The Aspire One is Acer's response to the original models of the Eee PC and became a sales success in Europe and the U.S. due to low price. The simplest models have to be sold for less than $ 250 on the outside, substantially cheaper than other similar models.

More than in other areas, the market for netbooks is very price sensitive, since the majority of buyers looking for a model of low cost, you can use in addition to the main desktop or notebook. Therefore, it is normal that the cheaper models are the most sold.

Although the screen 8.9 "is slightly smaller than the Eee 900 (and well below the screen 10" models of the series 1000) and has only 0.3 MP webcam, the Aspire One has a key advantage, which is the keyboard. Both the Eee 701 and the 900/901 use a very small keyboard, which does not use all the available area. The Acer has learned the error of the competitor and has a slightly larger keyboard, which takes more space, offering more keys. The small increase in size just making all the difference, making the keyboard much more comfortable to use than that of direct competitors:

In contrast, the size of the touchpad has been reduced, with the buttons being moved to the side, as well as the HP mini note.

Another weakness of the Aspire One is that it uses a battery of three cells, which offers only 2200 mAh (which is less than half of the 5800 mAh batteries supplied by the 6 cells used in most models of the Eee). This means that the autonomy of the Aspire One is lighter tasks of only 2:30 hours. There is a battery of 6 cells and 4400 mAh, which is used in some models and a 6 cells battery with 5600 mAh that is sold separately as an accessory, but it is expensive and difficult to find in Brazil.

Although the basic configuration (Atom N270 de 1.6 GHz, with the 945GSE chipset, wireless B / G, card reader, VGA output, etc..), There are several variations of the Aspire One with SSDs from 8 to 32 GB with mechanical HDs of 120 or 160 GB and 512 MB or 1 GB of RAM. As with other netbooks based 945GSE is used a single module of DDR2 memory up to 2 GB.

There are also versions of the Aspire One with Windows XP and Linux. The distribution chosen is a custom version of Linpus (a Taiwanese distribution based on Red Hat), which uses a streamlined interface, similar to used in the Eee Xandros. The Linpus is not exactly a recommended distribution because it is limited and does not have good support for internationalization, but you will not have difficulties in installing Ubuntu or other current distribution using a Pendrive.

A positive point of the Aspire One is the fact of having two card readers, instead of just one, as would be normal. The second player lets you use an SD card as a secondary storage, staying with the other player free for other uses. This possibility is especially interesting in models with only 8 GB, you can increase the space stuck a card of 4 or 8 GB.

After the original models, with screen 8.9 ", was launched the Aspire One D150, which was updated with a screen of 10.1", bluetooth and the Atom N280, while the other basic features.With the increase of the screen, it was about 1 cm greater, but different from Asus, the Acer does not move in the dimensions of the keyboard to update the model. Instead, the buttons on the touchpad back to normal position:

Unlike previous versions, where you poia choose between HD or SSD, the D150 comes with a mechanical 160 GB HD and the battery of 6 cells. The biggest problem with upgrades is that it was heavier (1.35 kg, 980 grams against the Aspire One original) and more expensive.

Anyway, we have the HP 2133 Mini Note, which was the response of HP to launch the first models of the Eee PC. He drew much attention at the time of release, mainly due to the keyboard, which quite comfortable to use for a netbook.

Today, keyboards with 92% of regular size in netbooks are a common thing, but when the keyboard of 2133 drew much attention. Was largely due to the great interest of the public that all other manufacturers began to produce netbooks with larger keyboards:

HP took until the last millimeter of the interior in time to the keypad design, adopting compensation in a strange layout of touchpad, where the buttons have been moved to the side.

In the default configuration, with a 3-cell battery, it weighs 1:27 kg, with the option of using a battery of 6 cells, which doubles the autonomy and the role is to support the keyboard, leaving the unit in a curved, slightly more comfortable typing. Furthermore, it increases the weight and about 150 grams and the "knob" makes the HP Mini much less practical to transport.

Despite the external body is aluminum, the home office is plastic, allowing the unit to maintain relatively mild, but in return helped endear the product, making the Mini in 2133 was one of the most expensive netbooks start of the season, with the model equipped with 2 GB of RAM and HD of 120 costs $ 649 U.S. and more than $ 2,000 in Brazil.

Ironically, it was developed with focus on public student, to be an option lighter and more practical than a traditional notebook. However, the price just so that the acceptance was small.

An important feature is that the Mini 2133 is based on the Celeron ULV or the Atom, but the VIA C7-M ULV (from 1.0 to 1.6 GHz, according to the model) combined with the VIA Chrome 9 chipset.

The C7-M processor is simply the x86 slower (clock for clock), which was still produced in 2008, particularly with respect to the FPU. To complicate the selling the HP Mini Note with openSUSE(one of the heaviest distributions) or the Vista Home Basic (it was necessary to pay an additional fee for downgrade to opt for XP), which contributed to the feeling of sluggishness.

The original plan was that the Mini in 2133 was soon replaced by a version based on the VIA Nano, a project that offers significantly improved in the C7-M, including an arithmetic coprocessor almost 4 times faster and a competitive electric consumption courtesy of the art Manufacturing of 0065 micron. However, the low demand for the new platform just taking the HP to abandon the idea, to use the Atom and 945GSM, as almost all other manufacturers.

Behind the curtains, is a policy of very aggressive pricing of Intel, offering big discounts to manufacturers that use the Atom in conjunction with an Intel chipset (basically, to also buy the chipset, the processor comes out for half price) which essentially prevented the participation of VIA, which in addition to difficulties in finalizing the Nano and produce it in volume, could not offer it at competitive prices.

On Mini 2133 was followed by two models: the HP Mini 1000 and HP Compaq Mini 700. As the names suggest, the 1000 is produced by the HP, while the 700 is manufactured by Compaq, which is currently a division within the company.

The Mini 1000 has emerged as a variation of the Mini 2133, cheaper and more toward the domestic market. He follows the traditional recipe, with the Atom N270, 1GB of RAM, wireless B / G and Bluetooth. Despite the cosmetic changes, the format remains basically the same as the Mini 2133, including the keyboard:

The 1000 is available in versions with screen of 8.9 "and 10" (from the 8.9 "speakers use side, like 2133), but both use the same resolution of 1024 × 576. He is one of the smaller models of the season today, with only 1:13 kg.

Two other weaknesses of the HD is only 60 GB (or 16 GB SSD) and 3-cell battery, which offers a range of only 2:30 hours of moderate use, half of the offered by other models. A battery of 6 cells is available, but is sold separately.

Some additional details are that he has only one audio output (which combines the phone and microphone, so only use one at a time), has only two USB ports and uses a proprietary connector for VGA output, making it necessary to buy a adapter that HP sells as an accessory.

The Mini 700 is essentially the same machine, but differs by using a screen of 1024 × 600 and be a little cheaper so that, when available, it will be the best choice. The two are a strange example of market strategy, with the same company selling the same product under two different brands and different prices.

Both the Mini and the Mini 1000 has 700 variations with embedded 3G modems, designed to be sold in partnership with operators, with allowance. In the U.S., for example, the Mini was launched in 1000 for $ 449, but to buy it together with a plan of Verizon 3G (contract of 24 months), the price fell to $ 200.