Acer Aspire One £199 netbook

[wmrcomputers]

UPDATE: -

Now purchased the Aspire One £239 version from Comet which has a SATA 120Gb HDD and 1Gb DDR2 RAM.
Loaded up with Vista Ultimate and working absolutely lovely!!!

Defo don't bother considering the 8Gb SSD version folks.

If anyone just wanting to run XP, PC world selling the 120Gb version with 512Mb RAM for £219.99

Got 2 say, love these things with the proper HDD fitted... just stay well clear of the slightly cheaper 8Gb SSD versions.

 

[wmrcomputers]

oh... PPS... the SSD version has a slightly different base plastic and therefore doesn't fit a standard 2.5" sata drive.
The best upgrade you can do on them is by fitting a 1.8" drive like those used in Ipods etc, must be 5mm thick (not 8), and have a ZIF connection. (Readily available for £30 a 30Gb one on eBay, 14days, Hongus Kongus!)

Toodle pip again

 

[tek-monkey]

My workmate has been watching these for a while, but not seen owt he wanted enough. So he just got a 13.3 Dell instead, cost £360+vat (although can get away with the vat), but got a dual 2.1 / 4Gb / 320Gb / seperate gfx so he's happy!

 

[wmrcomputers]

Fair play to him, £360 is alot of dollar though to some people, especially if they just want something for surfing and such like.
I'm using the above mentioned aspire one with Vista, and it's handling pretty much everything I throw at it so far... so for £230 i'm pleased as punch! (just realised i put £239 before by mistake)

Other tips for anyone considering....
* decent clear screen at 1024 x 600 resolution
* glossy screen - looks great as long as kids don't touch it
* blue version looks very smart
* built in webcam - not the best qual I've seen but it works
* built in wifi tested and runs all securities
* good price as you can buy with just linux and install xp / vista yourself and save dollar
* comes with a pvc leatherish look sleeve - no good for major protection but at least it's something to stop scratches!
* 8mb graphics so bear that in mind if you're into anything very demanding
* had to drop display down to 16bit instead of 32 bit to play movies smoothly, but no real noticable difference even when looking at pics. 32bit fine for everything else

if i think of anything else worth a mention i'll drop back into this thread

PS tek-monkey, ever noticed that dell do great deals on laptops for business, but then charge £60 delivery putting most prices higher than they are on public site?? BARMEY!!

 

[tek-monkey]

Yeah, spose he spent 50% more than the Aspire. Is a lot more powerful though, essentially a 13 inch desktop replacement. My main prob with these netbooks is they all use the same CPU, and I wanted something with a bit more beef. Watched them myself, then got the machine I'm typing this on instead (Vostro 1510). Needed the screen, got a 1440x900 as I use it round at the GFs so wanted a proper machine. Always seemed that for all the good the netbooks were, it wasn't that big an increase in cost to double the power, quadruple the RAM and get a better screen and a DVDRW. If the netbooks ever hit the £150 mark I'll get one, but otherwise I'll stay with full blown PCs.

If I still commuted on the train, it may be a different story though.

PS tek-monkey, ever noticed that dell do great deals on laptops for business, but then charge £60 delivery putting most prices higher than they are on public site?? BARMEY!!

Never pay full price, only ever use the outlet and only when its free shipping. Their shipping fee is absurd, refuse point blank to pay that. Is free delivery and £55 off (ex vat) on all desktops and laptops at the moment at the outlet, thats where I usually shop. My laptop was £380 inc for a 2GHz dual / 3Gb / 320Gb /256Mb GFX / WXGA+ so couldn't complain.

 

[wmrcomputers]

Fair play tek..... you cant grumble at that!

 

[db]

anyone still after a netbook, check this bad boy out:

HP Mini 2133 C7-M 1024MB 120GB Bluetooth 8.9"WXGA Linux

it's only a via cpu, but apart from that the spec's are pretty tidy! i love HP stuff - sold loads of it at my old place, and it's really well built and pretty well supported.. only £200!

 

[wmrcomputers]

Or £194.98 with free delivery at http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145008

It was £227.98on dabs when i looked at your link dirtybobby.

For under £200 at ebuyer though it cant be bad!!

 

[db]

Or £194.98 with free delivery at http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145008

It was £227.98on dabs when i looked at your link dirtybobby.

For under £200 at ebuyer though it cant be bad!!

weird.. well, when you're at the the dabs site, stick 53DDI8 in the quicklinx box at the top-right.. it's defo £200!

but yeah, if you can get it cheaper at ebuyer then knock yer sen out.. either way, it's a gorgeous looking little HP for a bargain price!

 

[wmrcomputers]

either way, it's a gorgeous looking little HP for a bargain price!

Sure is! I just wish i could try one out to see how the 1.2GhZ VIA processor performs compared to the 1.6GHz ATOM which is in the aspire one's.

I might reccomend one to a customer of mine who's ready to buy an aspire one.
At least then i can see what its made of. I'll report back here if i do

 

[db]

either way, it's a gorgeous looking little HP for a bargain price!

Sure is! I just wish i could try one out to see how the 1.2GhZ VIA processor performs compared to the 1.6GHz ATOM which is in the aspire one's.

I might reccomend one to a customer of mine who's ready to buy an aspire one.
At least then i can see what its made of. I'll report back here if i do

i'd much rather have a 1.2 in an HP than a 1.6 in an acer.. personal preference, obviously, but after working for an IT reseller for 3 years i wouldn't touch acer with a massive shitty stick..

 

[wmrcomputers]

I used to agree, but i'm now sat using my aspire one running vista ultimate, and so far I'm massively impressed (had it 6 or 7 weeks now)

Obv HP is still a better build overall though, I can't deny that.

 

[Wookie]

My work machine's an Acer, and it's beautiful now I've had the case off and stuck a bit more RAM in it.
Mrs Wookie's got an Acer and she swears by it.

i wouldn't touch acer with a massive shitty stick..

Why not?

 

[db]

My work machine's an Acer, and it's beautiful now I've had the case off and stuck a bit more RAM in it.
Mrs Wookie's got an Acer and she swears by it.

i wouldn't touch acer with a massive shitty stick..

Why not?

they are bascially the hardware equivalent of ntl.. their stuff looks nice, and is cheap as chips, and if you never suffer a problem then you can't fault them..

however, their stuff is prone to go wrong, and if so you're in for a world of pain.. all RMAs are sent to a european repair centre, and if you get it back within 6 weeks then you are doing well.. it's not unusual for stuff to get lost altogether..

 

[shoes]

Ha ha yup Acer stuff is shite, be it laptops, desktops, monitors, peripherals, whatever. Granted it costs less than a packet of crisps, but remember only a rich man can afford to buy cheap (my VAIO was still in perfect working order, without a hitch EVER on it's 3rd birthday. Sadly its demise came about shortly afterwards in a gravity related incident). The other problem with Acer is customer service. Well there isn't a problem with the customer service, there just isn't any.

Finally why would ANYONE buy an Acer when Dell laptops are the same price, in fact some of the Toshibas and HPs are so cheap now they are a feasible alternative to Acer. There is no reason to ever buy anything from Acer, its a bit like owning a Peugeot (Jeremy Clarkson November 2008 )


EDIT: My mother has an Aspire 5052 running Vista Home Basic. Wow, I remember 386's loading up Windows 3.11 in about half the time this POS takes to boot. Literally 9 minutes before you can do anything, whats the point? Granted its a low spec machine but if I were the product tester I'd have condemmed it as just too slow, clunky and bendy (yes the laptop bends!!) for public consumption. The casing looks nice though, which definitely increases productivity.

 

[My Name is URL]

Brand snobbery on this thread....

I have an Advent 4211 (MSI Wind clone) which I am sure most people would say the same as the Advent about.

Well the machine itself is great. The 1.2 processor in the HP has been roundly slated by reviewers and I wouldn't touch it if you paid me....

Does anyone who thinks Acer / Advent are cr*p currently owns one? It just seems that the two people who do own an Acer are both happy with it.

 

[db]

Brand snobbery on this thread....

I have an Advent 4211 (MSI Wind clone) which I am sure most people would say the same as the Advent about.

Well the machine itself is great. The 1.2 processor in the HP has been roundly slated by reviewers and I wouldn't touch it if you paid me....

Does anyone who thinks Acer / Advent are cr*p currently owns one? It just seems that the two people who do own an Acer are both happy with it.

it's nothing to do with brand snobbery.. as i have said, i spent 3 years selling acer products and had nothing but trouble with them.. my employer even took them to court at one point..

i also know several people who have nothing but bad things to say about their acer experiences (on this forum alone, BBC and G-Unit)..

i have no problem with advent, and their netbooks seem to come in for good reviews.. not sure why you assume people would equate them with acer.. acer are a massive vendor who make LCDs, laptops, desktops, netbooks, peripherals, etc.. advent are a little company who rebadge MSI products

 

[My Name is URL]

not sure why you assume people would equate them with acer.. acer are a massive vendor who make LCDs, laptops, desktops, netbooks, peripherals, etc.. advent are a little company who rebadge MSI products

They both begin with "a" of course

 

[db]

not sure why you assume people would equate them with acer.. acer are a massive vendor who make LCDs, laptops, desktops, netbooks, peripherals, etc.. advent are a little company who rebadge MSI products

They both begin with "a" of course

ah, good point.. like that other budget vendor, Apple

 

[shoes]

LOL!

My other half has an Acer aspire, and the fact that I am reasonably good with computers has saved her a fortune, the laptop is the biggest bag of crap in the world.

Again I agree with Bobby re: Advent, no problems there and I cannot see why you would link the companies. Its like linking Pepsi and Coke, both make similar products but one is far superior to the other

To be honest if and when I get another laptop it's going to be either a Dell as they're unbeatable value or a Vaio as I have had one before and can honestly say it is the best laptop device I have ever used (aside from mrs shoes ). Wouldn't mind an alienware machine but they're horrendously expensive.