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Overall Rating

Excellent bargain, lovely machine, not perfect
I’ve only had my Acer AOD250 for a few days, so I can’t comment on longer-term reliability or issues. Qualifications:

- I’m running Windows 7 Starter and I’m strongly resisting paying for an upgrade.
- I’m still waiting for my 2 gig RAM to arrive (grumble).
- I haven’t purchased an external DVD drive yet.
- I am not a power user. Office, Acrobat, & a browser constitute about 90% of my program usage.
- It’s not always possible (at least for me) to distinguish between device issues and OS issues. They do work together, so I haven’t shied away from making comments that may relate as much to Win 7 SE as to the Aspire 1.

Pluses:
- Size & weight are perfect for me; not at all too heavy or large to carry with great ease, but big enough to work with comfortably.

- I love the keyboard; the smaller size is easy for me to type on and the feel of the keys is perfect.

- Start-up and shut-down are quick. (Oddly, my machine takes longer to start-up from hibernation than from just being off. Sleep is fast.)

- Nice-looking, IMO. Fingerprints aren’t too noticeable, and can easily be wiped off with a soft rag.

- Computer & power converter stay nice & cool.

- Very easy to connect to new networks. (I’ve connected to our locked home network, a locked coffeeshop network, and a library network so far.)

- I’m running Office 2010 Beta instead of the trial version of Office 2007 or MS Works. Even with 1 gb RAM, the Acer is not slowed at all by Office 2010, and I’ve had no problems at all. An aside: even though I’m not usually fond of learning new versions of software, I like Office 2010 very much & prefer it to Office 2007.

- You Tube, Netflix, & Hulu run just fine. The only online image issue that I’ve found so far is that Yahoo mail prefers a higher resolution screen. I went back to Yahoo Classic, which I prefer anyway. All of my photographs except one look fine (not ultra-sharp but quite good), and the one just has a re-sizing problem. The resolution on this netbook is not adequate for serious photo-editing, but it’s fine for an amateur like me to play with. It would also probably be useful for a photographer who just wants a place to dump, sort, & view a ton of photos without having to haul around a heavy, expensive laptop all of the time.

Cons:
- Comes with Win 7 SE instead of Home Premium. This issue has been flogged to death elsewhere.

- Though I’m getting used to the touchpad, it really is too small. I’m not sure why since there’s plenty of space to make it wider, but there you are. I find that I sometimes have to touch (jab) hard to get it to work. The scrolling is pretty poor to, IMHO.

- The button for clicking is quite stiff, at least on my machine. It’s difficult enough to use that it slows me down and is a psin. Hopefully I’ll get more comfortable with it, but it shouldn’t be this way.

- I’m getting about 2 hours of battery life surfing the web, using Word, and looking at pictures (not all apps at the same time). I’m considering a larger battery, but the weight is holding me back more than the cost. The 9-volt weighs as much as the machine!

- Speakers on the bottom, as funny as that might sound. Propping up the front a little bit helps, & the sound is decent via headphones.

- Doesn’t pick up low-signal networks as easily as my full-size Dell laptop.

- Bloatware, even on a little machine like this. I wish that MS & manufacturers could control themselves in that regard, but I suppose that they get paid a lot to include the wretched stuff. As another reviewer recommended, I’ve removed some programs, including the redundant anti-virus trials and the games (which IMHO suck anyway.) That helped the speed. I’ll probably remove Works and the Word 2007 trial as well. When I upgrade the RAM, this machine should work like lightening.

- External DVD drive required. When you set up, you’re prompted to make an optical copy of the original system. While I was able to back up Win 7 Starter etc to an external hard drive with no problem, the Acer files will only write to a DVD. (Actually, 2 DVD’s). No drive, no backup, no recourse if you need to do a clean install. Not nice. And yet Win 7 Starter won’t let you watch DVD’s, so unless you routinely burn DVD’s the money for the external DVD player may be wasted.

I plan to try VLC which seems to work for many reviewers. (The Win Media Player on my old laptop running Win XP doesn’t work, but VLC works perfectly so I’m optimistic.) I wouldn’t have purchased a player just to watch DVD’s though, as I can get all of the TV and movies that I want via the Internet.

- Lots of people have hissy fits over the inability to change the wallpaper or have a screensaver in Win 7 Starter so I’m listing this deficit, but for my part I could care less and anyway there are workarounds that are compatible with the Acer AOD250. I imported a large file of photos and had no problem running a slide show.

Conclusion:
Despite the drawbacks, this is one wonderful little machine and an incredible bargain to boot. I’ve seen other netbooks with apparently identical specs and lower ratings for significantly more money. I’m very happy with my Acer AOD 250 1695 and highly recommend it.