Acer Computer AOA150-1570 as a portable data storage device ?

I know this topic has been discussed to death with everyone having their own view on what fits them the best. Here is another spanner in the works.

Acer Computer AOA150-1570 Aspire One 8.9” Notebook PC - In stock at J&R for $399.(there is some sort of 12% cash back deal if you sign up for Microsoft Live Search)

#XP Home
# 3-cell Li-Ion battery
# Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz Processor
# 512 KB L2 Cache, 533 MHz Front Bus speed
# 1024 MB DDR2 (PC2-4200) RAM
# 120GB (5400 RPM) SATA Hard Drive
# 8.9" diagonal WSVGA (1024 x 600) CrystalBrite TFT LCD Display
# Integrated 0.3 Crystal Eye Webcam
# Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
# Built-in Stereo Speakers
# Acer InviLink 802.11b/g Wireless
# 10/100 Ethernet LAN
# Multi-in-1 Card Reader SD, MMC, RS-MMC, MS, MS Pro, xD
# 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone/Speaker/Line​-Out, Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 (LAN)
# Approximate Unit Dimensions: 9.8” (W) x 6.7” (D) x 1.14” (H)
# Approximate Unit Weight: 2.19 Pounds

My observations:
At this price point you get something that NOT a uni-tasker (as Alton says). You get a really good crystalbrite screen (I have an Acer Extensa with a 1280x800 and its display is pretty darn good). It takes a 120GB SATA which can easily be upgraded if you with to a 250 or a 320 GB SATA drive for under/around 100 USD. Even with 120GB SATA you can "satisfactorily" run CS2 and definately run IrfanView if you so choose.

The 3 cell battery is supposed to give anywhere from 2-3 hours of uptime which is not bad. And it only weighs 2 lbs.

The BEST part is that it started with the Asus EeePC, then the MSI Wind and now the Acer One...with Dell also planning to enter this UMPC fray at a similar price point (Sony Vaio TZ are not really at this price point). So there are going to be more choices ahead.

Love competition.....

Acer provides screen competition but their computers I don't believe will ever be up to par with any system except emachine.

gjman wrote in post #6118903
I know this topic has been discussed to death with everyone having their own view on what fits them the best. Here is another spanner in the works.

Acer Computer AOA150-1570 Aspire One 8.9” Notebook PC - In stock at J&R for $399.(there is some sort of 12% cash back deal if you sign up for Microsoft Live Search)

#XP Home
# 3-cell Li-Ion battery
# Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz Processor
# 512 KB L2 Cache, 533 MHz Front Bus speed
# 1024 MB DDR2 (PC2-4200) RAM
# 120GB (5400 RPM) SATA Hard Drive
# 8.9" diagonal WSVGA (1024 x 600) CrystalBrite TFT LCD Display
# Integrated 0.3 Crystal Eye Webcam
# Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
# Built-in Stereo Speakers
# Acer InviLink 802.11b/g Wireless
# 10/100 Ethernet LAN
# Multi-in-1 Card Reader SD, MMC, RS-MMC, MS, MS Pro, xD
# 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone/Speaker/Line​-Out, Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 (LAN)
# Approximate Unit Dimensions: 9.8” (W) x 6.7” (D) x 1.14” (H)
# Approximate Unit Weight: 2.19 Pounds

My observations:
At this price point you get something that NOT a uni-tasker (as Alton says). You get a really good crystalbrite screen (I have an Acer Extensa with a 1280x800 and its display is pretty darn good). It takes a 120GB SATA which can easily be upgraded if you with to a 250 or a 320 GB SATA drive for under/around 100 USD. Even with 120GB SATA you can "satisfactorily" run CS2 and definately run IrfanView if you so choose.

The 3 cell battery is supposed to give anywhere from 2-3 hours of uptime which is not bad. And it only weighs 2 lbs.

The BEST part is that it started with the Asus EeePC, then the MSI Wind and now the Acer One...with Dell also planning to enter this UMPC fray at a similar price point (Sony Vaio TZ are not really at this price point). So there are going to be more choices ahead.

Love competition.....

as long as i can surf the net and store and view my pictures that looks like an excellent deal.

i would never attempt any serious editing with any laptop that i've owned -- i buy them for internet access and file storage and viewing when out of town -- so that looks like an excellent deal .

ed rader

ed rader wrote in post #6118983
............i would never attempt any serious editing with any laptop that i've owned -- i buy them for internet access and file storage and viewing when out of town -- so that looks like an excellent deal .

See that's what I was talking about, we each have our own unique needs.

When I am on a trip or in the field, I would love to have the ability to:
1) Open and review my CR2
2) Crop and reduce my image
3) Convert to JPEG
4) Log on to the net and upload pics

......Within "hours" of taking them.

Hence my specific reference to CS2 and Irfanview.

Quite, but my history and history of others you'll only be doing it for a year or less with this computer.

gjman wrote in post #6119084
See that's what I was talking about, we each have our own unique needs.

When I am on a trip or in the field, I would love to have the ability to:
1) Open and review my CR2
2) Crop and reduce my image
3) Convert to JPEG
4) Log on to the net and upload pics

......Within "hours" of taking them.

Hence my specific reference to CS2 and Irfanview.

i have had irfanview installed on all my machines. i've used the program for years and i love it. on my home machine i open my raw files with irfanview before downloading to folders.

on my laptop i use irfanview to view files and do light editing if i want to post some timely pictures to the net or e-mail trip pictures when out of town.

i also have LR installed on my laptop but i don't use it much on that machine.

ed rader

_aravena:
Are you talking about Acer quality? If so, I have been running my Extensa for the past 8 months 24x7, taken it on one international trip (with seven flights) and its still doing fine. I am not sure what will happen in a year or so, but thus far I have only heard/experience good things about Acer.

That said I have seen my share of IBM thinkpads and Dell Precision/Inspiron fail at work. Even had to reformat my own personal Toshiba Satellite. So with technology, stuff does happens. You had a bad experience does not mean others will suffer the same fate.

dang you really got the ole gears turning in my head. if i could live with the screen size this machine could replace my laptop and my epson .

ed rader

Actually the screen is pretty adequate (IIRC you can get a bigger screen with the MSI Wind or the uber expensive Sony Vaio TZ) the best part is that its a CrystalBrite 1024x600 screen which is pretty good IMO.

Edit:
If you want 10" (and dont mind using 80gb SATA, you can always upg) then there is the MSI Wind
MSI Microstar U100053LA Wind U100 10” Notebook – Empire Black
Intel Atom 1.6 GHz / 1GB RAM / 80GB Hard Drive / 1.3 Webcam / 802.11AGN / Bluetooth / 4-in-1 Card Reader / 6-Cell Battery / Windows XP Home Edition .

This one can actually be upg to 2GB RAM too and the 6 cell battery should give you 6 hours of up time. But it does cost more:
http://www.jr.com …0053LA/#product​TabDetails

gjman wrote in post #6119346
Actually the screen is pretty adequate (IIRC you can get a bigger screen with the MSI Wind or the uber expensive Sony Vaio TZ) the best part is that its a CrystalBrite 1024x600 screen which is pretty good IMO.

hey do you know the color of the computer? i know it comes in white and blue and the ads would have you believe it's blue but i can find that in writing .

ed rader

gjman wrote in post #6119153
_aravena:
Are you talking about Acer quality? If so, I have been running my Extensa for the past 8 months 24x7, taken it on one international trip (with seven flights) and its still doing fine. I am not sure what will happen in a year or so, but thus far I have only heard/experience good things about Acer.

That said I have seen my share of IBM thinkpads and Dell Precision/Inspiron fail at work. Even had to reformat my own personal Toshiba Satellite. So with technology, stuff does happens. You had a bad experience does not mean others will suffer the same fate.

Never had one. G/f's have and friends have and numerous customers.

I never said just me. And you're at 8 months, 4 months left on the rental.

i went to circuit city to look at the acer today. unless i am missing something it's a no-brainer for a storage and viewing device,

plus you can edit and e-mail your pics and surf the net....man i may get one .

ed rader

The ONLY reason I would wait to get one is because more companies are entering this segment and there will be a UMPC price war (or better yet a spec war) once Dell gets into this segment. So unless you have a pressing need you might want to hold off.

Your uni-tasker Epson will continue to function just as well...while these companies duke it out to earn mkt share in this segment.

Full disclosure: While I posted the Acer Specs I just bought a Digimate III + 160GB IDE HDD for about $107 (computergeeks). I know Digimate III is not exactly the best in the mkt, but the fact that it uses removable Fuji NP60 Li-Ion battery is a plus. The fact that there are generic NP60 available with charger on eBay for under $15 shipped is what caused me to pull the trigger. But the fact that I have never filled up my current 20Gb Scandisk Photochute in all my travels now has me wondering WHY I did what I did. I am gonna tell the wife its an MP3 player.

gjman wrote in post #6130253
The ONLY reason I would wait to get one is because more companies are entering this segment and there will be a UMPC price war (or better yet a spec war) once Dell gets into this segment. So unless you have a pressing need you might want to hold off.

Your uni-tasker Epson will continue to function just as well...while these companies duke it out to earn mkt share in this segment.

Full disclosure: While I posted the Acer Specs I just bought a Digimate III + 160GB IDE HDD for about $107 (computergeeks). I know Digimate III is not exactly the best in the mkt, but the fact that it uses removable Fuji NP60 Li-Ion battery is a plus. The fact that there are generic NP60 available with charger on eBay for under $15 shipped is what caused me to pull the trigger. But the fact that I have never filled up my current 20Gb Scandisk Photochute in all my travels now has me wondering WHY I did what I did. I am gonna tell the wife its an MP3 player.

next year will be a nightmare fpr consumer electronics pricing. i think you are right about much better deals.

ed rader

Not too bad if all you want to do is surf the web or use it to store pictures when on the road.

BUT not sure it's useable if you want to edit, or even view pictures.

I use Elements so not sure of PShop or Lightroom requirements - I have a feeling it will be incredibly slow with any of these three software - assuming they can run with 1MB RAM. This 1MB RAM is probably shared with the video card so you are probably looking at less.

I recently started processing RAW - I use a first generation (old) Core 2 Duo, DPP with 3MB RAM - it's SLOW. I've never heard of processor in this machine. It's not Core 2 Duo, and 1.6 is slower then mine so it will be SLOW.

I think storing pictures on the road would be primary use.