So you want to buy a small portable computer? Well we have laptops, notebooks, tablets and now netbooks.
Courtesy of the internet information bible Wikipedia we have copied and pasted, at great expense, this description “A netbook is a light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable laptop that achieves these parameters by offering fewer features, less processing power and reduced ability to run resource-intensive operating systems”. Is that clear? If so I’ll continue.
Following in the footsteps of it’s larger, more expensive relative the laptop, the netbook also has a large selection of models to choose from. Trying to take into account ALL of the above qualities that make a netbook different from a laptop we, the team here at Geek, have decided that our prestigious award for the best netbook goes to….. (drum roll)……the Acer Aspire One.
Ok… ok…. please remain calm! We know that the Aspire One has a weird mouse touchpad, a less than average battery performance and storage starts at a lousy 8 GB.
But let’s go back to that initial definition of the netbook.
Lightweight – at just under a kilo I’d say that’s light.
Low cost – the Acer Aspire One is amongst the cheapest netbooks on the market.
Energy efficient – averaging approx 3 hours for the standard battery is reasonable.
Highly portable – 9.8 x 6.7 x 1.14 is damn small.
It’s also a cute looking piece of kit with all the bits where there should be, it offers some flexibility for upgrades which should keep the geeks (like us) happy, and it’s worth mentioning that this base model comes with Linux which has an excellent following and fan base (for support, upgrades, software etc).
So all the above categories are met. What can it do? Courtesy of the built in 802.11b/g wireless it can surf the ‘net. With it’s card readers and usb ports the list of optional extras is only limited by your imagination, budget or size of local computer shop. A VGA port and audio jacks allow for hooking up to a larger monitor or audio system when not on the move, making it very flexible.
So, let’s hear a round of applause for the best netbook, the Acer Aspire One. Big things, do indeed, come in small packages.
