A fifth desktop page covers the basic settings, including a Live Update feature which, judging from the number of downloads that came down the 'pike during our time with the AA1, means that Acer is committed to keeping the device supported with new patches and, hopefully, drivers.
Plenty of Settings, but the One's customisation options are limited
Click for full-size image
Other bundled applications include Firefox 2, OpenOffice 2.3 and a bespoke IM client that proved hopeless for the first ten days of our test – it simply wouldn't log into our MSN account. The webcam initially had a mind of its own, but a downloaded patch brought it to heel and it now supports full and reliable video and sound communication with MSN, Yahoo, GoogleTalk and AIM. It even delivers MSN messages sent to you when off line, something we wish our usual IM client, Pidgin, did.
The bundled Media playback is MPlayer so a quick download of VLC will be in order as it does more – it supports DivX, for starters - and does it better.
The basic three-cell 2200mAh battery is frankly pathetic. In day-to-day use, the best we got was between two and two-and-a-half hours of usage, depending on the draw from the Wi-Fi radio. Playing a 576 x 240, 25f/s .AVI video at full screen with the volume set to 50 per cent, the AA1 ran for a far-from-spectacular 106 minutes - all of The Incredibles but for the end credits.
Battery Test Results
Time in minutes
Longer bars are better
COMMENTS
Re: A few points
"-- The HP 2133 has this thing beaten on all fronts, even comes with a 'standard' Linux: SuSE."
Yeah, except for the fact the 2133 is slow as hell, runs as hot as hell and has a similar battery life! Check your facts before posting please.
Integrated storage slot
@ W
The integrated storage SD slot (accepts SDHC) is used by the file system as it gets mounted into your home directory, which is itself in the /mnt directory. It's a *nix thing that M$ pinched in Win 2000 btw.
I bought the 150 L last week and I'm using it for nearly everything although you will definitely want to change the default twit-proof interface to something more flexible - acerguy will tell you how.
The 120GB holds my MP3 collection (60gb) and still has space for a few movies for the kids although you really want a power socket for movies.
For the record, everyone who has seen this has asked if it is a "real" pc, they are quite surprised when I tell them that it is.
Will buy an aftermarket battery when they come down in price, unless I can source some good quality li-ion cells and build one myself.
Run on alkalines, not very green is it! Now a solar case lid, that would be funky.
J.
On sale at PC WOrld for £199
Just to let you know that PC World are now selling them at £199. If you can pick up the bigger battery, flog the old one, then it's not that bad a price. Linky here: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/705895#productInformationSection
Aspire One with extended battery available
For me the whole point about SCCs (or netbooks) is portability, quick boot up, long battery life and low cost. The Eee 901 almost got it right except for the price, hence why the version of the Aspire One that I bought included the 6 cell battery, 1Gb RAM, 8Gb SSD and Linpus Linux... and it's awesome.
Cost from FutureShop.ca in Canada was CAD$449. After taxes that still comes to only 250 in "real money". Boot time from cold to surfing is 30 seconds. I get between 5-6 hours of use with the 6 cell battery and that includes constant wireless and much video streaming usage. The keyboard is also remarkably usable and the extra "storage slot", as mentioned in the review, is very novel.
Side note: The supplied slip cover does not fit when the 6 cell battery is used, though apparently Acer are planning free replacements.
256 bits per pixel?
»Ermm, that'll be 2048x1366x256 = 716177408 (+ some header info, EXIF info etc) bits
Is that 256 bits per pixel?
Ermm, I rather thought that 24 (or 32 if you have an alpha channel) would be more usual.
