Mini-Laptop: Acer Aspire One D250

Design. Compared to its predecessor - AOD 150, AOD250 is lighter and thinner, because it has a three-cell battery, not a six.

Keyboard. The keyboard is firm and easy to type on. It has a pair of full Shift keys, but it still smaller than full size keyboard. There is an improvement on the touch pad, although it is still tiny (2.0x1.5 inches), but the bottom rocker button is a single bar and more clicky.

Display. The 10.1 wide-screen LED-backlit LCD offers a 1,024x600. Colors are sharp, and text and icons are crisp.

Sound. The stereo speakers are weak, both in volume and sound quality (bass is thin). The speakers located on the underside of the front edge of the chassis. Headphones are almost a must.

Battery. According to battery test conducted by CNet.com, the battery life is lower than average. AOD250 ran for 1 hour and 50 minutes on video playback battery drain test. Three cells battery are generally last 2 to 3 hours, while six cells are thicker and can last in the 5-hour range. But according to LaptopMag.com, the 3-cell battery achieved a runtime of 3 hours and 4 minutes, which is about 15 minutes longer than average.

Performance. PCMark05: 1,492; 3DMark03: 741. Both scores are about 100 points higher than average. (ASUS Eee PC 1008HA achieved PCMark05: 1,584.). Boot time: 49 seconds.

Software. 30-day trial of Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Works, Acer GameZone, Google Desktop, Carbonite Online Backup, a 60-day trial of McAfee Security Center, and Acer eRecovery Management application.

Color availability. Black, white, and red.

Price. US$298 at launch time.

SPECS. CPU: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N270; RAM: 1GB, 533 DDR2; HDD: 160GB 5,400rpm; OS: Windows XP Home SP3; Dimension (WxDxH): 10.17x7.24x1 inches; Weight: 2.2 pounds; Screen: 10.1 inches; Audio: stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks; Port/Slot: 3 USB 2.0; SD card reader; Connectivity: Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth; Webcam: 0.3 megapixel.