Acer Aspire One D250 Review
Dustin Checketts

INTRODUCTION

Acer recently graced our test beds with their latest 10.1” netbook, the Acer Aspire One D250. With a $299 suggested retail price, this netbook is one of the least expensive available yet still provides a great computing experience and is one of our favorite netbooks to date.

While unboxing the Acer Aspire One D250 we provided a brief overview of the product, hardware and features. Below is a complete and verified list of the specifications for the model we received:

Model Number Acer Aspire One D250-1116
Display 10.1" WSVGA TFT LCD w/ LED backlight
1024x600 resolution
Processor 1.60GHz Intel Atom N270 533MHz FSB
Memory 1GB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz SDRAM
Graphics Intel GMA 950
Hard Drive 160GB 5400RPM
Wireless Acer InviLink 802.11b/g
Audio Integrated speakers; 3.5mm optimized Dolby headphone; 3.5mm microphone
Connectivity MMC, MS, MSpro, SD memory card reader; 3 x USB 2.0; SVGA out; 10/100 Ethernet
Webcam Acer Crystal Eye integrated
Battery 3-cell 2200mAh up to 3 hours life
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home SP3
Weight (Including Battery) 2.37 lbs / 1.08 kg
Dimensions (Including Battery) 10.13”(W) x 7.25”(D) x 1.0”(H)
Price $299 (as configured)

HARDWARE

Chassis & Build Quality
Acer’s D250 is a sleek and slender machine. With something this attractive at this price point you needn’t look much further. From a physical design perspective, it’s simple, elegant, and includes the bare minimum – 3 USB 2.0 ports, headphone & microphone jacks, SVGA out, Ethernet, wireless on/off switch and even a Multi-card reader and security lock.

The chassis comes in various colors. Our model (1116) was ruby red with a hint of glitter. Other colors include white, blue and black – all with a similar glittery sparkle. When opened or closed, the unit feels solid and sturdy and carries like a small college textbook. Inside the lid is a black keyboard with subtle blue text on keys activated by the Fn key. Additionally, a power switch and indicator lights are lit by a non-distracting lime green colored LED. A few logos decorate the wrist rest but can easily be removed if desired. Underneath is flat black with access to the unit’s RAM, HDD and wireless cards decorated by the familiar Windows XP license and model information.

Display
The 10.1” display is adequate for most general-purpose applications. There were some issues with running a few modern applications that require 1024x768 resolutions and the tops and bottoms of the applications being cut off from view, but this can be corrected with some third-party display tools. Brightness was scalable to various degrees making it useful in the brightest of sunlight and soft for viewing in dark spaces.

Keyboard
The D250’s keyboard measures 89% of a full-size keyboard. As such, the keys were slightly smaller and accommodate a petite hand versus my basketball hands. Regardless, with minor adjustment and attention I was able to quickly adjust to the smaller size. The touch and feel of the keys leave a little to be desired but they remain relatively quiet and suffice for such an inexpensive machine. One of our testers found several of the keys stuck, which may or may not turn out to be a widespread problem.

Touchpad
Only a minor drawback, but the Aspire One’s touchpad could have been enlarged. It measures a mere 2” wide by 1.5” deep and has a single rocker-style button below it. I found myself repeatedly dragging my finger across multiple times to get my mouse to the other side of the screen. This can be adjusted in the Windows settings but you eventually risk accuracy.

Despite its small size, the touchpad does accept gesture commands. Unfortunately, however the physical space is so small that I found the gestures difficult to execute on the limited real estate and ended up disabling the feature altogether.

Connectivity
The D250’s connectivity features mirror the usual netbook offerings – 3 USB 2.0 ports, SVGA, microphone, headphone, Ethernet and AC adapter, and also include a memory card reader that supports MMC, MS, MSpro and SD expandable memory cards. Acer was kind enough to supply a dummy plastic stick to protect the slot while not in use, keeping unwanted dust out but the dummy stick provided protrudes slightly from the chassis. The Aspire One also supports a security lock and wireless on/off switch.

PERFORMANCE

CPU, RAM, Video, HDD
As with all our netbook reviews, the internal components are so similar that there is little difference between models and manufacturers. The unit we received was equipped with an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz single-core processor, 1GB of memory, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (GMA 950) and 5400RPM 160GB hard disk drive. It has been determined that these components are capable of performing most basic work tasks such as browsing the web, sending and receiving email, listening to your iTunes playlist, watching standard definition video either streamed or played from the HDD, word processing, manipulating spreadsheets, preparing presentations - although the latter two may prove difficult on the restricted 10.1” screen size and resolution.

Acer also packages the following software with the D250:
• Microsoft Windows XP Home SP3
• Acer® Game Zone
• Acer® Recovery Management
• Acer® Video Conference
• Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
• Adobe® Flash® Player
• CarboniteSM Online Backup
• eSobi™
• Google™ Desktop, Setup, Toolbar
• McAfee® Internet Security Suite (trial)
• Customized Windows® Internet Explorer® 7.0
• Windows Live™ Essentials

Much of the above can be considered bloatware and should be removed from your new netbook via the Add/Remove programs application found in the Windows Control Panel. Netbooks aren’t meant to run erroneous tasks in the background and by removing these you’ll not only save space on your hard disks, but help optimize its performance.

Benchmarks
After attempting to optimize the system as best we could by removing bloatware and installing all the latest drivers we set out to benchmark the D250. Our highest recorded 3DMark 2005 score came in at 252 with a 3DMark 2001SE score of 3047. We were unable to test this unit using PCMark 2005 due to the 1024x768 requirement.

Its performance scores, or lack thereof, didn’t keep us from loading up some classing games however. We loaded up Warcraft III via the slick new Battle.net install executable and were able to play single player just fine. You may have to manually input the 1024x600 resolution in the registry to play without character distortion, but regardless, the game played very smoothly.

We also loaded up the recent and addicting Plants vs. Zombies game by PopCap games and had a blast throwing frozen pea pods at zombies appearing like the late Michael Jackson – ran flawlessly. And, for kicks and giggles and our addiction to World of Warcraft, we started a trial account and were pleasantly surprised to be able to quest in the starting zones at a respectable 14-15 frames per second. It’s not ideal but it certainly curbed our WoW appetite.

Battery
The 3-cell battery fits snugly behind the keyboard and matches the chassis shape precisely. On a full charge, we reported only 2 hours 18 minutes use which is respectable given the 2200mWh battery. Unless you’re always near an outlet I’d suggest spending an extra $50 for the 6-cell battery that touts a 6 hour battery life – or likely 4 hours 30 minutes by our estimations.

SUMMARY

We’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, netbooks are so similar that it really comes down to aesthetics and price. This is where the Acer Aspire One D250 excels. It’s stylish enough to get by, offers the performance of any other netbook and comes in at a very low $299 price with a 3-cell battery. You can pick up the same model with a 6-cell battery for only $349 and that is my recommendation to get you through the better half of a work day or evening at home or in a hotel room. While testing this netbook alongside many others, this little guy got the most attention as it was the most comfortable to tote and came with me practically everywhere for 5 weeks.

PROS:
• Very light and slim
• $299 price tag
• Bonus multi card reader
• Multi-gesture touchpad

CONS:
• Very small touchpad
• Various bloatware apps preinstalled
• Sticking keys

Unanimously, the Acer Aspire D250 is the favorite around the office but unfortunately didn’t walk away #1 from our roundup. A fellow employee has since purchased one for his personal use after just a few moments on this machine and hearing the price point. The unit came in handy for some quick network troubleshooting at home where I could simply set this up alongside my router and reconfigure my home network. It also came with me to BlizzCon where I wrote some editorial content from the hotel room. The bottom line is – you can’t get a better mobile PC for this price tag. For only $299 you’ll find all kinds of ways to use this thing that’ll definitely give you the return on your minimal investment. The D250 understands how consumers can and will use netbooks and accommodates at a very reasonable price tag.