Acer AOD250-1197 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook - Up to 8 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Starter)

The Acer Aspire D250 is a great netbook PC, and the 1197 flavor contains four differentiators:
(1) Windows 7 Starter OS
(2) 250GB hard disk drive
(3) 6 cell battery (~8 hours’ lifespan)
(4) the standard English keyboard layout

..and it comes in blue

Having visited 8 different retail stores and having tried/returned two Asus 1005HA’s, I spent a considerable amount of time comparing / contrasting models.

In comparing the Acer Aspire One D250 to the bestselling Asus 1005HA-PU17 and other netbooks:
(1) The D250 is lighter, even with the 6 cell battery. If one were to buy the 3 cell battery (~2 hour life) to save even more weight, it would be in the featherweight category. The Asus 1005HA’s battery is so bulky and unbalanced it almost makes the netbook want to teeter-totter around its back legs.

(2) The D250 is quieter. Unlike the 1005HA, the fan does not turn on when browsing the web, running virus scans, etc.

(3) The D250’s keyboard is 89% the size of a regular keyboard, and it is smaller than Dell, HP, and Asus 10″ netbook keyboards. However, I was able to type my usual 70WPM without issue.

(4) The D250 has _NO_ hard disk vibrations. The Asus 1005HA had hard drive vibrations that were not only noticeable, they ran straight into my wrists and were irritating. Many other 10″ netbooks have this problem too. This issue becomes very noticeable when you spend 15 minutes drafting a document or writing an e-mail.

(5) The 1005HA has a slightly bigger touchpad.

Canadian users would be wise to order the 1197 version of the D250 as the U.S. keyboard is much easier to use than the multilingual French/English keyboard. The Shift keys are wide, and the Enter key can be reached easily. Such is not the case with the multilingual keyboard.

My only complaint is that I prefer a matte screen to the glossy screen. It is vulnerable to reflections and glare.

***Notes on Windows 7***
Windows 7 Starter is very comparable to Windows XP. The main feature disabled on Win7 Starter edition is the “Aero” feature, which is standard on Win7 Home Edition or Premium versions. However, the Intel Atom/N270 and Intel 950 GMA chipset lacks the graphics horsepower to run “Aero,” even if one were to upgrade Win7 editions. This hindrance applies to any netbook with the N270/950 chipset (Asus, HP 110, Dell Mini), not just the Acer D250. At the time this review was written, upgrading from Starter to Home Premium had a steep price tag — in the $75 – $80 range. And the “Aero” feature would have to be disabled anyway…

Nevertheless, the Acer D250 is among the best built, the quietest, and lightest of the 10″ Intel Atom based netbooks available today. Highly recommended.

For more information on this product visit Amazon.com

Acer AOD250-1694 10.1-Inch White Netbook - Up to 8 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Starter)

I recently purchased the Acer Aspire One netbook from Amazon after alot of heavy research. I know computers fairly well, but I’ve never owned a netbook, nor have I ever really messed with one, so needless to say, I didn’t really know what to expect. When I received it, I wasted no time in setting it up. I must also mention that this is my first experience with Windows 7. The set-up was a breeze and the computer started up pretty quick. The first thing that surprised me was that this netbook wasn’t really loaded with that much junk, so cleaning it off was quick. Both WiFi and Ethernet set up were quick and easy. The netbook had no problems with installing anything. I put Rhapsody on it as soon as I got it and it runs smooth, which surprised me because Rhapsody sometimes makes my desktop HP slow up quite frequently. I might add, for those who don’t know already, get rid of Internet Explorer. Its FAR too slow to do anything. Instead, download Google Chrome or Firefox. I’m currently using Google Chrome and I love it.

As I sat with it longer, I only found one thing that I really didn’t like, but was easily fixed. The problem? Windows 7 Starter Edition. I’m not joining the hate crowd on this one, since I think its fine for the most part. Starter has pretty much everything I need, except the ability to change the wallpaper.

Microsoft not giving the option to change the wallpaper seems like a cheap way to get people to upgrade IMO, but I fixed this by downloading a free program that lets you change it anyway, so my problem there was fixed. I also noticed that alot of the information about the starter edition is wrong on alot of websites, such as the starter edition not having windows media player, which to my surprise, it did.

Moving on, the netbook itself is VERY quiet, hardly any noise coming from it. Its pretty nice looking, and looks well made as far as I can tell. The keyboard took some getting used to, along with the weirdly placed backspace key. But other than that, its a very nicely built netbook. I would easily recommend this to anyone looking for a great netbook for a reasonable price.

For more information on this product visit Amazon.com

ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 10.5 Hour Battery Life

There are three US versions of the Asus 1005HA:

- Best Buy offers the 1005HA-B for $299 (plus tax). It features the N270 (1.6GHz 533FSB) cpu, glossy display, 3-Cell 23Wh Li-ion Battery (4 hrs), and a 1.3MP webcam. Excluded are the Bluetooth module, 10GB online Eee storage, and netbook sleeve. This is obviously the “Basic” model. I was able to demo this unit at Best Buy on June 27th, and IMO you are giving up quite a bit for the ~$60 savings over the ‘P’ model. Not to mention that as of now Asus will not sell you a spare 3 or 6-cell Li-Ion battery.

- The 1005HA-V is in the middle of the bunch and the only one with a matte display. Those that frequently work outdoors or despise reflections will appreciate the matted display. It also features a N270 cpu, 6-cell 48Wh Li-ion Battery (8.5 hrs), 0.3MP webcam (according to Amazon specs, but it may in fact be 1.3MP), no Bluetooth, and absent again is the netbook sleeve.

- So in a nutshell (or would that be seashell?) the 1005HA-P offers the faster N280 cpu, glossy display, 1.3MP webcam, 6-Cell 63Wh Li-ion Battery with a whopping 10.5 hrs run time, Bluetooth v2.1, and a black netbook sleeve. Realistic battery numbers are between 8.5-9hrs. of battery life if you’re using wifi & doing email/word processing/YouTube/web surfing.

The glossy LED display offers excellent color and contrast when used indoors. I was also pleasantly surprised with the excellent horizontal viewing angles. Keep in mind that once you get in a room full of light or step outdoors screen reflections could become annoying. I’ve used mine outside on a sunny day, and the screen is still very much legible. In fact it was much more detailed than the matte screen on my Dell D600.

All three units come with the Digital Array Mic which consists of two powerful microphones. Ambient background noises are eliminated, as well as reduced echoes for clearer voice recording. What’s more, with only direct sound (within 60°) recorded, you’ll obtain better voice capture. I’ve tested the mic with Skype, and it’s loud and clear once you fine tune using the Realtek HD Audio manager. All models also include a WiFi 802.11 b/g/n adapter and 160GB 5400RPM hard drive. My 1005HA-P contains a Hitachi HTS543216L9SA00 hard drive and Atheros AR9285 wifi card. Atheros chipsets are known for excellent range and are typically less prone to connection drops. I’d like to point out that the AR9285 is only capable of 150Mbps.

All three variations of the 1005HA ship with 1GB DDR2 800MHz memory. The good news is that you can remove the memory door on the bottom of the chassis and swap it out for a 2GB DDR2 200-pin SODIMM in under 2 minutes. Anytime you install new memory I’d recommend running a Prime95 “Blend” torture test for 12-24 hrs to make sure your system is stable. The Eee Super Hybrid Engine utility lets users overclock or underclock their Eee PC’s to boost performance or provide better battery life depending on their immediate requirements. In Super Performance mode CPU-Z shows the bus speed to increase up to 169.9MHz which translates into roughly 1.7GHz. One way to quickly change modes is to press Fn + spacebar.

One word of advice is to be really careful about which anti-malware software you install since it will degrade performance both on and off the internet on these netbooks. Whatever you elect to install I would highly recommend you benchmark the performance both before and after. In regards to free anti-viruses that run light I would tip my hat to Antivir (nag screen can be disabled by searching Google) and Panda Cloud. For pay versions Norton 2010 & NOD32 should be considered.

One minor annoyance is that the display will not tilt back as far as some people may like. The glossy chassis is also a fingerprint magnet. A few other things I’d like to point out is that you must push the micro-sized right angle end of the ac adapter until it snaps in place or the battery may not charge. In addition the ac adapter does get quite hot while it is actively charging the battery, which Asus clearly mentions in the user manual, so one should not be alarmed over the heat output. The final quirk is that the hard drive is split into two 80GB (before formatting) partitions. Fortunately this can be resolved by using Easeus Partition Master Home which is a free utility.

Overall I am extremely satisfied with the 1005HA-P, and it is arguably the finest 10″ netbook on the market. Keep in mind that if you want a White or Pink shell you’ll be limited to the ‘B’ or ‘V’ models. Asus has already released the two aforementioned colors in Europe & Asia, so hopefully by the end of 2009 we’ll get them as an option on the ‘P’ model. Be sure to check out the Amazon community forum for this product located towards the bottom of this page if you require additional enlightenment. You’ll find a lot of tips, tricks, and general FAQ’s.

For more information on this product visit Amazon.com

eMachines EL1331-03 Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)

I searched long and hard for a Windows 7 Desktop under $300. This is pretty much the only one out there and it’s a bargain. I was not expecting much since it’s an eMachines budget desktop, but I have been pleasantly surprised in the 2 weeks I’ve owned it.

It can be had for well under $300 from the yellow big-box electronics store that some feel is the ‘best’ place to ‘buy’ things. I got mine for just under $280 plus tax, but it’s since dropped to $250. Their model (called the EL1331-05) is the same as Amazon’s EL1331-03 but has 3GB RAM instead of 2GB. It might be a Christmas seasonal item over there, but I would check it out and do a quick search if you’re considering this model, since theirs has extra RAM and a potentially lower price.

This is a very basic computer these days, and I got it for my parents. Because of all-around good design choices, this machine is very capable, but I would not try gaming or video-editing. Everything else runs great. Nice large HDD for iTunes and photos. DVD and CD burner is nice to have. Only comes with a MS Office Trial, so you’ll either need to buy it or just use OpenOffice.

Also, this came with NO BLOATWARE! I was SO suprised! That NEVER happens on budget PCs! This unit was, for the most part, totally ready to go as soon as I turned it on.

Tons of USB ports, but no HDMI or WiFi card because this is a basic computer. I did not need those things anyways.

The case is smallish, stylish and the fan is pretty quiet — good design choices again here. The unit looks and feels much more expensive than it actually is. Keyboard is of good quality, but I would recommend buying a different mouse….it comes with a cheapo ball mouse. A nicer USB/Laser mouse can be had for $10-15 or less. Also, make sure you have a pack of blank DVDs on hand to make a backup of the PC when you get it (it does not come with backup discs, you burn them off the hard drive)

Windows 7 is great, and this is probably the best thing about this unit. MS really got it right this time, finally fixing the mess that is Vista. W7 is smooth, intuitive, and user-friendly with the familiarity of XP and Vista that everyone is used to. This desktop comes with the 64-bit version so the graphics are sharp and the experience is similar to a Mac (seriously though!)

This is a solid choice for a budget PC. I would think it would be great for a second computer, kids room, older people, or something like that. Nothing fundamentally wrong with this PC, it just lacks some of the higher end features power users might want. That being said, it’s just fine for what most people need to do with computing.

As a side note, Acer/eMachines has some of the worst tech support in the PC market, so if you have problems out of the box, just return it and get another one. No sense in wasting your time with people in India who do not understand you and who you don’t understand.

For more information on this product visit Amazon.com

Acer AspireRevo AR1600-U910H Black/White Desktop PC (Windows XP Home)

I bought this machine because the reviews said it was nice and quiet. We run a small business out the home and have a VOIP PBX system that I prefer to keep on a separate machine and like to keep noise at a minimum. I did not expect much from this little guy but was pleased at how well it preformed. I have since placed it in the home theater as a media center PC and it is doing double duty as the VOIP PBX. It doesn’t skip a beat.

I did fresh Windows 7 install… Believe what you hear about removing the crap-ware that comes with the machine if you decide to use XP that comes with it. I also added an extra 1GB of ram to bring it up to 2GB. If you load Windows 7 be sure to get the updated drivers directly from the Nvidia site.

I am not sure how long this will last, but at this price point it is hard to go wrong.

For more information on this product visit Amazon.com