Its keyboard is designed just like keyboards found in many other netbooks, which is to say that it works fairly normal, offers a lot of travel and tactile feedback. But as with all netbook keyboards it is somewhat cramped and some people will no doubt still find it as too small for regular daily use.

As for the expanded multi-touch trackpad, it doesn’t really offer a great deal of difference but the added space is certainly a welcome feature. The shiny mouse buttons easily get smudges on them, which might be enough to bother some people, but also be OK with others. Its multi-touch capabilities give the IdeaPad S10-2’s trackpad added functionality and users will find that using a mouse with this netbook will no longer be as necessary as before.

The patterned external lid is an eye-catcher, not only because the design looks pretty, but also because it catches fingerprints like a fly on flypaper. As you can see above it is not the most welcoming of sights, but a piece of cloth a few seconds of wiping should be able to get rid of the smudges. It also manages to reflect a lot of light, too, and almost looks like a mirror surface in very bright environments.

Overall, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 feels rounder, lighter and somewhat easy to take apart compared to other netbooks. It also appears to be smaller than some other 10-inch netbooks because its screen is lowered and the chassis isn’t wider than it has to be. I’d say it would be pretty easy to carry around, although the bundled 6-cell battery does add some weight to the overall package.

The 6-cell battery is practically the only thing that jumps at you upon seeing the IdeaPad S10-2. As everything else appears to be tightened in and all edges rounded for a non-intimidating appearance, the 6-cell battery quite easily reveals itself openly at the back. It’s almost as if it’s shouting at you, telling you to make sure you notice that it’s a 6-cell battery that will keep the netbook running for hours.

The unit we tried on our hands-on was pre-loaded with Windows XP and a host of Lenovo-relevant bundled software. We weren’t able to use a timer, but booting up took a fairly long time, perhaps more than a minute and a half. We’ll be able to confirm if we get the chance to finish putting this netbook through a full review. Till then, check out a few more photos of it in below’s gallery.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 hands on

via

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Albantron produces 10 inch netbook

In the Philippines, I know of at least one local retailer that is already selling these netbooks, and I was informed that the AAO D150 would be phased out already in favor of this new 10-inch model. What makes the Acer Aspire One D250 so great? Well, for starters, it comes with an Intel Atom N280 processor, which has been proven to be generally faster (though only by a little) than the Atom N270 which has been the norm for netbooks for quite some time now. Besides which, you can consider the Aspire One D250 as just an Acer Aspire One D150 with a better processor and sleeker design. Some of the ports have been rearranged to be positioned evenly between the left and right sides, but the overall look and feel is basically the same.

The price Acer is asking for an Aspire One D250 is the same as the price of an Aspire One D150: 23,995 Pesos or about $507 USD. Right now, I’m a little wary if this model is really worth the upgrade/price increase, but I’ll be spending time with it later today to find out. I’ll let you know what happens then.

Via Electronic Pulp

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Acer Aspire One D250 now available for a little over $500 USD

My reaction upon picking it up for the first time is that it is one “heavy” netbook. Though the fact that my review unit had a 6-cell battery on and a larger screen at 10-inches compared to my 9-inch AAO, I think the biggest reason why it has become somewhat heavier than I expected is Acer’s use of brushed metal on the body. Still, it’s not that hard to carry around, and in a man-purse, it should fit snugly into place.

The Acer Aspire D150’s box contains just the necessary papers (quick guide, warranty card, etc), AC adaptor and the netbook itself. The only thing missing from it is a leather pouch just like the one that came with the 9-inch version when it was released.

I’d say it’s a pretty well built netbook, with a great design to boot. Only problem is, it fails in some areas in terms of quality.

Keyboard, trackpad and connectivity

The power button is placed on the right side, just above the keyboard, while opposite to it is the Bluetooth on/off button and Caps Lock/Num Lock light indicators.

The keyboard Acer used on this model still has the same set of plasticky buttons that feel like they’re going to fall off any minute if you ever do any long haul typing. I enjoyed using the keyboard for the slight increase in size (nearing full size), but I’ve found that typing for long periods of time on it can cause some fingers to hurt a bit. And that’s not a good thing. However, for just typing the occasional Notepad notes and blog posts, I felt the keyboard sufficed. Also, it’s nothing a USB/wireless keyboard can’t fix.

As for the trackpad, Acer did the right thing in ditching the old, side-contained left and right click buttons in favor of a single left/right button positioned directly underneath the touch pad. Unfortunately, it’s a little too narrow to provide any real comfort while pressing and oftentimes it can be hard to even just press it at all. Meanwhile, clicking with the use of the touchpad can be equally hard, because it’s not as responsive as it ought to be. Still, this isn’t that big of a niggle since it can easily be solved by using a USB/wireless mouse. I couldn’t get myself to use the multi-touch functionality so I found it pretty useless.

When it comes to connectivity, the Acer Aspire One D150 has got it all–as far as a netbook goes. It quickly runs out of USB ports (as there are only three), and besides the power jack, it’s got a VGA-out port, audio in/out ports, multi-in-1 card reader, Ethernet jack and a security lock slot on its sides.

There’s built-in Bluetooth, but I only got it to work for a file transfer with my Nokia phone, and failed to do so with another Bluetooth-enabled notebook of mine. There’s no built-in 3G module here, but you can always attach one via a free USB port and the Wi-Fi picks up signals very well.

Using Windows XP

Booting up to Windows XP felt like it took longer than necessary. I reckon it’s probably because of the obligatory “bloatware” that comes pre-installed with it in the form of an antivirus program, Acer-made utilities, and Google Desktop. After waiting for a good 30-45 seconds to get from blank screen to the Desktop, you will be greeted with pop-ups like it’s 2005 on the Internet, telling you to update this, download that, check out this, which, needless to say, got really annoying. I doubt if the average computer user will even do anything other than click the visible “x” marks to close these pop-ups, so they will be pestered with these annoying things until the day they learn to turn them off.

But you can’t blame Acer for subjecting their customers to this kind of annoyance. I guess it’s obligatory stuff to have on machines that come pre-installed with Windows XP Home. After all, it enables them to customize the netbook to their liking to the extent that they think will benefit its users.

That said, I think the performance of this netbook with Windows XP Home Edition is just a little bit over the average level. Its 1GB of RAM and 1.6GHz Atom processor with GMA950 graphics aren’t exactly the best combination for an XP machine, but for light tasks which a typical netbook user would be doing, it is fairly adequate. Every once in a while, an intrusive pop-up would come out to disturb the silent peace of operating the Aspire One D150, but it doesn’t really seem to affect how speedy the netbook runs. It’s definitely faster than the SSD-equipped Acer Aspire One that comes with a 9-inch screen, so it would be a nice upgrade for those who own this particular unit.

Battery Life

One of the Acer Aspire One D150’s strong points is its battery life. For through the use of a 6-cell battery, one can run up to 5 hours of usage on a single full charge. I know I have. I even tested the battery life by using the Aspire One D150 for about 1-2 hours each day just for browsing and sideloading of songs to my phone, and I was able to get 6 days of usage. Soon, I believe the battery life on netbooks will be so good that using them will feel like using cellphones all over again–2-3 hours of “heavy” usage per day and you’ll be able to use it for about 3-4 days. One side-effect of the increased battery life, though, is the lengthened charging time. Since the battery is of a higher capacity, it takes longer to fully charge it. Also, it sticks out like a sore thumb at the back of the unit.

Final Thoughts

Compared to the Acer Aspire One with a 9-inch screen, the Aspire One D150 is a worthy upgrade. With a bigger screen, built-in Bluetooth, longer battery life and better design, it beats the old model over most aspects any day. However, I feel that Acer released this model a little too late, for those same features were already found in offerings of its competitors back when the 9-inch model was their only available netbook. For the price, this is still worth it, though, and anyone who still doesn’t have a 10-inch netbook will do good to put this one on their “netbooks to be considered” list.

Acer aspire one D150 is available at Amazon.com for $329.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Acer Aspire One D150 review

I felt that the Acer Aspire D150 was a great deal heavier than its predecessor. This shouldn’t be a surprise since it has a larger screen and theoretically more components (including a higher capacity hard drive and Bluetooth module, among others), but it was quite heavier than I expected it to be.

As for the outer appearance, I’d say I can describe it in just one word: beautiful. the color (red), the brushed metal casing (which is also part of the reason why there’s added weight), the rounded edges all compliment each other. To be honest, the design of the 9-inch Acer Aspire One was what first attracted me when I first saw it last year sitting next to stale-looking, generic white-colored Asus Eee PCs. This next-gen model takes the cake yet again. Based on design, I would still get this over the new Eee PC models. I don’t know, just personal preference.

All the other usual ports and connectors found on the 9-inch Aspire One, as well as other netbooks, are present. On the left side, there is one USB port, 1 VGA-out port, memory card reader (with a filler), audio in/out jacks, and an Ethernet jack. On the right side, there are two USB ports, the charger port and lock slot.

The Acer Aspire One D150’s 6-cell battery evidently bulges out round the back. This is yet another reason why the netbook is heavier overall, since it lugs on a weight of its own, but the benefit of a few extra hours of battery life far outweigh this little inconvenience. I’ll see how long exactly the battery lasts on a single full charge and include my findings in my full review.

The next two things I’m going to discuss about the Acer Aspire One D150 are among the biggest improvements. The keyboard is larger, and the trackpad is now done in a standard way where the left and right click buttons are positioned below the actual trackpad. I haven’t been able to do any long haul typing on the Aspire One D150’s keyboard yet, but from what I’ve experienced so far, it doesn’t differ much from the keyboard of the 9-inch model in terms of tactile feedback and travel.

It’s keys are somewhat larger, which makes for better typing, but graduating from the 9-inch model’s keyboard to this one won’t feel like you’ve just escaped from prison. As for the improved trackpad, while I like the fact that Acer moved the clickers below the touch panel, it would have been nice if they made it larger overall too. The more space to move my fingers on, the better. Anyway, it’s always easier to just use a USB mouse for on-screen navigation, so that’s not a problem at all (at least for me).

All Acer Aspire One D150 units come pre-installed with Windows XP Home Edition, and as I booted the device on I noticed that it took a bit longer than my old Aspire One to boot. The fact that it was also pre-installed with a fair amount of bloatware might have something to do with it. I’ll discuss more of this in my upcoming full review and comparison with the 9-inch Acer Aspire One.

Well, it doesn’t look like the Acer Aspire One D150 will disappoint. Right now, there’s no way to know for sure if it satisfies in every aspect or not, but I’d say it’s promising so far. Check out the rest of the photos I took while unboxing the unit below.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Acer Aspire One D150 unboxing and first impressions

Via Netbook3G

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Acer Aspire D150 gets an official launch in France

So what chance does Toshiba have of succeeding in the U.S. market if it offers the NB105 there? Practically none, or close to it. Which is why it would make sense for the company to introduce a slightly better specced model than the NB105, one that preferably features a 10-inch screen, faster processor and longer battery life. A new report on Channel Web clues us in on the company’s plans to enter the U.S. netbook market, and having an improved version of their first product for the category on tap wouldn’t hurt them at all.

CRN via Liliputing

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

10-inch Toshiba netbook coming to the U.S. before year end?

Via Reuters

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Apple said to have ordered 10-inch touchscreen panels for mysterious new product

This is according to Acer chairman J.T. Wang in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. Wang also mentioned that the screen they used for their upcoming 10-inch netbook is “brighter and more saturated” that those Asus used on the equally sexy Eee PC S101 (probably true, but the flame war that could result from this is definitely not necessary).

Currently, netbook sales account for about 30 percent of the company’s overall notebook sales, so that’s good news for Acer’s netbook division. We’re going to see just how better the D150 is when we finally get it in our hands, and we’ll give you an update then.

Via Electronic Pulp

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Acer chairman: Acer Aspire D150 uses better screen than Asus S101

• 10 inch 1024 x600 touch screen
• Intel Atom N270 with 1GB RAM
• 160GB HD
• Bluetooth
• b/g/n Wifi
• Ethernet
• 3G option
• SD card slot
• ExpressCard slot
• VGA out
• 3 x USB
• 1.3Mpix webcam
• XP Home

It was seen on display at this year’s MWC, but there’s no word yet on a release date or price.

IT Mobility via jkkmobile

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Gigabyte’s M1028 convertible netbook unveiled