Acer AOD150 Netbook Review
Acer AOD150 Netbook Review – 6/7 Stars
The Acer Aspire One AOD150 is arguably the best low priced netbook (sub $350) available today. My Acer AOD150 review will focus on its strengths, who it suits, and the important things to keep in mind.
We’re still hammering out the whole review format so do let us know if you have feedback.
The Acer AOD150 is the safest decision you can make – it’s very good value for money, one of the top overall netbooks, and one of the bestselling netbooks in existence (#4 at Amazon amongst netbooks). Quite simply its the best sub $350 netbook you can buy.
Acer AOD150 Blue
Acer AOD150 Netbook Review – Top Features
- The 6 cell battery gives it an impressive 5 hrs of battery life (some people see up to 8 hrs – assume 5 hrs to be on the safe side).
- You can upgrade to 2GB RAM, and should.
- Has a nice 160 GB hard drive (although the 5400 rpm speed will seem slow if you’re used to a 7200 rpm drive).
- Charges quickly – in 2.5 to 3 hours.
- Its available in 4 good looking colors – black, red, white, and blue.
Acer AOD150 Netbook Review – Drawbacks and things to keep in mind
While Acer AOD150 is excellent, it was introduced in early 2009, and in netbook terms that makes it a whole generation behind the latest netbooks. Here are the things to keep in mind -
- The keyboard is on the small side (92% size of a full size laptop keyboard). If you have big fingers or are used to a bigger keyboard it won’t work well for you.
- The design while solid is not as exciting as the Asus Seashell and a few more recent netbooks.
- It weights 2.95 pounds which is not as light as some other netbooks.
- No wireless-n and no bluetooth. You can now get a 3G enabled AOD150 from AT&T (subscription necessary).
- Like most netbooks, the speakers are terrible.
Also do note that like most netbooks, the Acer AOD150 ships WITHOUT a DVD drive.
Acer AOD150 Netbook Review – Ratings
The AOD150 gets a very solid 6 star rating (7 is the maximum possible). This is the break-up -
- Price & Value for Money: $330. Excellent. 1 full star.
- Speed & Performance: Very good. 1 star.
- Screen: It has a good screen with a good 1024 by 600 resolution. 1 star.
- Keyboard & Usability: The keyboard is just 92% size and mousepad isn’t very good. .5 stars.
- Portability & Battery Life: 6 cell battery provides 5+ hours of battery life. Weight is not ideal – however, we’ll give it a full 1 star.
- Looks & Design: Solid Looks. 1 star.
- Extensibility & Connectivity: .5 stars. There is only 802.11 b/g connectivity (no n option).
Note: There is currently a 3G enabled version of the AOD150 being sold by AT&T. Its $150 when bought with a new service plan.
Acer AOD150 Netbook Review – Our Recommendation
The Acer AOD150 is the best sub $350 netbook money can buy. It gets a solid 6 star rating from us (out of 7) and a 4.5 star rating on Amazon.
When a netbook has gotten a 4.5 stars average across 288 reviews and its the best selling sub $350 netbook, there’s little that can go wrong. Just make sure you look through our points above and ensure its a good fit for you. And perhaps get a 2GB RAM stick to speed things up.
Acer AOD150 Netbook Review – Technical Specifications
•Intel® Atom™ Processor N270 (1.60GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache)
•Windows XP® Home with Service Pack 3
•10.1-inch WSVGA Acer CrystalBrite™ TFT LCD 1024 x 600
•Mobile Intel® 945GSE Express Chipset
•1024MB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM Single Channel Memory
•Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
•160GB SATA 5400RPM Hard Drive
•Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
•Acer InviLink™ 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIED®
•Acer Crystal Eye Web Camera
•Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
•Three USB 2.0 Ports
•6-cell Li-ion Battery (4400 mAh)
•2.95 lbs.
Filed under: Acer Netbook Review