Nine and Ten-inch Acer Aspire One Netbooks compared

Good news for those of you who have been trying to decide between an 8.9-inch and 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One netbook. Portable Monkey has posted a thorough run-through of the main differences between the two netbooks including lots of comparison photos between the two. Both systems were tested with a 3-cell battery (he didn’t have access to a 6-cell battery) and came with similar specifications (1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, WiFi 802.11g and Windows XP Home).

Overall both netbooks were found to have very bright glossy displays, with the 10-inch mode slightly easier on the eyes. The 9-inch model was very loud in use and could distinctly be heard in the next room whilst the 10-inch model was super quiet. The 9-incher also had the worst speakers that they had experienced on a netbook, maybe something to do with the hard-drive failures being seen when playing certain songs? However, the 10-inch model lost brownie points for using the same keyboard as used in the 9-inch one.

Battery life on the 3-cell battery was 2 hours and 3 hours on the 9/10-inch models respectively, strange that the 10-inch model is significantly more power efficient. You should expect around 6 hours from the 4400mAh 6-cell battery. Click through for a full summary on the key comparison points.

Key comparison points (Acer Aspire 8.9” AOA150 versus 10.1” AOD150):

• Both displays are equal in brightness, in fact they might be too bright. Vertical viewing angles are slightly better on the 10-incher. 10-inch screen is much easier on the eyes.
• Nine-inch model is loud. Can hear constant hard drive clicking. 10.1-incher is extremely quiet.
• The 9-incher has the worst speakers heard on a netbook, the clarity is not good enough. However, the 10.1-incher goes much louder.
• Both trackpads are average, the 10-incher is a slight improvement mainly due to its larger size. It has a standard mouse button setup. The 8.9-incher has two buttons on each side of the trackpad.
• Both Aspire Ones have the same keyboard. It’s a great keyboard, but disappointing to not see a larger one on the 10-inch model as it feels cramped.
• Build quality is pretty solid, there is little screen flex. The lids are prone to fine scratches though. The 8.9-incher is slightly thinner and noticeably smaller and lighter.
• On the 9-inch model, the 3-cell battery gave just over 2 hours of use. On the 10-incher, the 3-cell battery lasted for almost 3 hours.