PC Magazine - 2009 04.pdf - Libertad Zero - Blog

Six-cell battery
sticks out from
the base
first looks HArDWArE
AceR AsPIRe One (10-Inch)
Acer’s Recession-Busting Netbook
By late last year, the Acer Aspire One had beaten
out ASUS’s combined offerings to become the topselling
netbook—or so market research firm Display-
Search concluded. The One reached this pinnacle
because of its low price—despite a smaller-thanaverage
(8.9-inch) screen and a pair of awkwardly
placed mouse buttons. This Aspire One is the longoverdue
update, and as its name implies, the screen
size has finally grown to the more-popular 10 inches.
Also, the mouse buttons have been relocated. It’s not
as well equipped as the ASUS EeePC 1000HE (see
page 9), but the price is still right.
Design isn’t one of the One’s strengths. It’s a bit
thicker, bigger, and heavier than most of its rivals (in
part owing to the six-cell battery sticking out an extra
inch), and its case is not as flashy as theirs. Although
the mouse buttons are better placed than in the previous
version, they are still tiny and difficult to press.
The One’s keyboard, at 89 percent of full size, hasn’t
yet caught up with those of its peers. Not much has
changed in the feature set: You get three USB ports,
VGA-out, an Ethernet port, a 1.3-megapixel webcam,
802.11g Wi-Fi, and a 4-in-1 card reader. The hard drive
has been bumped up to 160GB, however.
In performance, the Aspire One was on a par with
its competition, but battery life was mysteriously
impressive. Although its six-cell battery capacity (59
Wh) is less than that of the ASUS 1000HE (63 Wh),
the Aspire One somehow produced 8 hours 46 minutes
of battery life, compared with 6:36 for the ASUS.
If you don’t mind the keyboard and navigation issues,
and price is of the uppermost concern, the Aspire
One is worth a look. Otherwise, spend the extra $50
for our EC, the ASUS EeePC 1000HE.—Cisco Cheng
Specs: 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM;
160GB, 5,400-rpm hard drive; 128MB Intel Graphics
Media Accelerator 950; 10.1-inch, 1,024-by-600 display;
2.9 pounds (3.5 pounds travel); three USB ports; 59-Wh,
5.8-Ah lithium ion battery; Windows XP Home Edition.
PERFORMANCE TESTS
L High scores are best.
M Low scores are best.
Bold type denotes first place.
MoBiLeMark
2007 L
hr:min
SYSMark 2007
overaLL L
Acer Aspire One (10-inch) 8:46 n/a 4:34
ASUS EeePC 1000HE 6:36 35 4:24
Lenovo IdeaPad S10 2:27 39 4:38
MSI Wind 2:24 40 5:00
reD denotes editors’ choice. n/a—not applicable: The product could not complete the test, or the test was not compatible.
Acer Aspire One
(10-inch)
$350 street
L l l l m
PROS Phenomenal
battery life. six-cell
battery is standard with
the price. still the most
affordable netbook
around. Ten-inch widescreen
and mouse buttons
are consistent with
everyone else’s.
CONS Its 89 percent
keyboard has some
catching up to do.
Mouse buttons were difficult
to use.
Click here for more.
MULTiMeDia
WinDoWS MeDia
encoDer M min:sec
APRIL 2009 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 11