Question personal XP with this kind of thing..

[Ezteq]

please reply if you have actually used this (or something very similar) and let me know what you think

Acer A110 N270 1GB 16GB 8.9" Blue XP Netbook - Tesco.Direct

I am after a small laptop simply for word processing and net searches mainly for uni field work though I have the desktop for the bulk of the assignment writing this would be for bits and bobs and possibly watching a few programmes on iplayer (is it possible to DL and use i-viewers on the small laptops?). Also it would be ideal for when I travel and as a back-up system to access the uni VPN etc.

I want to know if they are any good, easy to use (what with being so small), what drawbacks there are, life expectancy...just a general review.

as you can see this one if from tesco and is not a bad price but if you know of anything better (and like I say i'm not after an all singing all dancing alienware thing, it's not for gaming at all, maybe watching a movie or something on DVD but thats about it) then please could you let me know?

many thanks
Ez
xxx

 

[Ch3tan]

you may be better asking in tech forums, have been quite a few threads about netbooks, and a few owners who may not post in the dark depths of OT.

The only thing that stopped me getting one is screen size, but the bigger screen versions are available now.

 

[Ezteq]

there are other forums???

 

[TdC]

Hi Ez. I have something similar to that, and I love it, but you have to realize that the performance will not be anything like a desktop or full size laptop. Eg it will be pretty slow.

That particular one will probably perform slightly better than mine due to it having a better CPU, but you shouldn't expect miracles. Things to note could conceivably be the ability to have more ram put in -ie going from 1 to 2gb, and the purchasability of an upgraded battery to extend the duration of usage. My HP can run for about 2 hours while being used, but I have to lug my charger about with me (which is huge) so that kind of defeats the purpose of having a very small laptop.

Also, a 9 inch screen is very...errr...small. Ideally I'd be more pleased with something like 11", but that ofc affects price.

 

[Cadelin]

I don't have one of those personally but I got one for my mum and I have a friend who has one.

The screen is small but they are really portable. How good are you with computers? You can save money and improve the performance a bit if you go for a laptop with Linux on it. However if you prefer the comfort of Windows XP then that runs fine.

 

[Huntingtons]

dont get acer. unreliable products. I got an Acer netbook (one of the older models) and i had an acer monitor. Both broke quite fast (monitor broke like 8 months after purchase and labtop broke after 3 months around exam time -.-)

 

[Influenza]

dont get acer. unreliable products. I got an Acer netbook (one of the older models) and i had an acer monitor. Both broke quite fast (monitor broke like 8 months after purchase and labtop broke after 3 months around exam time -.-)

I had a similar experience with my acer laptop , had 2 new keyboards in 6 months because the key mounts kept snapping and then after 11 months the screen failed. Wont ever buy anything from acer again personally.

 

[Raven]

there are other forums???

Techie Discussion - FreddysHouse

Very friendly people and its not likely to derail into mum/penis/gay jokes

 

[Nate]

I heard your mum has a penis and is gay with an Acer 110 N270 1GB 16GB 8.9" Blue XP Notebook!!!

 

[soze]

please reply if you have actually used this (or something very similar) and let me know what you think

Acer A110 N270 1GB 16GB 8.9" Blue XP Netbook - Tesco.Direct

I am after a small laptop simply for word processing and net searches mainly for uni field work though I have the desktop for the bulk of the assignment writing this would be for bits and bobs and possibly watching a few programmes on iplayer (is it possible to DL and use i-viewers on the small laptops?). Also it would be ideal for when I travel and as a back-up system to access the uni VPN etc.

I want to know if they are any good, easy to use (what with being so small), what drawbacks there are, life expectancy...just a general review.

as you can see this one if from tesco and is not a bad price but if you know of anything better (and like I say i'm not after an all singing all dancing alienware thing, it's not for gaming at all, maybe watching a movie or something on DVD but thats about it) then please could you let me know?

many thanks
Ez
xxx

I have that exact machine and its good i use it for Downloading the odd bit of web browsing and as a machine to take when im on the go.

Things i have found are its ok to write for a while but i would not want to type for a hour on the thing as the keyboard is smaller and slighly fiddly. I put XP on mine and it runs fine you can watch dvd rips on it comfortably in a hotel for example but the built in speakers are not much cop at all.

You can't watch a dvd as it has no drive but a avi file will run fine. As long as your expectations for it are right you will be pleased with the machine.

 

[Raven]

As for the brand my last monitor was Acer and had no problems at all for nearly two years (upgraded to a bigger Samsung) I gave it to a mate who is using it without any problems.

 

[Dudley52]

I've got an Acer laptop. Had it for about a year now, had no problems with it at all. So I have nothing but praise for Acer since their laptops seem quite a bit cheaper than their competitors.

 

[kirennia]

Have an acer laptop here too; the older models were apparently renown for bad keyboards/mice (I can attest to that having sent my first one back after just over 2 months) but the newer styles are MUCH more robust...

 

[fettoken]

Yikes, that is expensive for such a small laptop.

 

[GReaper]

Spend extra money and get a slightly better model if you can.

The SSD storage tends to be a bit too cheap, the current operating systems aren't really tweaked that well for running on flash storage - so maybe get a hard disk version.

Get something with more battery power! I think the 3 hour ones are a bit pathetic and cheap, because you end up getting 2-2.5 hours out of them - which isn't really that much if you really want to take it around with you without the power supply. Try for a 6 hour one, you won't have to worry about it running out of power as much.

Maybe get another model/brand of netbook if you ever intend on upgrading the memory. Upgrading the RAM on this generation of Aspire Ones involves taking the entire thing apart just to get at the slot. Apparently the 10 inch versions of the Aspire One coming out this/next month fix this, but you might not want to wait and other manufacturers models might have slightly better build quality.

Some extra £££ on your budget can really get you a much better model.

 

[Ezteq]

thanks for the info guys you are very helpful and informative people!

I'm not decided on the actual model yet and can't really spend a lot on it but there is this one for like a tenner more and it also looks good Dell Inspiron Mini 910 Atom N270 1GB 8GB, 8.9" Netbook - Tesco.Direct

What is the linux thing? i mean i know its an alternative to windows but i mean im not technical so would it be OK to use and transfer stuff from windows (i.e. my assignments etc) to it? because i saw one the same as the first option that was linux but was about £130.

oh and any recommendations on where to buy from? as you can see im looking at tesco but any better/cheaper ones would be appreciated because im poor.

 

[soze]

Linux is a different OS if you use firefox it will be the same for browsing the internet, it will probably have OpenOffice installed which will open most MS Office documents let you work on them and save them back to work on your main machine. If you just open the internet and MSN type application and do your work you would probably be fine with Linux.

For £250 you can get this one with XP on it and a 120gb hard drive. They seem to be close on price almost everywhere play.com had some good deals just after christmas depends how much you want the club card points i suppose.

 

[GReaper]

You should be able to get the Aspire One you mentioned earlier for £230 or so (in blue or brown for £5 less). If you can afford it, something like the new Samsung NC10 gives you so much more value for money, although it's around £310.

The Register's recent review gives you a nice list of battery times on page 4 and various other performance stuff on page 3.

The above review might help you a bit with which model to choose. If you just want something super basic then the Aspire One is cheap and can do the job. I love my little Aspire One but I wish I had something with a bit more power and a battery which lasts longer!

 

[Ezteq]

damn you greap!!! i can't fford £310...but now I think I might have to sell a kidney to try

that is a niice machine tbh, it made my tummy feel all funny.

 

[Ch3tan]

Yeah the samsung is the way to go, although you could get a "proper" laptop for that price too.

 

[Cadelin]

What is the linux thing? i mean i know its an alternative to windows but i mean im not technical so would it be OK to use and transfer stuff from windows (i.e. my assignments etc) to it? because i saw one the same as the first option that was linux but was about £130.

The most popular Linux operating system at the moment is called Ubuntu and it is what would come on your netbook if you decided against windows XP. There are lots of free bits of software that do exactly the same as what you can do on windows. Things like open office should do just about everything that windows office does. You don't have to be technical minded to use Linux these days but you mustn't be scared of computers either. It will take a little bit of getting used to (1 week or so) if you have only ever used a windows computer but its not hard.

The netbooks with Linux on will be slightly cheaper than the XP ones because Linux is free. If you have a CD writer you can actually try Ubuntu very easily. Just go to the site. Then download and burn the operating system to a CD. Once you have done that you can simply pop it into your computer and then run the operating system of the CD to have a look round. You don't have to install it over windows! It will run quite slowly as it is running from the CD but you can at least see what it would be like and if you wouldn't mind running it on the netbook.

 

[soze]

That sumsung seems to be £60 extra for 40gb more harddisk and a larger screen physical size not resolution? You could look at This bit cheaper similar specs but a 14 inch screen and a DVD drive?

 

[Dahakon]

I've got the Asus eeepc 1000, with a 40gig SSD drive, and it's own custom version of linux, based on Xandros. I use it a lot, and thing it's really good, the 1000 is a bit bigger, and has a bigger keyboard, but if you have small enough the fingers the 901 is just as good. The only trouble with the OS is that because it's so custom to the machine, it's a right pain the hack and edit how you like it, but other than that, it's good, once you've unlocked the proper desktop on it.

 

[Ezteq]

lol soze you just threw another spanner in the works there! gah and i thought it would be a simple decision, once again guys many thanks you have excelled yourselves here and i really appreciate it

milkybars are on me!
xxx