After the Archos I guess the next step...

is an UMPC!!!!
Uhhhhh... a MID?!?!!!
Naaaaahhhh I'm a talking about a netbook son! :-p
So I went to the local Walmart and picked up an Acer Aspire One D250-1326 (white) just to test it out because... well ... I'm a dork!



Specification:

Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition (SP3 version)
Intel® Atom™ Processor N270 (512KB L2 cache, 1.60GHz, 533MHz FSB)
1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM
160GB hard drive
Multi-in-one card reader
10.1" WSVGA (1024 x 600) TFT display Acer® CrystalBrite Technology
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
802.11b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN
Webcam
Seashell white chassis
Three-cell battery
One-year limited warranty

So first things first, most of the netbooks out there HAVE THE SAME SPECIFICATIONS, so there's nothing new there... BUT, what really messes this unit up is the 3 cell battery! With a 3 cell battery, is not worth it having a netbook as it brings only 3 hours max. of usage! But we'll get to that...

What's included?

It's a pretty organized package and it consists of:

- Netbook
- AC Adapter
- Battery (3-cell)
- Instructions



And that's pretty much it!

Is it really small!?

It is definitely portable!
When I first picked it up I thought I was going to break the thing! ;-)
But no, it is small but sturdy. It doesn't feel cheap. The unit weighs less than 3 pounds and measures 10.2" (258.5mm) W x 7.2" (184.0mm) D x 1.0” (25.4) H. So I was happy seeing it in action. I took some shots against my Archos 7 and against a normal size laptop.















So... as seen by the pictures, yep, it is that small.

Performance:

If you are used to a desktop or a good laptop then you will miss them dearly! lol These netbooks are dogs compared to desktops/laptops. They are made frankly for internet browsing and non-CPU intensive stuff... maybe some Office work, listening to music and SD videos. I tested this machine opening some Powerpoint presentations, Word Documents, etc. I had saved and it performed really well. Internet browsing was a pleasure, installed Firefox and had like 7 tabs opened and performance was not suffering. Played some mp3 files I had while browsing, and again, all was good. For movies though, the Divx files I tested were Ok... I tried playing an MKV I had lying around my external hard drive (Pacquiao vs Hatton ;-)) and well... let's just say.. STICK WITH DIVX VIDEOS! ;-)

The keyboard and pad was not that bad but again, if you are used to normal size keyboards, you will struggle for a few hours... but after a bit I was writing stuff up as normal (writing this from there) and flowing.



This netbook recognized my network quite quickly. Inserted the password and I was downloading new antivirus software from the comfort of my bed! :-p Speeds were good transfering files also.

Basically what I'm getting at, this little unit is very usable! I haven't used it out but I have a feeling I will!... though... NOT THIS NETBOOK

The only thing that got to me was the 3 cell battery! If I'm going to have a netbook, I want one that will at least last half a day and not 2 or 3 hours. So, the best thing about Walmart, you can return the merch and ask for a refund! ;-)

I will look into getting the Toshiba Mini NB205-310. It looks good, keyboard is even bigger and their 6-cell battery lasts up to 8 hours!!!!!!! Now that is nice!

Anyway, that's all.
Just a quick overview for this netbook in particular.

Should I get a netbook?

Well, it depends on what you really want/need.
If you have a network at home and like to do things from different rooms whether it is working, browsing, etc. while you are in bed, taking a crap or whatever, then this is a really good SUPPLEMENT to any system you might have. It should do well outside too.

But remember... as a SUPPLEMENT to an existing system this is a-ok. As a main system... DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!!! Better spend a few more bucks and get a good all-around laptop. But for small work tasks, internet browsing, music and SD movies, these 10 inchers do their job!!!!!

Any comments, feel free to post!

Bye.