Acer Aspire One 11.6" Netbook with 2GB Memory and 320GB Hard Drive $230

Quote from chaderino : I get what you're saying, I really do, but SSD = More Money, Extra RAM = More Money. I'd rather just go pick something nice up at Lenovo outlet at that point. As far as the Chromebook goes, it has google chrome and as you mentioned Google Docs, but no laptop is perfect for everyone. We all have different needs.

Thing is, it runs fine WITHOUT an SSD or extra ram. And even adding about $100 worth of SSD and Ram, it's still going to be cheaper than most 12" "notebooks".

As far as different folks and different needs...I still don't get the advantage of a Chromebook. I mean, why buy something crippled when you can get something that's not for about the same price? There's also the problem that a lot of corporate and government web sites don't work correctly with Chrome (or Firefox, or Safari for that matter). At least with the Acer you have the option to run Chrome for most things, and switch to IE for the things that need them.

Anyway, my main point was simply that the folks saying this particular netbook is a dog didn't bother to actually check the specs. It's speed, memory, and storage are actually reasonable for running Windows as shipped.

Quote from YCG : I was tempted to buy this, but Amazon says that the battery life on this is 4 hours. I have a 2 or 3-year old 10" Acer netbook with a 6-cell battery that gets at least 6 hours, and sometimes up to 8 hours. And the processor is 1.66 Ghz. The price back then was about the same -- low $200s. Have netbooks really taken a step back in terms of performance? I want the larger screen size, but other than that, this seems like a downgrade from my current netbook.

The Ghz means nothing. Really, it doesn't have any one to one connection with processing power.

I expect its two or three times faster than your current netbook. Go to Passmark [cpubenchmark.net], punch in your CPU, and compare the numbers. This one scores 1397. Yours is likely to be around 450, or even lower.

As for the price.. there's a bottom price to manufacture a lot of things, because a lot of the cost is raw materials, shipping, store overhead, etc. Those costs don't follow Moore's Law.

Pretty likely that this is a good bit more capable than your old netbook, and depending on the model, your old netbook likely won't accept more than 1 or 2GB of memory which limits it's performance even more.

Quote from YCG : I was tempted to buy this, but Amazon says that the battery life on this is 4 hours. I have a 2 or 3-year old 10" Acer netbook with a 6-cell battery that gets at least 6 hours, and sometimes up to 8 hours. And the processor is 1.66 Ghz. The price back then was about the same -- low $200s. Have netbooks really taken a step back in terms of performance? I want the larger screen size, but other than that, this seems like a downgrade from my current netbook.

This will feel 10x faster if your netbook if yours has an atom processor. I think that the only downside to this is the battery life. Sure, this isn't the hottest deal, but I really don't understand the thumbs down. This is more of an ultra portable/netbook. I hope that most of you aren't comparing this to full sized laptops because tick for tock these cost more (smaller=more expensive). I'm not trying to be a smart ass (I'm actually looking for something similar to this for a gift), but does anyone see anything like this in this price range?

Quote from Zanthexter : Thing is, it runs fine WITHOUT an SSD or extra ram. And even adding about $100 worth of SSD and Ram, it's still going to be cheaper than most 12" "notebooks". I expect its two or three times faster than your current netbook. Go to Passmark [cpubenchmark.net], punch in your CPU, and compare the numbers. This one scores 1397. Yours is likely to be around 450, or even lower.

Putting a SSD into any portable computer is worthwhile for the simple fact that they can take much more abuse. I know that I've killed a couple of hard drives from falls.

Just checked out Atoms on that passmark chart out of curiosity and they scored around 300!

Quote from RyanL : Putting a SSD into any portable computer is worthwhile for the simple fact that they can take much more abuse. I know that I've killed a couple of hard drives from falls. Just checked out Atoms on that passmark chart out of curiosity and they scored around 300!

I've found that a score around 1,500 is roughly where most people think Windows 7 runs fine.

2GB of memory is iffy.. it'll be fine for light multitasking, but open several web pages, Outlook, Word, and ITunes, and you're going to max your memory and things will get pretty slow. No matter how fast the CPU is.

Your point about reliability is a very true. If the laptop is used for important things (work, class, and so on) it pretty much just should have an SSD. The hard disk is BY FAR the single most likely part to fail in a laptop.

So, for this deal, folks shouldn't be put off by "netbook", it's as fast or faster than most of the other low end notebooks in it's price range, but with a smaller screen and less weight.

Quote from jowaju : Got this exact laptop open box at my local Best Buy for $146.99 this weekend. Had 20% off all Win7 computers. Popped an 8gb memory module in it for 10gb total, will go to 16gb easily. Pretty snappy for a dual core celeron. That said, I wouldn't have paid $230 for it.

Where was the 20% off? Was it a local promo or a coupon?

Keep in mind that this machine requires a 7mm drive.

Quote from chaderino : If you want an inexpensive note taker, I would go with the Samsung Chromebook for $249 unless windows is a must have. You can find it for $199 around BF I believe. It is sold out everywhere right now, so you would need to be diligent. I just think you are wasting your money with this deal above. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspa...8810049489

Hmm... yeah, instead of a full featured laptop you're suggesting buying cripple-ware beta product?

Quote from chaderino : I understand. Well, this would get the job done, but I think you can find something better for your needs and better quality on BF for around the same price. Also, the Lenovo deals that pop-up on here are really good and sell out fast. Have a good night!

Not in this size you wont. Besides a couple of Thinkpad models, Lenovos are crappier than Acer.

this is 4 cell only...

Great discussion here, honestly!

I bought the Acer with the C-50 last year when they had the Target deal. Very happy with it as I need a full Windows PC when I travel. Unfortunately, it is terribly slow.

Being that this Acer is a good replacement, should I bite at this price or do you guys think there will be a better Black Friday deal? I've browsed all the ads and haven't seen any deals on Windows netbooks. It's all tablet deals this year.

Quote from veeRob : Great discussion here, honestly! I bought the Acer with the C-50 last year when they had the Target deal. Very happy with it as I need a full Windows PC when I travel. Unfortunately, it is terribly slow. Being that this Acer is a good replacement, should I bite at this price or do you guys think there will be a better Black Friday deal? I've browsed all the ads and haven't seen any deals on Windows netbooks. It's all tablet deals this year.

This is probably your best bet. I had the same one as you and had to sell it. Really nice overall but like you said, just too slow. I sold it for $250 I think (we paid $250 plus $50 GC right?) so I was happy. You can probably unload your current netbook for $180 or so which makes this netbook a $50 upgrade. Well worth it. Be aware that this one has a 4 cell battery though. Expect 4 hours rather than 6 on your netbook now.

Quote from manfromnowhere : This is probably your best bet. I had the same one as you and had to sell it. Really nice overall but like you said, just too slow. I sold it for $250 I think (we paid $250 plus $50 GC right?) so I was happy. You can probably unload your current netbook for $180 or so which makes this netbook a $50 upgrade. Well worth it. Be aware that this one has a 4 cell battery though. Expect 4 hours rather than 6 on your netbook now.

Yup, that was it. So it was essentially $220 for me, and I upgraded from my previous netbook by unloading the previous one for $170ish. So it'll be the second time I upgrade for $50. I'll be happy if I can do this every year!

I actually just found a Best Buy in town that has what looks like virtually the same model (AO756-2623 as opposed to the AO756-2899 listed here) for $223.99 on clearance. Might just go pick that up tomorrow instead (instant gratification). Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll be marked down to $160 like the other guy in this thread!

Quote from veeRob : Great discussion here, honestly! I bought the Acer with the C-50 last year when they had the Target deal. Very happy with it as I need a full Windows PC when I travel. Unfortunately, it is terribly slow. Being that this Acer is a good replacement, should I bite at this price or do you guys think there will be a better Black Friday deal? I've browsed all the ads and haven't seen any deals on Windows netbooks. It's all tablet deals this year.

I'm in the same quandary, I'm thinking of buying this now and since there are returns until Jan 24 keeping an eye out for better deals until then. The Amex $20 off $200 sweetens the deal.

Quote from veeRob : Yup, that was it. So it was essentially $220 for me, and I upgraded from my previous netbook by unloading the previous one for $170ish. So it'll be the second time I upgrade for $50. I'll be happy if I can do this every year! I actually just found a Best Buy in town that has what looks like virtually the same model (AO756-2899 as opposed to the AO756-2899 listed here) for $223.99 on clearance. Might just go pick that up tomorrow instead (instant gratification). Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll be marked down to $160 like the other guy in this thread!

This two model numbers are the same!

Quote from satanslover : I'm in the same quandary, I'm thinking of buying this now and since there are returns until Jan 24 keeping an eye out for better deals until then. The Amex $20 off $200 sweetens the deal.

I like that tactic. I did this last year with an Android tablet, which I just ended up keeping since it was a smoking deal at the time. And now I travel with 2 devices... tablet for watching movies on planes, and the laptop for doing work. I wish I could have 1 device, but it doesn't seem possible in my budget. But I digress. Good plan of attack, I think I will do the same.

Quote from satanslover : This two model numbers are the same!

Whoops, fixed this. The one on clearance near me is AO756-2623. Take a look at the Best Buy clearance stock before you order, you might get it cheaper like me.

Quote from veeRob : I like that tactic. I did this last year with an Android tablet, which I just ended up keeping since it was a smoking deal at the time. And now I travel with 2 devices... tablet for watching movies on planes, and the laptop for doing work. I wish I could have 1 device, but it doesn't seem possible in my budget. But I digress. Good plan of attack, I think I will do the same. Whoops, fixed this. The one on clearance near me is AO756-2623. Take a look at the Best Buy clearance stock before you order, you might get it cheaper like me.

Yeah these different AO-756 models are essentially exactly the same. I can't tell the difference between them looking at the specs. I think maybe the difference is only software configurations.

Also, just to spruce up the discussion here, these laptops are unbeatable value. They're a great combination of price/performance/portability. People think they're netbooks, but the processors are Sandy Bridge low voltage and very nice.

I'm going to be hackintoshing mine. I got tired of paying $1200+ for a MacBook Air 11" which is functionally equivalent to this. Yes it's faster and smaller, but it makes little difference when you're just checking mail, browsing the web and editing text. I'd rather pocket the grand.

I have a old SSD ready and 4/8GB deals go for $10/25 fairly regularly.