As I was “moving in” to the Aspire One, I was quite impressed with the capability of the system. One of the first applications I installed was Daemon Tools so that I could mount ISO images of DVD’s and install applications directly from backup images of my software media. This worked like an absolute dream and I found that I could install things in the background as I copied large data files and made some notes in OpenOffice Writer all at the same time. The system maintained performance as I multitasked pretty hard.
I really like the keyboard a lot. There is very little that I need to adjust in my typing habits to be very effective. I can type full speed and find that I make very few errors due to all of the keys being in the proper locations (something that drove me crazy on the Classmate and would on any unit that moved the keys). The key travel on the keyboard is just right for the size. I would guess it is a little less than my Lenovo keyboard, but not by very much.
The screen is very bright. I can use it at far less than full brightness and even outside it was very readable. I have heard people complain about the glossy screens in the sunlight, but this worked very well. Sure, if I tried, I could focus my eyes differently and see myself in the reflection, but it was not a distraction to me at all and I found that the screen was not washed out like I thought it would be. I am surprised that there is no onscreen display that shows the brightness level when I adjust it.
The battery life is not outstanding, but I am very pleased to see that the power brick has an output of 19 volts. That means that I can use my batterygeek battery with it. This may save me from purchasing the 6 cell battery I was planning on, but I won’t know that for sure for a few days. I will run a few tests to see how long the battery will last for me. While I’m working it pretty including downloading applications via wireless, Windows thinks that the battery will last right around 2 hours on a full charge.
The only other issue for me is that the fan noise on the device is noticable. It is a bit louder than my T61, but significantly quieter than my desktop system. I have downloaded a small utility called AA1FanControl that completely shuts off the fan when the system is below a specifiied temperature. I will write a bit more about this application at a later date if I decide to keep it.
In all, I am very pleased with this purchase. The netbook is a very capable platform and I have already been using it more than I thought I might. I will post more at a later date about some of the specifics of the Aspire One – if there is something you’d like to know, shoot me an email or leave a comment.
Cool! I’ve never actually seen the Aspire One firsthand, and I can’t wait to check it out, compare it to the Eee PC, etc. It’s a very popular netbook right now, thanks to the price, and it sounds like it’s a quite capable little unit.
Bring it by some time this week! I’m drooling!
Please comment on day-to-day living with the vertical touchpad buttons – they don’t appear very comfortable to use.
The mouse buttons are both awkwardly placed and very stiff. The pad itself is good though. My “one” is abruptly shutting itself off after a few minutes.
300baud, you must have something wrong with your device because mine runs for hours at a time without any issues at all. Agreed that the buttons are awkwardly placed, but as I said in a different post, it was something I got used to very quickly.
Very nice! I bought one a couple weeks ago and love it so far.
My one shuts down after three minutes of use – I need to RMA it I think