A number of Acer Aspire One articles came to my attention last week that I have only just got round to reviewing. The first article from PC Professionale includes a video showing the internals of the Aspire One. There are a couple of important points to note (that come from a translation by Blogeee.net) which are the SIM card reader and easy-to-access 3G slot module slot. The 3G module slot definitely raises the interest level for me.
The second article is a fairly detailed in-depth review from Laptop Magazine who appear to be impressed.
- Keyboard big enough for comfortable touch typing. Bigger keyboard than Eee PC 900.
- Good low-light web cam. A web-cam that doesn’t work in low-light situations is quite often, useless for most people so it’s good to see this.
- Two SD cards slots. One adds memory to system storage in a seamless way. A great idea.
- ‘One of the thinnest and lightest we’ve tested.’ For Ultra-Mobile folks, this is important.
The Aspire One is not only the favorite on the Portal here but it’s fast becoming my favorite netbook too. The design looks good, size and weight are more ultramobile than most netbooks and the Linpus Lite build is getting very good feedback.
Finally, if you’re thinking about the Aspire One and want a final thumbs-up, check out this fairly simple overview video from ShinyMedia. Its all thumbs up from them!
What I really would like to see is a comparison between the SDD and the HDD versions (heat, weight , battery etc.). Has someone tested both and could give some feedback? And does someone know what is the memory limit? 1.5 GB? If so, I think I’m getting the One with SDD, 512 MB and, of course, Linux, than I upgrade the memory later with another 1GB unit.
“The design looks good, size and weight are more ultramobile than most netbooks”
hold on there a moment, i was comparing sizes between the eeepc, wind, netbook and aspire, and i came to the conclusion that the aspire was actually pretty portly given its 8.9″ screen, it wasn’t much smaller than the 10″ wind, and a lot bigger than the eeepc.
what gives?
hey chippy i was thinking since this linux version was going to hit the market first, could xp be installed on it, please respond
Yes, I just got my Aspire One and installed XP. Works great! Even runs games that require 3D acceleration. And i paid 380 bucks for it (tax in).
This one and MSI Wind is the best ones in the market right now or will be released soon.
Looks like MSI Wind has better design and cooling, and it does have bigger screen and of course keyboard should be bigger too.
Aspire One, has two slots for memory cards and this one could have WiMAX and 3G, but not both… :(
Has it been verified yet whether there’s a slot for a RAM stick? Early on I had heard it would be expandable, but based on that Italian disassembly video where they found the soldered-on memory, some rumors are circulating that it will be fixed. (I don’t think they bothered to look at the underside of the mainboard, though.) So far I haven’t found anything definitive.
up till now this is by far the device most suited for my needs
unfortunately i read somewhere it will have a glossy acer crystalbrite display making it useless outside and under any other bright source of light
i hope it’s a nasty rumour as i haven’t seen any photos of such displays, but that could be due to preproduction and demonstration models
does anyone know anything more specific? i really love the one and it’d be a shame if they ruined it with a glossy display
this sounds more and more interesting as the news ticks in :D
3G module GMT380 (HSUPA) with receiver diversity on 2100 Mhz (Europe) and Gobi 3G module (= combi EVDO/HSPA) for the US:
http://www.ncix.com/products/productdetail2.php?sku=30747
I think I still would prefer Vodafone USB 3G modem.
Wait, this one does not even have BT? Ajajai…
hmm, true. i forgot about that…
but then i ponder picking up one of those minature usb bluetooth dongles.
Does this include bluetooth??
No, you will have to buy external one.
well, a tiny usb bluetooth adapter like this:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3399853&Sku=H231-5012&SRCCODE=PRICEGRABBER&CMP=OTC-PRICEGRABBER
http://www.directron.com/bta3210.html
seems to be negligble (sticking out very little from the computer) but it adds $30 to the cost.
So I bought one today from the Canada Computers in downtown Toronto. I’ve opened mine up too. People have been commenting about the ram. The ram on the top of the mother board is soldered directly and is non removable. However, it comes with an empty SODIMM slot on the bottom the MOBO which supports an additional 512MB or 1GB of ram. It is a pain in the neck to install, but I’ve done it and it works, and I’m now running with 1.5GB of ram.
Just a couple of tips if you want to try yourself:
1) Involves connecting/disconnecting tiny fragile parts. Also not much room for fingers to avoid electrostatic things. Only proceed if you are competent/have $400 to burn.
2) The very first step is to take the keyboard off. There are three clips at the top to start with. No screws. Lift the ribbon connector flap on the MOBO to deconnect it.
3) Next unscrew all visible screws. There are two hidden screws under the rear rubber pads on the bottom. Finding these caused me some grief. In total, 8 on the bottom, and a bunch under the keyboard.
4) Unconnect the touch pad ribbon. It is small.
5) Lift the top off. There are a few clips. Lift from the front towards the back. The Fancy cylinder things on the sides near the screen hinges are completely decoratory, which also caused me some grief.
6) Unscrew the MOBO, unplug the speaker cord from the MOBO. Unplug the ribbon on the right. I think it goes to a flash controller board. Also, the power connector is attached to the bottom of the MOBO; unplug it (its on the lower right).
7) Lift the MOBO right to left. You will see the SODIMM slot on the bottom. Pop ‘er in.
8) Good luck remembering where all the screws went. Remember the MOBO has a tab top left that needs to go back in first.
I had a look at the Aspire One the other day and the orange fake hinges totally put me off. Enough in fact to google today for “Aspire One hinge design” and to find out that even reputable review sites weren’t able to use their eyes and see that the actual hinges are farther in and the orange things are not only pure decor but even worse: if Acer would’ve put the actual hinges where the faked ones are, there would have been about one inch more width available for the battery (which is pathetic enough to begin with) without making the device any larger.
Maybe I’m getting old or whatever, but I’ve got nothing but contempt for such a design.
I like the orange hinges it gives it a nice look. I don’t have problem with it at all. It actually brightens it up a bit so that is not all just black and blue. It matches the orange power light. It’s neat.
Yeah, they *look* good but they aren’t hinges. They are just complicated pieces of colored plastic with no function at all. Decoration. The actual hinges are further in and nothing than quite poor curved strips of black plastic. If you like to be lied to as long as the lies are nice and colorful: Well, you’ll be happy with this thing.
But *design* this is not. It’s decoration. Quite a different thing.
You’re insane.
To Get a Bluetooth USB dongle working on the Linux version you need some drivers and kernel modules:
http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=789
The model looks good.Does this have bluetooth and GPRS?
Does this unit include built-in wireless? If so, it is “g” or “draft-n”?