Acer’s Aspire One first look: too “budget” for a low-budget netbook?

AceraspireoneCisco Cheng got some playtime with the new $399 Acer Aspire netbook, er mini-notebook, uh… sub-note. Right. Call it what you want, but you can’t call it expensive when compared to others in this class. The lower price means potential for less features, but I’d more aptly say they’re "watered down". You’ll only get 512 MB of RAM and 8 GB of SSD flash storage for the Linux OS and your data, which might be helping keep the price down. The smallish, 24W/hr battery is another eyebrow raiser. One feature I really like is the Smart File Manager. Using one of the two memory card slots, this feature "merges" the SSD storage with any SD storage you have, making the space look like a single drive. Nice to see, and something other small notebook manufacturers should look into.

Cisco says that an XP-model is expected in August for only $20 more, so if you’re interested in the Aspire and don’t have a spare XP license, you might want to wait. He’ll have a more detailed review in the near future and I’m interested in reading his final thoughts. My first take is that Acer cut a few too many corners to keep the price down. In a market where the pricing is relatively close, you need to differentiate your device by features. Maybe it’s too soon to say and I’ll change my mind if I get a look at one for any extended time.

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