The speed of the built-in SD / MMC adapter used as additional storage
In addition, we measured the read speed of the memory card adapter using the HD Tune program, which the developers recommend using as an additional drive. To do this, we installed a 1 GB Apacer MMC Plus 290X card in the memory card slot (the maximum data transfer rate is 43.5 Mb / s). The performance of the adapter is only marginally less than that of the built-in SSD, so given the availability of high-capacity SD cards on the market, it really should be used to expand permanent storage.
conclusions
Let's sum up the testing of the Acer Aspire One netbook.- Minuses: relatively low performance and average battery life
- Pros: excellent design, light weight and compactness, excellent keyboard, well-thought-out ergonomics
As predicted by analysts, and it was obvious to everyone who closely monitors the laptop market, after the first wave of deliberately simplified netbooks (for the sake of lower prices), more and more advanced models of inexpensive ultra-compact laptops inevitably began to appear. Only in this way the manufacturers have a chance to interest the comfort-demanding users who have remained indifferent to the idea of saving at the expense of all other characteristics. Indeed, the progress is impressive: for the first Acer One, released two years ago, even the very process of installing Windows XP and the usual office suite was a serious test, subjectively reminiscent of a return somewhere in the days of 486 processors. Today's models under the same name make Windows 7 “fly”, and the one considered in this review does not even give way to 3D games, which was difficult to imagine a year ago.
And the progress in other components is noticeable: the same screen is noticeably different in quality, the hard drive is installed with a capacious and has standard performance, without any discounts for a particularly compact class of laptop, the battery life has increased several times. Strictly speaking, it is probably time for such models to return from the frivolous term "netbook" to the respectable "subnotebook". Since, in fact, they finally implement the idea of providing the traveling user with a familiar working environment in the maximum possible mobile format. And, perhaps, the only parameter by which they still lose out to classic subnouts, to the considerable delight of users, is the price. Well, full-size laptops and desktops have since become much more affordable, and users in the mass are already accustomed to such price levels, so they are unlikely to agree to pay how much in the old days, and this factor should not confuse marketers!
Design and functionality
The laptop has a rather elegant appearance, as if the manufacturer has already forgotten the original positioning of netbooks in the calculation of "poor students". The coating, despite the gloss, is quite non-staining, fingerprints are not striking (probably due to the well-chosen combination of colors, so we cannot judge whether this statement is true for a laptop in an alternative black case as well). But it cannot boast of special resistance to scratches, so it is better to handle the laptop with care, carry it in a separate pocket of the bag, where it will not come into contact with hard objects, including the power adapter, mouse and so on.
The lid is fixed in the closed position due to the design of hinges and, like most modern laptops, opens only up to a certain angle (about 130-140 degrees). Noteworthy are the thin sides of the keyboard, so that it takes up all possible space, which is commendable.
In the design, the only decoration can be called the power button, made of transparent plastic with a convex bottom, so that the pictogram is reflected in it on an enlarged scale.
The dimensions of the laptop are typical for models with a screen size of 10.1 ″, the thickness is about 25 mm, and the weight is also small (1.25 kg).
Now let's look at the location of interfaces and other structural elements.
Finally, the HDMI port occupies its rightful place on netbooks, which, given the predominantly home environment of such devices, can only be noted positively. It's good that the developers put 3 USB ports instead of the common two and spread them on two sides. There are also no special remarks about the location of the rest of the elements, it may not be quite optimal from the point of view of left-handers, the placement of the ventilation grill in the middle of the left sidewall will seem. It is difficult to please everyone and, which is quite natural, the majority wins in the compromise, but it is still better when this grille is placed at the edge, of course, farthest from the user. On the other hand, the laptop does not have a hot temper, the air flow is small even at increased rotational speeds under load.
Keyboard
Of course, in such a compact case, it would be quite forgivable to have a keyboard of reduced size. However (I checked it on purpose!): The distance between the centers of the alphabetic keys exactly matches that of a standard desktop keyboard. True, there are no indentations in the center of the keys, but for traveling text editing and correspondence, the laptop is still very well equipped. The cursor keys turned out to be in the most constrained position, but this is even good, since attempts to space them in two rows within a laptop keyboard often end up with the user touching these keys when pressing Shift or Enter, because it is possible to separate them with empty space only in the largest ones. models, and certainly not in netbooks. And in this case, there is no such problem, especially since the developers tried to adjust the size of the Shift key to the usual for desktop users. But the height of the top row of function keys could have been made a little larger, especially since these keys, as usual, got the functions of switching the image to an external monitor, disabling the touchpad, etc. - typical commands called simultaneously with pressing Fn.
Touchpad and positioning devices
The 3.5 x 6 cm touchpad has the same coating as the body, but protrudes from it by a few millimeters. There is support for commands given by simultaneously touching the surface with two fingers. There are no complaints about the cursor positioning accuracy. And the separate keys can be praised for a clear pressing and the absence of any backlashes. So this laptop is fine with its own positioning device.
Additional keys and indicators
The indicators are located in the edge of the front panel, there are only four of them, and through one they have blue and orange LEDs, so it will not be difficult for the user to determine what is being signaled at the moment. There are no additional keys on the case, the corresponding functions are called by pressing the function keys from the top row at the same time as Fn.
Screen
The laptop has a 10.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 × 600, LED-backlit and glossy finish. The brightness of the screen, even with a 30% backlight level, is already comfortable enough to work in a room with moderate lighting, for example, at home or in transport, but with solar backlighting, you will have to set 80-100%. Visibility, unfortunately, is not the strong point of this model. Moreover, if in the horizontal plane the angles are sufficient for solo work (and hardly anyone will gather to show a video to a group of people on such a small screen), then the vertical visibility is really a little less comfortable. And even if you accurately position the screen perpendicular to the axis of view, you will notice that contrast is reduced along the top and bottom edges compared to the center area. But the color rendering, in comparison with a number of "first wave" netbooks, in this case can be noted only positively. It's really nice to watch both photos and videos. The main thing is to carefully adjust the angle of the screen beforehand!
Sound subsystem
The speakers are small, but still there are two of them on the case, and not one, which is sometimes found in cheap models. However, in this case, they are not even located on the front edge (there is no room there, the laptop is too thin), but they look directly at the table. Considering that their power is quite modest, with such an arrangement the user will have to turn the volume level to maximum, even with insignificant background noise, in order to more or less hear the music played by the speakers. It's funny, but there is also a positive moment in this: in this case, the inevitable flaws in the sound of compact speakers are perceived less noticeably, they do not rush to the ears, and if it is quiet around, then even acoustic music can be listened to quite tolerably.
As for the analog headphone-out, here again we can only praise the work of this component in Acer products. Maybe in this case, the sound is a little dull and does not cause as much enthusiasm as we deservedly expressed about, for example, Acer Ferrai One or Acer Aspire 4553. But, at least, the noise level is in order, and in general, by the standards of netbooks, the sound is very, very decent, you can safely connect expensive headphones, including low-impedance ones, and have fun.
Configuration and equipment
In addition to two color options (brown, like our sample, there is also black), the Aspire One 521 netbook can be equipped with either an AMD Athlon II Neo K125 processor (1.7 GHz and 1 MB L2 cache), or a weaker V105 model with half the amount of cache memory and 500 MHz less frequency. The hard disk can be 160 or 250 GB, and the RAM can be 1 or 2 GB. The battery also, depending on the configuration, can be 4400 or 5600 mAh. Finally, in addition to the standard set of wireless interfaces, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapters, there may be an adapter for accessing 3G networks in the UMTS / HSPA / GSM frequency ranges with GPRS / EDGE support.
In our case, a senior processor with a frequency of 1.7 GHz and 1 MB of cache was installed, but we got only 1 GB of RAM (DDR3-800). Moreover, in this case, the memory can be expanded only by replacing it with a more capacious module, since there is only one memory slot. For the same reason, the memory operates in single-channel mode.
But I think the strongest component of AMD's new ultra-compact notebook platform is the new graphics core in the chipset. As we remember, the previous version used a very old kernel with DirectX 9 support from the AMD 690G chipset. In this case, the chipset is similar to that used in the platform for universal laptops, only the frequency is reduced. But all the same, given that netbooks, in principle, are not spoiled by any productive graphics cores, this fact is very pleasing.
Below are the specifications of the sample tested in our laboratory.
| Acer Aspire One 521-12Dcc | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Athlon II Neo K125 (1.7 GHz, 1024 MB L2 cache, 1000 MHz HT bus) |
| Chipset | AMD M880G + SB850 |
| RAM | single-channel, 1 GB DDR3-800 |
| Screen | widescreen, high definition (1024 × 600 resolution) LG Philips LP133WH1-TLA2 (10.1 ", LED-backlit) |
| Video adapter |
|
| Sound subsystem |
|
| HDD | WDC WD2500BEVT-22A23T0 (232GB, 5400rpm, SATA) |
| Optical drive | − |
| Communication means |
|
| Card reader | 5-in-1 memory card reader supporting SD / MMC / MS / xD and derivatives |
| Interfaces and ports |
|
| Battery |
|
| Additional equipment | built-in web-camera (1.3 megapixel) |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Home Starter / Basic |
| Dimensions (edit) |
|
| Weight | 1.25 kg with 6-cell battery (AC adapter - 180 g) |
| Guarantee period | 1 year |
| Link to description | Acer Aspire One 521 |
The package contains utilities for backup (Acer eRecovery), search for updates, management of power saving modes and a large package of "casual" games from Oberon Media, although most of them require a paid registration, as well as an anti-virus package from McAfee. Like "adult" notebook models from Acer, there is a backup area on the disk with an image of the original operating system and programs, so by pressing Alt + F10 on the start screen, the user can activate the recovery mode of the original OS state in case of virus infection or any data corruption on the system drive.
Performance
Let's take a look at how the laptop handles typical tasks. For comparison, we took a laptop Acer Ferrari FO200 on a dual-core Athlon X2 L310 processor and MSI X-Slim X410, which is larger in format and does not belong to netbooks, but is interesting in that it uses an Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, which is still can be called the most netbook of the entire previous family of AMD processors. And it is it, perhaps, that can be considered the immediate predecessor in relation to Athlon II Neo K125.
The result, to some extent, even exceeded our expectations. It was logical to expect that the new product will be somewhere in the middle in terms of performance, but in reality, being a single-core, if it is inferior to the dual-core L310 in terms of the set of tests, it is only a tiny bit. A clear illustration of how important the architecture used is, and, of course, the clock frequency!
In games, of course, the absolute value of the result is still modest, but in practice it is quite possible to choose the settings in order to get acquainted with modern 3D games. In everyday tasks, the response speed is also very good, including installing programs, downloading documents, here the fact of using a standard hard disk is clearly manifested.
The performance of which is quite typical and corresponds to the level of modern notebook drives, including those installed in full-size models.
Battery life
Well, the fun is yet to come. With such an excellent performance by the standards of netbooks, you can hardly expect something interesting in the tests for battery life, especially since the declared time is 6.5-7 hours, which in general is already a familiar value for models of this class?
However, when testing in idle mode (imitation of thoughtful typing or editing of text) when using the maximum power saving profile (only for the hard drive the "always on" mode is selected and the brightness is set to 30% level), the laptop worked no less 10 hours 20 minutes... Obviously, this is not a record by modern standards, but from a practical point of view, the result is simply magnificent. If a laptop is required for every nightly check of mail, then its resource will be quite enough for a week's trip out of touch with civilization. Well, when it comes to less exotic conditions, then most likely the user will simply put the laptop on recharging, without waiting for the battery to be completely discharged.
As for the work with the load, unfortunately there was not enough time for testing in the Mobile Mark 2007 program. More precisely, it would be quite enough for one run, if this test was not very capricious in itself. So in this case, he jumped out with an error after six hours of operation, and there was no time left for charging and restarting. But it's safe to say that if a laptop is taken to watch video during air travel, then even on transatlantic flights, its owner will not have time to get bored. With regard to charging, a full cycle takes about 3.5 hours, but this is quite acceptable for such a long-playing laptop, since the user can schedule charging so that it occurs during periods of inactivity, for example, at night.
Heat and noise
Let's take a look at the temperature regime. The data was taken from the Everest utility during the stress test. In the column "load" for the central processor, the average temperature during the test is given in parentheses.
In terms of heat dissipation of components, compared to the previous version of the platform, progress is also evident. Although for the user, of course, it is more important how hot the case of the laptop itself, that is, its sole, and whether it can cool normally if it is on the lap. The first question can be answered with confidence that even demanding users will not be disappointed. The user experience with this laptop had to be made just during the hot summer weather, and the performance tests were taken at an indoor temperature of at least 30 degrees. And even under such conditions, the heating turned out to be more than moderate. As for measurements at an ambient air temperature of 25 degrees, even during the stability test, the temperature of the lower surface did not exceed 30 degrees, with the exception of the immediate area adjacent to the ventilation grill, which warmed up to 35 degrees. Well, you can, of course, put the laptop on a blanket or on your knees, but taking into account the fact that air intake occurs, like most laptops, through the grilles on the bottom. So if the laptop is idle or you are in a cool room, the cooling performance is likely to be sufficient anyway. And in hot weather and under load, it makes sense to make sure that the ventilation holes are not blocked, however, this is a universal rule for most modern laptops.
From the point of view of noise accompaniment, the laptop is not the record holder for noiselessness, and it is absolutely certain that this point will not be a subject for criticism. The fan control algorithm was chosen well: it constantly rotates, and the minimum speed creates a noise of about 35 dBA, which is slightly higher than the background noise in a quiet room during the day, but definitely less than most desktop users are used to. In addition, the second and third speeds (in operating mode with a load) increase the noise level to only 36.5 and 37.2 dBA, respectively, which may well go unnoticed by the user, since the speed change is also smooth.
conclusions
In fact, we have before us a model that fully realizes the concept of an ultra-compact computer for an active-traveling user who is demanding on productivity and wants to have a familiar working environment at hand. That is, in old terms: a subnotebook. No significant shortcomings were identified, and most of all I was pleased with the long battery life with a very playful response of the laptop to user commands. In general, it is nice to see a tendency that manufacturers have not followed the path of further cost reduction to the detriment of performance, but are trying to increase functionality while maintaining a reasonable cost. In the future, it would be nice to see a further turn to face serious users, for example, as one of the configuration options to offer a matte display, ideally with expanded vertical visibility.
Average the current price (in brackets - the number of offers that can be clicked to go to the list of those available in Moscow retail) Acer Aspire One 521: N / A (0)
The Aspire One line laptop is, first of all, a lightweight, ultra-thin device that incorporates the best achievements and developments of the Acer developers. The good news is that the repair of this model is easier than.
All mini-laptops from this series are supplied with a standard delivery set, which includes:
- battery;
- power adapter;
- documentation;
- warranty card for.
The Acer Aspire One D257 netbook comes with either a dual-core Intel® Atom ™ N570 / N550 processor or a single-core N455 / N475 processor. This computer comes with a standard 2.5 "hard drive, with a capacity of 250 or 320 GB, and according to the method of connecting to the network, it can have the following options: Wi-Fi, Ethernet or 3G modem.
1.1 Design and display
The design of the case is made of not expensive, but good-quality plastic, and due to high-quality assembly, it is free from extraneous creaks and backlashes. A netbook can be painted in 4 different colors: black, red, blue or white.
The lid of the netbook is glossy on both sides, it has an unusual wavy surface, on which the company logo and a drop pattern are applied. In principle, the appearance of the Aspire One D257 is original and minimized. Everything looks cheap but practical at the same time. By the way, this model is rarely required.
The Aspire One D257 has a 10.1 "(28 cm) screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 px with a 16: 9 ratio, which makes it ideal for viewing photos and media files.
1.2 Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard of the netbook is simple and comfortable. When working on it, the keys have a normal stroke, work without sticking. A medium-sized but compact touchpad, you can enjoy easy navigation with just a flick of your finger. Everything works without significant delays, scaling, cursor responsiveness - the sensitivity of the touchpad is at its best.
1.3 Expansion ports and power
As with any netbook, the lack of an optical drive is compensated by the presence of a USB 2.0 serial port on the left side of the case. Nearby, there is a micro RJ-45 connector and a video - VGA. A little to the left is the power socket of the device. On the opposite side, there are two more USB serial ports and one each for microphone and headphone connections. But it is rarely required for this model.
Autonomous power supply is provided by a 6-cell - 4400 mA or 3-cell -2200 mA battery. A six-section battery can work without recharging for about 8 hours, a 3-section battery for about 4 hours.
2 Performance
The Intel Atom N570 based dual-core processor has relatively low performance, economical power consumption, and works in conjunction with DDR3 and
integrated video card GMA3150.
The used 256 MB memory of the graphic adapter is quite sufficient for decoding video and viewing photos, but frankly speaking, such a video card will be rather weak for computer games. Some games may and will run at optimal FPS levels, but only with minimized settings.
If we summarize the work of a netbook as a whole, then for some student, office solutions its capacities will be enough.
2.1 Conclusion and price
The price for the netbook Acer Aspire One D257 is in the range of 210-250 USD, depending on the region and configuration. For a fairly modest price, you can buy the Acer Aspire One D257 and experience the following benefits:
- Quite lightweight and large;
- Excellent dual core processor;
- Simple matrix replacement (like);
- Nice and well-made body;
- Conveniently fitted keyboard and nimble touchpad.
In general, a pretty good solution for both work and play.
