The New Acer Aspire One is a netbook. Its basically a smaller, portable, and cheaper laptop optimized for doing internet stuff.  I bought one about a month ago to test it out.  And for the record, this is the future.  Here’s what I found….

First Impressions:

This thing is tiny!  I have big hands and this thing feels like a small book I had in the 5th grade.  I can palm this thing with ease and if I wore a bigger pant-size I could almost fit it in my back pocket.  I think I got DVD cases bigger that it.

Its really light.  Aden can scoop it up and go running with it without breaking stride.  And my almost 1 year old nephew has no trouble flipping it over.

The screen is super clear!  For a screen so small (8.9-inches) it does a really nice job of shrinking a screen full of information into its mini-version.  The screen is also very bright, it can light up my whole room at night almost as much as my 46-inch tv.

Its fast!  Intel really did good job on the Atom processor which powers the One.  They got the name down perfectly!  Its small and powerful. It can handle most stuff as fast or faster than my desktop.

Its asthetic. (see pretty as a girl) I saw the blue one in circuit city before buying the pearl white one for myself and I must say that both look like apple could have created them.

Its packed full of stuff.  In its small little case, its got a decent specs (which I’ll get to later), a built-in webcam, two SD card readers, almost full-sized keyboard, mini-trackpad, and wifi.

The Good:

Intel really knocked one out of the park with the their Atom processor.  Its really fast for the price and fits right in with the rest of this netbook.  Tech-wise it gets the job done even with the absence of a CD/DVD drive and after using it for a few weeks you wonder if you ever needed one in the first place.  You won’t be using the built-in webcam to hold any global net-conferences but it gets the job done.  Its as pretty as anything Apple’s come up with and if you slapped the Apple logo on it, you wouldn’t know the difference until you booted it up.

The Bad:

Not much to say here except unless you absoultely need a  CD/DVD drive.  And I guess you could bitch about the quality of the webcam but that would be nitpicking.

Conclusion:

Go get one!  As of this writing, they at only $349 at BestBuy.  However I recommend that you pop over to Amazon to get one because they probably have more.  Either way, go get it now and thank me later.  Here is what Acer says about the specs if your into that kinda thing:

A great choice for business travelers who like to travel light, this affordable ultra-lightweight Acer Aspire One (LU.S040B.110) weighs just over 2 pounds and is packed with a 120 GB hard drive and Windows XP operating system. It has a vibrant 8.9-inch CrystalBrite WSVGA LED backlit display, integrated webcam for easy video chatting, and Intel’s latest mobile processor–the Atom. Offering a cool seashell white hue, the netbook’s smooth surface is comfortable to touch, and it’s accented with distinctive details, such as the attractive orange hinge ring.

A great choice for light-packing business travlers, it comes with Windows XP Home, a 120 GB hard drive, and a 3-cell batter for up to 2.5 hours of battery life.

The integrated webcam at the top of the screen’s bezel provides easy access to video chatting.

Weighing just 2.17 pounds, the stylish Acer Aspire One goes anywhere with you.

Designed especially for mobile devices, the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor uses a brand new design structure new hafnium-infused circuitry–which reduces electrical current leakage in transistors–to conserve energy, giving you more time away from the wall outlet–up to 3 hours with the included 3-cell battery. Other features include 1 GB of installed RAM (1.5 GB maximum), 54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g), multi-format memory card reader, multiple USB ports, and built-in email, web browsing, and digital media applications.

It comes preinstalled with the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system, which offers more experienced users an enhanced and innovative experience that incorporates Windows Live features like Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Live Mail for consolidated email accounts on your desktop.

Processor
The Intel Atom processor uses a brand new design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and it uses just 2.5 watts of power–less than 1/10 of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor–for excellent battery management. This 1.6 GHz Atom N270 processor also includes a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for faster data transfer on demanding mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache (which temporarily stores data).

Storage
This version of the Aspire One comes with a 160 GB hard disk drive (5400 RPM), which offers enough to room to hold a digital audio library of over 26,000 songs and still have room left over for movies, games, and a large collection of software. This Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data–akin to Firewire and USB 2.0.

Memory
The 1 GB of installed RAM (512 MB onboard memory and one 512 MB DIMM, 533 MHz) can be expanded to a maximum of 1.5 GB of RAM,

DVD/CD Drive
Because of its size, the Aspire One does not come with an integrated optical drive, but optional CD/DVD read/write drives can be connected to the laptop via one of the three USB ports, enabling you to create your music mixes, burn movies to DVD, and more.

Connectivity
This Acer Aspire One notebook has an integrated 54g wireless LAN (Acer InviLink) that’s compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g networks and offers Acer’s SignalUp technology for enhanced antenna efficiency. This notbook provides the following connections:

• 3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals–from digital cameras to MP3 players
• Secure Digital (SD) card reader, also compatible with MultiMedia cards (MMCs)
• Multi-in-one card reader supports SD, MMC, Memory Stick/Memory Stick PRO, and XD Picture Cards
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack
• RJ-45 port for 10/100 Fast Ethernet connection
• 56K modem port (V.90)

Screen, Video and Audio
The 8.9-inch screen has a WSVGA resolution (1024 x 600) and support for up a 262K color depth. Video is powered by the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, which uses shared video memory with the main memory. Acer’s CrystalBrite display technology guarantees the best possible visual experience by preventing the diffusion of surrounding light and internal ray. Compared to normal TFT LCDs, Acer CrystalBrite technology is able to read color coordinates more accurately, thus minimizing distortion and creating high-fidelity colors in all environments.

This notebook includes an integrated audio card with Microsoft DirectSound compatibility, and it includes two stereo speakers.

What’s in the Box
This package contains the Acer Aspire One notebook PC (AOA150-1006; LU.S040B.110), rechargeable 3-cell lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a limited warranty for parts and labor for one year from date of purchase.

Product Description
Weighing in at just over 2 pounds, the Aspire one mobile Internet device is the ideal traveling companion that lets you take the Internet on the road without the heavy load. Good things come in small packages, just like the Acer Aspire one mobile Internet device providing ultra-portable performance to enjoy full Internet browsing, communicate with friends and family and enjoy a variety of entertainment in a small portable design that keeps you connected on-the-go. The Intel Atom Processor combines performance, power and efficiency to explore the Internet and stay connected while on the go. Enjoy reliable on-line access with 802.11b/g Wireless to explore the Internet and view photos or video clips and listen to music in a comfortable browsing environment on the Acer CrystalBrite display. Windows XP Home Edition lets you surf the Internet, edit documents and photos, read email, and enjoy the webcam to chat online with or take still photos smoothly and reliably right out-of-the-box at a great price. Store all of your digital albums, music libraries and documents on the high-speed 120GB hard drive. Sufficient storage that’s easy to upgrade, just pop in an external SD card. Whether you are a first time user or just want a second computing device to easily check e-mail and surf the Internet, the Aspire one was designed for simplicity with a intuitive desktop design, widescreen display and easy-typing keyboard. 8.9 diagonal WSVGA (1024 x 600) CrystalBrite TFT LCD Display Integrated Crystal Eye Webcam Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Built-in Stereo Speakers Acer InviLink 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN Multi-in-1 Card Reader SD, MMC, RS-MMC, MS, MS Pro, xD 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone/Speaker/Line-Out, Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 (LAN) Approximate Unit Dimensions – 9.8 (W) x 6.7 (D) x 1.14 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.19 Pounds