A lot in a compact package

Background
I have been using laptops for nine years.  I love the fact that I have all I need in one package and that I can take it anywhere.  In fact, when I was younger, I fantasized about being able to fit all my possessions in my car (I have since smartened up...that or I want more things now).  My last laptop was an HP, and after a horrible 4.5 months (see http://truparad0x.blogspot.com/search/label/hp%20stinks for more) to repair an issue, I decided it was time for a new computer.

Now, when you're without a system for 4.5 months, you have quite a bit of time to contemplate what you really need versus what you want.  In the end, I realized that I really only need a computer for my surfing needs, my video viewing, picture storage, music storage, and some documents.  I barely used any high-power applications.  I barely played games anymore.  I'm a pretty casual PC user at home, and at work they provide a PC for me.  So with all this in mind, it only made sense for me to get a system that was as portable as possible without being uncomfortable.


The Options
My HP was a 14.1" machine.  Being a bit of an intermediate PC user, I knew that 15.4" was the standard, and any deviation up or down in size resulted in an increase in price.  When I purchased my 14.1" laptop, I had considered the 12.1" HP, but decided against it because it would set me back $1,050.  14.1" was pretty portable enough for me.  Until you load it into a backpack and carry the pack.  Five and a half pounds, it seems, was still quite heavy.  With this experience coupled with the hoopla of the netbooks, I began to seriously consider this new phenomenon in ultraportables.

As with anybody looking at netbooks, the first one I looked at was the ASUS EeePC 8.9".  A quick tryout on the demo at Best Buy proved that the keyboard was waaaaay too small.  From there, I did my research on the EeePC 1000H, the HP 2133, the Dell Mini 9, the MSI Wind, the Lenovo S10, and of course, the Acer Aspire One.  I ruled out many machines depending on whether or not it had a HDD (SSD's were pretty small in size).  I also required a netbook that can read xD cards as my Olympus digital camera only uses xD cards (pretty inconvenient).  And with my poor experience with an HP running AMD and lasting only 1.5 hours, battery life was very important to me.  I wanted at least 3 hours.  All this pointed to the Acer Aspire One.


Construction/Appearance
The Acer Aspire One (AAO), is actually quite an attractive netbook.  It comes in a few colors, yes.  But the design is pretty sleek and pretty cool.  It doesn't look cheap, and the little touch of orange at the hinge area adds to the charm.  I suppose the only thing bad about it is the glossiness of the top and the wrist area.  Fingerprints and oil marks are very noticeable.

Construction feel very solid.  Very little flex.  Keyboard barely gives at all.  The AAO feels much more durable that any laptop HP makes.  Lid does not have any locking latches, but my HP didn't either.  Instead it relies on friction of the hinges to hold it close.  With the screen at 8.9" (in a 10" case), the lid isn't heavy at all, so I feel pretty confident the hinge will hold for a bit.  As some reviewers have already noted, the bigger 6-cell battery of this model actually props up the screen as well, so if the hinge does eventuall loosen, it won't fall back onto nothing.


Ports
The AAO has its fair share of ports.  On the left side, we have the power adapter port, a VGA out, an ethernet port, a USB, and an SD slot.  This SD slot was intended to increase the system's storage, especially on the SSD model.  The 6-cell model I have has a 160GB HDD, so I doubt I'll be using that.  On the right side, we have the mic jack, the headphone jack, two more USB ports, a memory card reader (yes, with xD capability), and a lock slot.  On the bottom, there's supposed to be a cover you can remove to plug in a wireless modem.  I've never opened this to confirm; it was what I read somewhere.  The AAO does not have a modem nor does it have any express card slots.


Performance
I bought the AAO, knowing that the Intel Atom processor won't match anything offered in a laptop.  I was prepared for that.  But for my usage, I figured the Atom would suffice.  And with 1GB of RAM (expandable to 1.5GB if you're brave enough to open up the AAO completely), Windows XP runs fine.  I've been using my AAO for awhile, and even though it's not as fast as a laptop, the performance is fine.  In fact, it feels almost like my old PC at work.  I have no problem running multiple tabs in Firefox or IE while running Winamp.  I have RealPlayer installed as well.  There are times when the system lags a bit, but nothing where it frustrates you.

Wireless network card works well.  I haven't had the problems many write about.  No dropped connections, even coming back from standby.  It does seem just a bit slower than a laptop, but I'm not quite sure if it's the wireless or the Atom processor.

Speakers are pretty tinny and weak.  But what can you expect from such a small package?  I hope to get some nice speakers for when I play music at home.

Screen size is small, but nothing too crazy.  The bezel on the sides are pretty big - 1 inch on each side.  I suppose they could've extended width of the casing and made the screen a 10" one, but I'm fine with it.  You definitely have to get used to scrolling as the height of the screen is pretty small.  There is a webcam at the top bezel.  I have yet to put this to use.

Trackpad is pretty small, but it is multitouch!  Made by Synaptics, you can use two finger gestures to zoom in and out.  You can also scroll via the traditional method of the right and bottom areas of the pad, or you can use the Synaptic method which is pretty similar to iPod scrolling.  Buttons are on either side of the pad instead of underneath, but I usually use two hands anyway with the trackpads, so this doesn't bother me.  Only thing is that the buttons are pretty hard to press.

There is a button for the power, but there are no other buttons to control volume or media options.  Everything from volume to brightness to sleep is controlled via a FN function.  Not a bother to me.  HP had this touch-sensitive crap that drove me insane.  Keyboard is pretty decent.  Typing on it was pretty much natural to me.  You definitely notice it's smaller, but not like the EeePC 8.9".


Conclusion
Overall, the AAO meets all my needs.  Yes, I would like an optical drive, just in case.  I would like bluetooth, just in case.  I would like a broadband wireless modem, just in case.  But this is a netbook, and I don't need all that.  For $399, I got a very portable machine with 5.5 hours battery life.  I can easily take this 2.5lb machine with me anywhere and know I have more capability than an iPhone.  I can access my documents, my photos, my music, even my online apps easily.

I have all I need.