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Acer Aspire One AO722 Review
Product Summary
Acer has succeeded with the Aspire One AO722 where Samsung failed with its NF310. The two are similar in price (the Acer is actually slightly cheaper, but still more than other netbooks), but the Aspire One gives the incentive necessary to spend a little extra cash. Its screen is a little larger, its hard drive is bigger, it’s a little thinner, and the operating system is far nicer than other netbooks. Acer has put a more effort into their netbook than their competitors and it shows. As a result it is a little more expensive, but also much more functional for the basic computing needs of netbook users.
The Features
Acer Aspire One gets the jump on other netbooks in several areas. The first is the 11.6” LED backlit, widescreen capable display with HDCP and CineCrystal technology and 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. The next is 4GB of RAM and a whopping 500GB hard drive. The downside is that the processor on this netbook is not much better than its competitors. It sports an AMD dual-core Fusion C-50 1 GHz processor. If Acer had been thinking they would have used a much more powerful processor for a computer with such large storage specs. At 7 hours, the battery life is not as impressive as some of the other features, but the networking has some added bonuses. The Aspire One AO722 supports wireless LAN, Fast Ethernet, and Ethernet, but also has Acer InviLink Nplify wireless NIC capability. It comes with a sound card, a microphone, and HD Audio technology. For video viewing the Aspire One is supported by AMD Radeon HD 6250 and Acer was nice enough to throw in a Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit operating system. This is a significantly better version than the Windows 7 Starter version that comes on other netbooks in the same category. It has an integrated webcam, a card reader that supports xD-Picture cards, SD memory cards, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick, and MultiMedia cards. It also comes with 3 Hi-Speed USB ports, HDMI and VGA ports, an Ethernet port, and a Security Lock slot. Like most netbooks, the Aspire One doesn’t have an optical drive. This computer starts at around $280 (when this review was written), which for what you get, is a very good price.
The Design
Acer didn’t spend a ton of time on the design of this netbook, but at 1” thick and 3.2 lbs, it is light and portable. It’s not unattractive, but it isn’t going to turn heads either.
What Users Say
Users like the keyboard, saying it has “huge buttons, nice click and very little flex.” There seems to be some disagreement on viewing videos. Some users claim that the video streams smoothly without stuttering; others complain that it cannot handle even basic HD 1280 x 720 video streaming. Most users appreciate the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system over the Windows 7 Starter version. The webcam is only 0.3 megapixels, however several users comment that its quality is much better than expected. On the other hand, users wish the trackpad was a little bigger, that the lid was matte rather than glossy (as it attracts fingerprints and smudges), and that it supported BluTooth. Several users say there is far too much “bloat-ware” pre-loaded on this computer, and that the processor is too slow. Why Acer chose a 1 GHz processor for a computer with 4GB of RAM and 500GB of storage is a bit baffling. However, it must be said that how one uses one’s netbook makes a difference in how it runs. Many users rave that this laptop is a good size and weight with a nice screen, decent battery life and is reasonably fast; others say nearly the exact opposite. What this likely means is that, A) some people bought this computer not understanding what they wanted from it; or, B) some users misunderstood the specs and thought this would be a super-fast, crystal clear computer and are disappointed when they find how basic it is.
Final Thoughts
Acer has made an effort to set itself apart in the world of netbooks. It has added space and size where others kicked out the typical 10” screen and 250GB hard drive and it tacked on a nicer version of Windows 7 OS where other netbooks stuck with the Starter version. Based on specs alone, this is a far superior netbook to most of its competitors. This being said, users must understand that a netbook is not a big powerful computer. It is mainly good for browsing the internet, using basic business software and word processing, and viewing videos (sometimes not even this). Netbooks are generally not fast or powerful. With that in mind, the Acer Aspire One 722 is slightly bigger and, if nothing else, can store more files, music, and photos than its competitors. The price to function of this computer is very reasonable and users should consider it if they are looking for a quality netbook.