Acer Review, Asus Review – Netbook 10

The Acer Aspire One D250 (or Acer AOD250) is a 10.1-inch netbook.  It is similar to Aspire One D150, Aspire One 531h, and Aspire One P531h in this aspect.  Among all 10.1-inch netbooks from Acer, however, the Acer Aspire One D250 can be considered as the mainstream model.  It has the greatest number of versions, for one, as there are a total of 57 Acer Aspire One D250 variants or versions available to US consumers (according to the US Acer website).  Not all of these AOD250 versions are available online, however; some may be procured only from Acer-authorized retail outlets offline.

Compare Acer Aspire One D250 and Acer Aspire One D150

So why get the Acer Aspire One D250 netbook when you can get the Acer Aspire One D150 netbook instead?

First, there are Acer Aspire One D250 netbook versions that have integrated Bluetooth connectivity, while absolutely none of the AOD150 netbooks has the same feature.  If you want Bluetooth onboard, you need an Aspire One D250, not an Aspire One D150.

Second, Aspire One D250 has the proprietary multi-gesture touchpad.  This touchpad lets you perform some ultra-cool navigation techniques like circular scrolling, pinch zooming and page flipping – motions to which, thanks to the iPod, we’ve all been accustomed.  If you want finger acrobatics, get the Aspire One D250, not the Aspire One D150.

Third, Aspire One D250 generally has a longer battery life.  Aspire One D250 netbooks with a 6-cell battery pack have battery life that ranges from 6 hours up to 9 hours.  Aspire One D150 netbooks with a 6-cell battery pack, on the other hand, has battery life of up to 6.5 hours only.  If you want a netbook that can last up to 9 hours on DC power, choose a 9-hour AOD250 netbook instead of an AOD150 netbook.

Fourth, if you want your Aspire One 10.1-inch netbook to ship out with a Windows 7 operating system, you’ll be glad to know that there are Windows 7 Aspire One D250 netbooks.  On the other hand, no D150 netbooks come preinstalled with Windows 7.  Want Windows 7?  Choose a Windows 7 Aspire One D250, not a D150.

Fifth, if you want 802.11 n WLAN, there are AOD250 versions with that feature, whereas no AOD150 netbook has Wi-Fi N capability.

Finally, the Aspire One D250 is thinner, smaller and lighter than the Aspire One D150.  Yes, that’s right.  With the AOD250, you can have a 10.1-inch netbook that is only 1 inch thick!  The AOD250 with a 6-cell battery pack weighs 2.8 pounds (the AOD150 with a 6-cell battery pack weighs 2.9 pounds) and weighs even less at 2.4 pounds with a 3-cell battery pack!  Spell portability:  Aspire One D250.

Convinced yet?  If you are, read on and find out which of the 57 available Acer Aspire One D250 netbook versions is right for you.

Which AOD250 is right for you?

As mentioned earlier, there are a total of 57 AOD250 versions to choose from, so choosing the right Acer Aspire One D250 netbook version is no mean feat.  This is where our AOD250 netbooks guide and AOD250 netbooks comparison chart can help.  Before proceeding to the actual guide and chart, however, please read the “Using this AOD250 guide and netbooks comparison chart” section to learn how best to use this guide.

The Best AOD250 Netbook

If you don’t have enough patience to go through the entire list, here’s one hot tip.  On paper, the best AOD250 netbook versions are the following:

• Acer Aspire One D250-1515 (white netbook)
• Acer Aspire One D250-1584 (blue netbook)
• Acer Aspire One D250-1633 (black netbook)
• Acer Aspire One D250-1838 (red netbook)

These four netbooks vary only by color.  All of them have the top-of-the-line specifications available to Acer Aspire One D250 netbooks.  Specifically, the above 4 netbooks all have:

• Windows 7 Starter operating system
• Intel Atom Processor N280 (1.66GHz, 667MHz FSB)
• 1GB DDR2 667 SDRAM upgradeable to 2GB
• 250GB SATA hard disk drive
• 802.11 b/g and Draft-N WLAN
• 6-cell battery (5800 mAh) with up to 9 hours estimated battery life
• integrated Bluetooth connectivity

You see, they have the best of the D250 specs lineup.  All that’s missing is the Google Android alternative operating system, which – you’ve got to admit – you don’t really need.  If what you see of the specs is not enough to convince you, perhaps the reviews from Amazon customers will help.  So far, those who have bought one of these four netbooks have unanimously given their purchase a perfect score of 5 stars.  Surely, there’s no beating that!

Now, here’s something even better.  The blue netbook (AOD250-1584) and the black netbook (AOD250-1633) are currently selling for the low price of $342.99!  The white netbook (AOD250-1515) and the ruby red netbook (AOD250-1838), on the other hand, cost $359.99.  If you’re looking for value and have no special color preferences, get the AOD250-1584 or the AOD250-1633!

Using this AOD250 guide and netbooks comparison chart

This AOD250 netbooks comparison guide has 4 sections.

The first section enumerates all 57 Aspire One D250 versions.  All versions are listed.  Use this list to familiarize yourself with all of your AOD250 netbook choices.

The second section summarizes the basic specifications common to all Aspire One D250 netbooks.  In other words, section II of the guide will tell you what basic features you can expect from a D250.  If you want to know if the Aspire One D250 has all of your desired specifications, refer to this section.

The third section lists all the factors in which the different versions of the Aspire One D250 vary.  Use this section to decide on your preferred specs.  For instance, D250 netbooks vary by processor:  some have Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz) while some have Intel Atom N280 (1.66 Ghz).  All you have to do is decide on your preferred specifications.  Do you want a 1.66GHz netbook or a 1.60GHz netbook?  Do you want a Windows 7 netbook or a Windows XP netbook?  Ask yourself this question for all characteristics or factors in which the different D250 versions vary; for instance, you need to decide your color preferences, battery life preferences, Bluetooth preferences, etc.  Using section III of the guide, prepare a list of your preferred specifications (e.g. Intel Atom N280, Windows 7, blue color, 9-hour battery life, integrated Bluetooth, etc.); this will come handy in the following step.

The fourth section is the actual AOD250 netbooks comparison chart.  To use this chart, simply look for the Aspire One D250 netbook version in the chart that has all of your preferred specifications; refer to the list of preferred specs that you have made in the previous step using section III of the guide.

At this stage, choosing the best Aspire One D250 netbook should be easy.  All you have to do is pick the AOD250 netbook version that has all of your preferred specifications.  If none of the netbook versions has all of your preferred specifications, simply choose the next best netbook from the chart (those that have most of your preferred specifications).

Ready to choose your Acer Aspire One D250 netbook?  Proceed to the Aspire One D250 netbooks comparison guide and chart below.

The Acer Aspire One D250 Netbooks Guide and Comparison Chart

I.  The Different Acer Aspire One D250 Netbook Models or Versions

The following is the list of all 57 versions of the Aspire One D250 netbook.  This list doesn’t really tell you a lot, but use it to familiarize yourself with your options.

II.  Summary of Acer Aspire One D250 10.1-Inch Netbooks Similarities

Display: 10.1″ WSVGA (1024 x 600) TFT LCD display
Processor: Intel Atom Processor, 512 KB L2 Cache
Storage: SATA hard disk drive
RAM: 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM
Operating System: Windows
Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
WLAN: Integrated
LAN: 10/100 Mbps LAN
Features: Integrated stereo speakers, digital mic, multi-gesture touchpad
Webcam: 0.3MP integrated web camera
USB Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports
Card reader: 5-in-1 card reader
Jacks / Ports: Headphone/speaker/line-out jack, microphone jack, Ethernet LAN port, VGA port (video-out)
Dimensions: 10.2 inches x 7.2 inches x 1.0 inch, 2.4 lb with a 3-cell battery pack or 2.8 lb. with a 6-cell battery pack

III.  Summary of Acer Aspire One D250 10.1-Inch Netbooks Differences

Processor: An Aspire One D250 netbook may have an Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz processor or an Intel Atom N280 1.66 GHz processor.
Storage: The AOD250 netbook can have either a 160GB hard disk drive or a 250GB hard disk drive.
RAM speed: Some AOD250 netbooks have a 677 MHz RAM, while some have a 533 MHz RAM.  Some versions’ RAM may be upgraded up to 2GB or 1.5GB, while some are already at maximum capacity.  Note that information regarding RAM upgradeability is taken from the Amazon product information page.
Operating System: An Acer AD250 can have either a Windows 7 Starter or a Windows XP Home Edition operating system.
WLAN: The AOD250 netbook can have 802.11 b/g or 802.11 b/g/n WLAN.
Bluetooth: Some AOD250 netbooks have integrated Bluetooth connectivity, while some don’t.
Dual Boot: Certain AOD250 netbooks (specifically the AOD250-1114, AOD250-1613, AOD250-1742, and AOD250-1996) have Google Android onboard for a dual-boot option.
Battery: AOD250 netbooks can come with a 3-cell Li-ion battery pack or a 6-cell Li-ion battery pack.  An AOD250 with a 3-cell battery pack has an estimated battery life of up to 3 hours.  An AOD250 with a 6-cell battery pack, on the other hand, has variable battery life depending on the type of 6-cell battery it has.  Those with a 4400mAh 6-cell battery have an estimated battery life of up to 6 hours.  Those with a 5200mAh 6-cell battery have an estimated battery life of up to 7.5 hours.  Finally, those with a 5800mAh 6-cell battery have an estimated life of up to 9 hours.
Acer Limited Warranty: Some Aspire One D250 netbooks have 1 year limited warranty from Acer, while some have 2 years limited warranty.
Color: An AOD250 netbook may be sapphire blue, diamond black, ruby red, amethyst purple, rose pink, or seashell white.

IV.  Acer Aspire One D250 Netbooks Comparison Chart

Important Notes:

• The prices in this netbooks comparison chart are Amazon’s list prices at the time of writing.  Prices at Amazon change often so do follow the link to Amazon for the most recent list price as well as to check whether the product is being sold brand new, refurbished or used.
• Generally, specifications for these D250 versions (e.g. battery life) are taken from the US Acer website.
• For units with RAM upgrade information, note that such information was taken from the Amazon product description.  If no upgrade information is provided, it can mean two things:  that no information regarding RAM upgradeability is available at Amazon or that the unit is already at maximum RAM capacity.  Check the product description before purchase to see which applies.
• Some of the units listed are not available online; for these units, follow the link to the Acer’s retail store finder to see the Acer-authorized distributor nearest you.

*6-cell battery can last up to 9 hours (for the 5800mAh battery pack), 7.5 hours (for the 5200mAh battery pack) or 6 hours (for the 4400mAh battery pack); 3-cell battery can last up to 3 hours (for the 2200mAh battery pack)
**This unit is advertised to have a 4800mAH 6-cell battery pack and an estimated battery life of 6.5 hrs
***This unit is advertised at Amazon to have draft-N WLAN, but the Acer website indicates that this unit has 802.11 b/g but no draft-N WLAN

Technorati Tags: 10.1-inch netbook, Acer Aspire One, aod250, Netbooks Comparison, netbooks guide

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