Acer Aspire One A110-Ab

- Update 25-2-09: RAM upgrade to 1.5 Gb - I have always planned to buy only if it would also be really portable portable computer. And I'm not rich, so the MacBook Air (or even the entry level of the Macbookjes) there is not any. The Acer One 110 Asprire exactly meets my desire for a very portable computer. Of course a cheap portable mobile PC is no powerhouse. As you can read below, this is mainly a question of the right balance. I have a spade BCC in Leeuwarden purchased. In the shop briefly played with it, I had read enough reviews in advance (such as this Canadian course above Papa Roach, and the GoT-topic , and thank you) to all be sure of my purchase. 235 euros paid for the last one they had in the house, the box had been. Equally open Tip a friend: check whether the model has not been by here for possibly long in the show (exposed on the shelf). dust and grit to explore. rubber feet This was in order. I was satisfied with the small discount for open box and full warranty. Pre-installed software After just charge right everything 'out of the box' working. The lightweight linux provides a fast boat (after 15 to 20 seconds you can get to work) and basically has everything on board. OpenOffice.org (version 2.3 preinstalled, a small 10 second load time for you to start typing) and Firefox (version 2 preinstalled, also with 5 to 10 seconds only). A mail program (Aspire one Mail 1.01.3014, but I just used me what to spartan), an IM appje (Messenger 1.01.3014, not yet used) audio and video player (Media Master 4.53, plays so far everything off) and a photo viewer (Photo Master 4:53, watch photos with slideshow function, nothing more). Regarding codecs for playing various audio and video formats, it will fix some missing, but I still try not to play that did not work. It at our house frequently used Uitzendingemist.nl is good run. And of course there are quite a few games (11 pieces, including dams, tetris and mahjong). Too bad that the games have all trial versions are. were Harder - Keyboard The keyboard almost full size (there is talk of keys 90 to 95% of normal size, but I have not remeasured) tap nice for disaster patience which is so small . There's enough for me 'travel' in the buttons and the layout is also in reasonable with what I'm used to. So ten finger touch typing was soon a fact, though I continue to make more errors on a laptop than on a "normal" keyboard. This keyboard gets me a 9 + for the right trade-off between size and ease of use. Note: This review is written entirely with this keyboard. - Mousepad This gets into a lot of reviews much to endure. I have a good hate mousepads, so many more collectors, I can not say about this. Of course, it's a very small area first, with side buttons. And vertical scrolling is in the field, not quite right, but just a little bit inside, without indication on the surface, making it even less fine used. For me, however, is not a problem because when a computer you hear a: to do as much as possible with the keyboard and b: if it is not otherwise your mouse to hold. So I'm glad that Acer has chosen to make (the keyboard bigger and hold) netbookje small while the mousepad has shrunk considerably. The few times I am forced to work through this area is to make do, but it works nicely without mugs. It is a shame that the standard mousepad is not capable of two-finger scrolling, which for example the EeePC (Linux ) or a standard option. For the AAO WinXP with a solution, this is for linux that I have not yet found (strange that this reviewer had it). - Battery Power comes from a 3-cell 2200mAH battery. By this I worked for a good two and a half hours, sometimes even more than three hours with light use. It is not enough to fill a train from Groningen to Maastricht, but before that, there are plenty of 6 and even 9-cell battery for sale. This also comes with me sometimes one of them, which I stick out and the weight of the larger battery than to take. the bargain (See here a picture of 3 vs. 6 cells.) But yet I can with the slight variation manage well, then the whole animal remains below the pounds (990gr). - Screen with a resolution of 1024 by 600 I can well from the feet. T.net and other sites to read at an adult width the same as I use on my desktop (where I turn 1600x1200). Only the height you more often to scroll. That scroll is quite a lot finer with an external mouse, although PgUp and PgDn too blind to find. The screen is bright, perhaps a little too. I'd like to put to do. Using the battery longer darker ( Update : namely, I have noticed that when I turn off my external screen, and thus the internal display, battery inene more than four hours of endurance.) The hard plastic layer on the screen reflects particularly bright light in the background a lot. So then the high brightness of the screen fine. Update : This indicates that a BIOS flash screen brightness, further lowering is. - Solid state disk The animal comes with an 8GB SSD. No moving parts so, what should be efficient and robust. The 8GB is not very spacious, but for me certainly spacious enough for a 2nd computer. The goté store I'll get it on my desktop. Though I have not had a lot of trouble of waiting on the netbook, I was a bit disappointed that in my BIOS designation SSDPAM0008G1EA found in the type of HD. There appear namely Acer two different SSD's to be used, and I have the slow, Intel. It saves about a factor of two in speed with the Samsung SSD (SSD P-1800). But all in all, the first experience with SSD is not unpleasant and does everything it needs to do. - RAM With 512MB you can manage well . After installing the GIMP (open source Photoshop equivalent) I can confirm that 'heavier' programs under linux modest in their footprint in the RAM. I'm struggling with more than 80% using the 512. For Linpus Linux and so what all is running, it is not necessary immediately, but 512MB seems reasonable to upgrade. For this, the entire unit must be disassembled underdone, but there seem to be no major pitfalls. For howto-videos See for example YouTube. I have here some that I looked linked. Update 25 Feb 09 : Did, after once having viewed some movies the animal unscrewed and 1Gb RAM added. Apart from a couple of screws that are hard loosened it was pretty easy. And the effect is indeed palpable. The system reacts a little more alert. Coming up even looking how the shutdown swap file , which would increase the life of the SSD. - WiFi Leading the unit is a slide that the WiFi on and off is. I can not say much about the spot. power savings when switched Wi-Fi, I'm wearing are pretty standard (and there are no others have read about it). Very occasionally, but I think that's more of a software glitch, the WiFi connection is not automatically established when the device Standby achieved. Then it's just on and off the WiFi with slide called the solution that provides relief within seconds. Moreover netbookje find it even more networks around than my desktop or my smartphone, so that's excellent. - Webcam The webcam, at the top of the screen, works nicely and has good picture in artificial light. A resolution of 0.3 Megapixel is of course often hilarious, but it's probably enough to Skype so. Saves bandwidth, is not it? Besides the cam is a pinprick, that's the microphone. No experience with it yet. - Connections and outputs Thick fine. Three gates USB (2.0), a VGA-out, an SD card reader (used by others to 16GB SDHC) and a multi card reader (which my xD card trouble reading). And of course, a LAN port (RJ-45 10/100Mbit), headphone and microphone jack and charger (3.4 m cord). Finally, a Kensington laptop lock can be hung on. - No Bluetooth, no 3G , I knew it in advance and had himself not need, but some will miss the Bluetooth and a slot for the SIM card. In particular, the first seems simple adding me a bluetooth tepeltje turn. into one of the USB ports For the latter it is tnkgrl already managed to build this into. Tis ff a hack, but then you have some. Incidentally, you have to install to make this work some software for bluetooth (have not found how and what, I'll post it as soon as I found this.) Software Tweaks - Firefox 3 I had quite soon need to install Firefox. 3 To do this, you can not simply uninstall FF2, because the operating system uses some elements of FF2. This is to be solved by only the parts that are not used to remove, but I had no need for, so for now they stand next to each other on the system. This manual explains how to FF3 install and the icon replaces the GUI the FF logo. - Advanced Mode screen in which you get when you boot provides quick access to key applications. But if you tweak it carries you click calls a menu on your desktop. with a judge This menu then gives direct access to a lot more functions, such as setting your mouse properties, the increase of your number of workspaces and such fun and useful things. Here is a little clearer explanation of how this works, as well as the explanation which I The GIMP installed. - External monitor at higher resolution Very nice, such a VGA-out, but .... Apparently not find Acer need to make it easy to make an external monitor at a different resolution than 1024x600 turning. That's nonsense, because I can not for nothing 1600x1200 on that thing. Fortunately, one Chris found a way to boost this. He has been an AAO remote control TFT with 1680x1050. Unfortunately I did not come further with his steps than 1024x768, but that's a lot better than 600. Update : Fixed! I turn my 1600x1200 using the method of Chris, supplemented by the terminal command xrandr-s 1600x1200 . Then, using the above mentioned advanced mode - this command in the command box pasted> add entry -> settings -> menu editor. And presto: a right click on my desktop and I have my high resolution without me having the terminal! Linux rocks! Besides, it also seems possible to use both the onboard display and the external side by side, thus making you have at your disposal two displays simultaneously. Read it here anymore. - Search window removed as you can see in the picture I have in the splash screen also removed the search window. I do not use it and it gives you a true cleanere look. Thanks to Jorge . - Still looking for ... So I stay a while to find a tweak that the brightness of the internal screen can scale back some more. Also completely free allocation of functions to my third mouse button would be nice (scroll wheel next scrolling even with the possibility of impressions and left-right). would be nice too. Two-finger scrolling on the mousepad under linux so I will still remain as read at the site of AspireOneUser.com and especially also the forum there. macles I continue to follow and the blogspot of Chris . Also one to keep an eye on the special linux distro that is built for the AAO, under the name Kuki . Based on Ubuntu (instead of the Fedora-based Linpus) one wants to make a full distro for about 400MB. I'm curious! Until then, I'll keep it a bit with this Linpus distro. Many others are agree with me that the OS is a fast, IIG to Kuki is there for this device can be. not top Perhaps I slipped the envelope still sometimes wonder to use the original xfce4 desktop eg here . Whether I use this hack to easily be able to switch between the two. Final Conclusion The Acer Aspire One has done a good throw. As for me (I have also played with the EeePC and MSI Wind watched and an HP netbook lousy) is one is successful in a competitive price to put down. quite useful netbook So light you'll forget you have it in your bag, so cheap that you forgot that you spent the money, and still be able to most things that you expected, just do well. The market that Asus' EeePC started, grew up with the Aspire One. This netbookje has more than lived up to its expectations. Sure there are some things I like better. But the balance between price and yield, weight and usability, this is a device that does exactly what I want.