Acer Aspire Laptop $379

Yesterday, Acer, the third largest vendor in the global PC market, announced the ultraportable notebook Aspire One (release: 3Q, MSRP: $379), "designed to make online activities fast, simple and cool."
More Information: ACER Press Release

NOTE: I'm in the process of setting up a live talk radio interview with an Acer Rep to find out if the Aspire One is suited for classroom use.

Tags: 1:1, PC, laptop

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Permalink Reply by Arlene Anderson on June 4, 2008 at 10:25pm

Jack,
Have you seen the ASUS EeePC? The 2G versions sells on Amazon for #299. It has a 7 inch screen, a full but smaller keyboard, runs on Linux, and only takes 20 seconds to boot up. Check it out here:
http://eeepc.asus.com/us/index.htm

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Permalink Reply by Jack Olmsted on June 5, 2008 at 7:46am

Hi Arlene,

I was able to check out the EeePC at Best Buy last week. There are lots of review videos of the mini laptop on YouTube:

Hexes Dot Net compares the Aspire One to the Eee PC: Hands-on with the Acer Aspire One: an ASUS Eee PC-beater?

I have not seen any reports on how the Eee PC stands up in a classroom environment.
Is an extended warranty available for the Eee PC?
Can it be serviced on site without voiding the warranty? Are replacement parts available?

The devil is in the details...

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Permalink Reply by Arlene Anderson on June 5, 2008 at 8:13am

I'm not sure about the warranty, I'll check out my paperwork. I couldn't resist purchasing one. It's so small and light I can carry it in my purse.
It should be pretty durable since is has no moving parts. According to the info it can be dropped from a height of 4 feet with no problem. This did happen to our IT when handing it off, and it was fine. While not intentional, it did pass that test.
I'm not sure what you would replace since it's so small and compact. Then again, that's not my area of expertise.
If I'm correct there is a school in Oregon piloting a one to one situation with the EeePcs. I'll look for the link and get back to you.
A

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Permalink Reply by Jack Olmsted on June 5, 2008 at 3:18pm

Well, the two moving parts that would require replacement are the keyboard and screen. Why toss out a station if a couple of keys stick or pop off?

It is good to know that it is simi-drop proof.