Verdict
The Acer Aspire One isn’t the only 8.9-inch mini-notebook on the block, but at $379 it’s a pretty good bargain—if you can live with short battery life. However, prospective buyers may prefer the $399 Windows XP version, which sports a larger 120GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM, Others may prefer the longer endurance of the ASUS Eee PC 901’s six-cell battery and its 1GB of RAM, although its $599 price and cramped keyboard will give some pause.
The 8.9-inch HP 2133 Mini-Note PC has a sleeker, more durable design, but the Linux version isn’t nearly as consumer-friendly as what Acer or ASUS offers. In the ever-growing field of mini-notebooks the Aspire One is a decent buy for those on a tight budget looking for a secondary PC for getting online. It’s a better deal than the more expensive 7-inch Eee PC 4G.
