Acer AOD250-1197 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook
I will start out with two disclaimers.
1. I have no basis for comparison other than my Dell Dimension 2400 desktop from 2003, which I have 2GB of RAM installed with Windows XP SP3 and my 2006 Dell Inspiron 1200 from 2006 which I have 1.5GB of RAM installed with Windows XP SP3, just newly reinstalled on a newly formatted hard drive.
2. I have yet to use the ACER in the battery mode and I using it on a home AT&T home network with Ethernet connection and a rated 6MB download speed. I have the ACER networked to my Desktop and Laptop. I am able to use the network printer and move files among the 3 computers. I have had some problems maintaining a consistent open network link with my 1 TB USB drive on my desktop. I am not sure if this problem is related to Windows 7 starter edition default registry configuration, the USB drive, the Windows firewall or my setup.
Having said that this is my configuration on the ACER
1. Windows 7 Starter Edition
2. 1GB RAM
3. Loaded software includes:
A. Avast anti-virus 5.X
B. Spybot 1.62 with Tea Timer running
C. Registry Mechanic 9.0 with with Registry Monitor running
D. Perfect Disk 10 running in Stealth Mode
E. MRU Blaster loaded
F. Realtek Audio enhanced driver
G. ACER Power Management
H. Advanced System Care 3.4.2 Smart RAM management.
I. Firefox 3.6 RC2 with 18 Addons
With up to five tabs open available unused physical RAM is about is around 500MB. It dips lower with AVAST does an automatic database update. There is no problem opening up multiple copies of Windows Explorer and or Thunderbird along with the above. Firefox loads within 10 checks or so having to go through the AVAST file security check. Bookmarks load between 3 - 10 or so seconds depending on how many Java scripts are on the page and need to be checked by the Firefox Noscript Addon.
Even though it is only the starter Edition of Windows 7 it is a major user friendly upgrade from Windows XP. Yes Windows 7 starter edition has limitations but none that I have I have found that negatively affe3ct the basic functionality of the ACER other than maybe the networking.
The keyboard is small but I have small hands so that is not a problem especially since the keys are firm and responsive. I do not use the touchpad as I have never grown comfortable with them. I have a USB mouse attached and it works great. The screen is fine though I find that it is more user friendly to Internet Explorer 8, which I detest, than it is to Firefox 3.6 which I love. However since the netbook is small I can live with a screen that gives full size characters but limits the number of rows visible at one time in Firefox. I do run Firefox with 3 toolbars open at the top so that does take up a bit of space at the top of the screen. It would be nice if you could reduce the size of the Windows taskbar at the bottom, which is a Windows 7 Starter Edition limitation, but I can live with that.
With the Realtek driver from the ACER website3 about 58M installed the audio is more than loud enough both from the speakers and earphones. In fact at the maximum sound level setting the sound from the earphones is too loud. The quality of course is what is and will not please audiophiles but is just fine for the average joe/jane.
I purchased a CD read only drive, for about $18 from Amazon and have played videos from it and directly from the ACER hard drive, which I partitioned into a C and D drive using Easeus Partition Manager 4.1, and the videos play very nicely except for color shading issues. However that could be do to the video software or possibly the video itself though that needs more looking into. However for the price and it being a Netbook it is just fine.
I have also purchased an external USB hard drive and will be getting it in another week or so. Hopefully it will work okay.
Once I have the USB hard drive and have set up it I will be taking the ACER out to play. At that time the battery life, screen visibility while running on the battery and outside will be tested. It takes about 14GB of memory to run a backup of the operating system, 2 user profiles etc. The external USB hard drive is the most convenient and cheapest way to back up your computer especially if you don't like to have a lot of CDs lying around with nothing by backups on them.
One final note. I purchased a duplicate mouse, headphones and AC adpater/charger that I keep in carrying case for the ACER along with the CD drive which I have no need for at home. Finally I did purchase the ACER recovery disks just in case.
Not edited for typos.
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