Acer Aspire one review

Linux isn't a consumer-oriented operating system like Windows, and can be tricky to get to grips with, so Acer, like Asus, have gone for a simplified interface. This groups all the pre-installed applications into categories. Connect has the Firefox web browser, an email client and an instant messaging program that supports MSN, Yahoo!, Google Talk and AOL accounts, as well as Skype Internet telephony. Work has OpenOffice.org, which includes Microsoft Office-compatible word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications plus organiser and contacts manager.

The Fun section gives you a media player, a photo management program and basic image editor, and a selection of games. Finally, Files contains file management applications for all your media and documents. While the 8GB Aspire one only has around 4GB of free space (the equivalent of a hard disk, remember, not RAM), it's easy to add extra storage using the SDHC slot. You can buy an 8GB card for around £30, and this memory is integrated seamlessly into the internal storage.

The interface may be simplified, but it's more flexible than the Eee PC's. There's a right-click menu for fast access to all the programs as well as system settings. You can also select the Linux terminal from the menu - it's not hidden away, as on the Eee PC. If you're an experienced Linux user or want to learn about the more advanced functions, it's good to have the option of using the command line to get into the operating system.

Too much, too soon?

Unfortunately, the operating system on our review model proved buggy. It would sometimes freeze for a few seconds, and icons for various programs would refuse to work the second time they were clicked. We also had terrible trouble with networking. Our unit recognised that it had wired and wireless network adaptors, but refused to connect. This meant we were unable to test web browsing performance, but tests using YouTube files showed it was capable of playing video smoothly.

One other disappointment was that, despite its low-power processor, the Aspire one's battery life was poor. It only lasted two and a half hours in our light use test - worse than many full size laptops - compared to the Eee PC's eight hours.

In several ways this is a superior laptop to the Eee PC 901, not least its better looks and far nicer keyboard. However, we can't recommend it. Even if the bugs are sorted out, that still leaves the issue of battery life. The XP version, with its high-capacity battery, should be more satisfactory, though we can't confirm that until we test it.