Acer has made quite a mark internationally with its netbooks. The Acer Aspire One AOD250 is among the best selling models they have. It is meant for general use, is extremely portable and is a value for money netbook. This is as far as the specifications go. As for its notable specifications go, it comes with an Intel Atom N280 processor, an MS Windows XP Home operating system and a processor speed of 1.66 GHz. It has a widescreen of 10.1 inches, a RAM of 1GB and an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 card. All of this comes in a neat package weighing in at 2.7lbs.
The body of this netbook comes in ultra-glossy Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue, Diamond Black as well as Seashell White. As far as the thickness of the piece goes, it is pretty slim compared to other netbooks in its category measuring in at 10.2 inches wide by 8 inches long by 1 inch thick. In spite of having a 6-cell battery protruding an inch out the back, it still weighs less than most of its counterparts.
Acer did a fabulous job of making the best use of Android. This comes with dual booting and allows you to shift between Windows XP Home edition and Linux’s Android System. However, you will need to reboot each time you want to get into Android. Things are easier when you are using Windows XP, as a tool for Android configuration is present at the top of the screen. You can easily access mail, create POP up accounts as well as configure updates to take place continuously.
When in the Android window you will have Google Talk and the FireFox web browser, Webmail and Calendar to personalize any way you want. If you want to get back to Windows XP, the peel-off label you see right on top is your exit ticket. You will also find a virtual drawer that stores all the applications you would commonly need to customize your notebook.
Operating on the Acer Aspire One AOD250 is pretty simple. Should you become lost completely in an application, make friends with the escape and arrow keys. They will get you out. Setting up your mail accounts is simple enough. One thing you need to know is that attachments in emails have to be media files in order for your netbook to support them in Android. Similarly, you will not be able to browse through your USB port. Although you can receive Microsoft Office documents in Android, you will not be able to view them in Android.
Now moving on to the hardware, this netbooks seems to be lagging behind others in its category. It has hardly made any progress across versions and it has a resolution of only 1,024-by-600. Netbooks from companies like HP 5101 and Sony Vaio have 1,366-by-768 resolutions in the same category. Its keyboard is also statistically the smallest one around at 89% compared to other market versions of 92%. The touchpad and mouse buttons are really small in size making navigation a real issue. Comparatively, Toshiba NB205, HP 5101 and Asus 1000HE have far superior navigational options. The six-cell battery does work rather well giving you a backup length of around 6 hours, which is quite good for even the most dedicated of users. Toshiba and Dell Mini have succeeded in getting more out their batteries, however, the battery length offered with this laptop works just as adequately.
Despite taking the massive initiative of introducing Android into a dual boot netbook system, the Acer Aspire One AOD250 seriously requires some polishing in terms of getting it to a recognizable standard.