Acer 722 BZ480

The Acer Aspire One AO722 0828 Computers has an Espresso Black chassis, with a glossy lid that features a ripple design. The system measures one inch thick only because it lacks an optical drive, whereas the Panasonic Toughbook CF-S10 measures 1.5-inch thick, due to the DVD-RW drive underneath the right palm rest. But the Panasonic CS10 manages to keep its weight down (2.96 pounds). The Aspire One AO722-0828 weighs 2.98 pounds, which still puts it on the lighter side for 11-inch netbooks: The HP Pavilion dm1z weighs 3.4 pounds and the Lenovo IdeaPad S205 weighs 3.1 pounds.

The 11.6-inch widescreen has a standard 1,366-by-768 resolution. Its display provides ample screen real-estate to view a website in full-screen—far more comfortable then the cramped 10-inch, 1,024-by-600 screens found on many netbooks. The keyboard is slightly less than full-sized, but I was able to adjust easily to the change. Its chiclet keys were big and soft to type on, but I noticed a flexing in the keyboard that made the overall value of the netbook seem cheap. The touchpad feels smooth and provided a wonderful navigating experience. However, the unified mouse button might take some getting used to; it’s a little thin and can be stiff toward the middle. + Continue Reading