Opinions Needed On The Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop
I own quite a few laptops (I hate desktops) and the current one I am using full time at the moment is a Dell XPS M1530
Immediately after installing Firefox, PhotoShop 6, OpenOffice and a few more applications, performace has dropped quite a bit. Turning the computer on and allowing for it to totally boot up takes awhile. I have a few programs such as Google Talk and a few other instant messenger programs that auto start, but still… a computer like this should eat through programs like it was nothing. But that’s Windows Vista for you, it sucks. Eventually I am going to purchase a MacBook Pro, either 15 inch or 17 inch (I am still undecided).
Anyway, this post isn’t about my current laptop or the MacBook Pro that (one day) I will purchase. I’d like to get some opinions on a mini laptop that I found the other day at Walmart, the Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop. Now before you go darting down to the comment form, allow me to explain my situation, from there, then please do provide your feedback.
I frequently use my laptop in bed late at night and early in the morning. In fact, I absolutely love blogging in bed, but doing so with my current laptop, or any other standard size laptop gets uncomfortable. Laptops get hot and while 5 LBS might not seem like a lot of weight, having a laptop on your lap while lying in bed for a few hours tends to get uncomfortable. It’s like having five pound heating pad in your lap.
So with that said, I am looking specifically for a “Blogging in Bed” laptop and I have my eye on the Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop
The computer is equipped with a 160GB hard drive, 3 USB ports, 802.11b/g and also 10/100 ethernet. It comes with Windows XP loaded, obviously Windows Vista isn’t a good option because of the low amount of memory, and also the system does not come with an internal optical Drive. An external device would have to be connected via one of the three available USB Ports. Which is fine, I don’t really NEED an optical drive and in the rare situations were I would require one, I’d have no problem using my external device.
So what are your thoughts? Do you think that the Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop would be the best option for me? Again, I am looking for a “Blogging in Bed” laptop, a mini laptop that has the must functionality packed into a very small and compact size. The price of the Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop
Here Is A Video Review
Just to give you an update, I did purchase the Acer Aspire One and I wrote a second post about it that gives you my opinions on it. You should check it out because also I discovered another really cool mini laptop that I think you might enjoy more.
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23 comments
Wow, that’s cool. I think it looks awesome. I’d have to try it out in the store first to see if it was comfortable to look at that small of a screen. I really like the portability factor though. I was in compusa the other day and saw some of these small laptops but they were much more than the $399 that amazon wants.
I want a new laptop. Maybe ill try this out.
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I like the concept and ideas of smaller laptops but I think that they are harder to use in practice as the keyboard is smaller making it harder to type, although I can see why you want one I think that buying one of those shelf support laptop things for the bed is a better solution. I think that when you work from home you need to be practical about what you want to achieve and you want to be able to blog in bed and I think with the smaller keyboard I don’t think that is achievable.
The mini notebooks are great for traveling, my friend has the Acer One and loves it. He tells me his intention to use it is not like that of a regular desktop. I have been considering purchasing one, but since I just got a new laptop a month ago have to wait. They are cheap enough that I call them “disposable” laptops, others call them NetBooks.
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These laptops are slick. My friend has one and absolutely loves it (he even gave it a nickname). And for what you want it for it sounds like a perfect solution. The wife and I have actually been thinking about getting these as Christmas gifts for each other.
I played with one at Best Buy (I think that was the model) and didn’t like the feel of it so I ended up going with a Dell Mini 9 which coincidently I am just now getting set up…
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I have heard great things about this unit, and being an Acer user already, I am kinda in your shoes. I cannot wait to hear all the opinions here…
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[...] purchased the Acer Aspire One today and all in all, it is pretty cool. I went ahead and purchased it at Walmart and paid a [...]
It sounds like you’d be more interested in a 10″ model. I have the AA1 and, for me, the screen and keyboard are the perfect size. The large bezel allows for a slightly larger keyboard than most 8.9″ models have. But a 10″ screen would not fit without a slightly larger bezel yet.
From my research, the most sought-after 10″ model right now is the Samsung NC10. The MSI Wind is nice, but there are a lot of complaints about the touchpad, which doesn’t include the functionality of the higher-end Synaptics pad, such as what the AA1 and NC10 have.
Good luck in your search!
The price does have quite a bit of range. Any more than $500 then I am going to just purchase a 13 Inch MacBook.
I may still do that anyway.
Let me know what you think of it when you do.
You make a very good point. Do you use one of these yourself? If so, what would you recommend?
What laptop did you purchase last month?
I bought one today, I am pretty happy with it, but it does take some getting used to. I am wondering if there are other computers similar that don’t cause me to have to go through the “adaption” period. I wrote a new post today talking about the MSI Wind.
Here is the link: http://www.garryconn.com/my-opinions-on-the-acer-aspire-one-89-inch-mini-laptop.php
The Dell Inspiron Mini. I saw that last night, it was very hard to find navigating thru Dell.com, I actually did a Google Search to find it directly. Tell me more about this computer, I’d like to discover your feedback about it.
Amazingly the construction of this laptop is very strong. I is extremely lightweight and I totally love that part. It opens up just like a Dell XPS which is really cool. I love that style of hinge. A few comments up I left a link to my latest post that talks about my experience with it. I just purchased it today and there are some true Pro’s and Con’s with the Acer.
Thanks for telling me about that Samsung NC10. I didn’t know about this computer, I’ll be sure to check it out. Also, you are VERY right about the MSI Wind with people complaining about the touchpad… I wonder if there are more complaints about the MSI touchpad compared to the Acer?
It’s my guess that the touchpad on the Acer is less frustrating than the one on the Wind. The Acer has all the nice touch/tap features allowed by the Synaptics driver, which for me overcomes the non-traditional left and right buttons.
These are netbooks? Right? I have seen cheaper then 400$ ones but i don’t find them useful. Better to buy a PDA.
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Had mine for 3 months. Went dead. No Post. No video.
A very common issue with this netbook. Other acer laptops have the same issues.
In 20 years of networking I’ve never seen this happen. Seems it just loses
the bios. No apparent reason.
A $349.00 boat anchor.
I have this laptop. I bought it for around $330 with Windows XP home built in. I am usually writing or blogging so i thought its ideal for me. It is actually, but only that the screen size gives my eyes some pain. its too small and I have to use the builtin magnification system, which is cool, but i often forget, straining my eyes. As for performance it is really good for the price tag. And it looks good in white. My bro has blue but that has some cheap feel to it. I like the white one better. The wifi is quite superb. It picks signals where my other compaq one does not. It is light and portable for college use too.
Friend of mine had hers for 4 months. Went dead. No Post. No video.
A very common issue with this netbook. Other acer laptops have the same issues.
In 20 years of networking I’ve never seen this happen. Seems it just loses
the bios. No apparent reason.
A $349.00 boat anchor.
ACER wants her to cover for Shipping expenses. DO NOT BUY THIS LAPTOP.
This netbook is great! I bought mine about 2 months ago, with no problems whatsoever! Additionally, I am running Vista on the machine and it boots just under a minute. I have 1.5Gb RAM and I use the SD slot w/3Gb of an 8Gb SDHC as a ReadyBoost drive.
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