Acer AO532h-2382 10.1-Inch Onyx Blue Netbook - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life

#1: Acer AO532h-2382 10.1-Inch Onyx Blue Netbook - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life Reviews!

Overview:
I have been using this netbook (AO532H-2268: 160gb,1gb) for over a month and it has exceeded my expectations. I expected more "gotchas". I can safely and confidently recommend it for similar uses.

My expectations and uses:
I needed a very light, inexpensive, long-battery-life computer to complement my desktop so I could write a book, surf, watch videos while in the outdoors or during breaks on my bike rides. It does all of those just fine ... simultaneously even.

Keyboard and trackpad:
The 93%-sized keyboard is fine. I am doing a fair amount of typing on it and I am somewhat fussy about keyboards and this one is very acceptable. The arrow pattern helped sell me. I played with the trackpad (pretty good sized trackpad) for a while and the multitouch. Two finger squeeze zoom works okay in most apps and I do use it but, in general the multitouch is not that compelling in my opinon.

Display:
Crisp, bright, no bad pixels. I have used it successfully in full sunlight. 10.1" is adequately sized for a mobile device.

Exceeded Expectations:
It runs faster than I expected. If you use shortcuts, then it snaps along well.
It runs much longer than I expected. 10+ hours despite box only saying 8.
Network is faster than I expected for wired connections. 1gbps is sweet. Wireless locks quickly, seems solid.
Video performance (YouTube or locally stored) has not been choppy.
It uses less RAM than I expected.

Despite what some reviewers have recommended, I have not upgraded RAM, that would be a waste in my opinion. To test RAM usage, I ran two videos simultaneously in VLC and Media Player along with Word, Excel and Access and a browser. Task Manager showed RAM peaking out around 800mb and it did not seem to be swapping to disk. Typically it runs under 500mb. I am not saying that you can't max out its 1gb of RAM, but I am saying that I could not max it out using the applications that I typically use. In other words, Win7 and this netbook seem to manage RAM quite nicely with 1gb.

My upgrades:
- Based on what some reviewers said, I thought about upgrading Win7 Starter to Win7 Home and decided against this also because Win7 seems to be doing fine. There are a few annoyances that I got around: I did figure out a way to remove the default desktop image without installing software. I also figured out how to change the default screen saver.
- I did add an SD card I had lying around for ReadyBoost performance and it did seem to make a difference. I also use half of the SD card for backups. Adding an SD card is not necessary though.
- I applied a gorgeous matte skin from DecalGirl to keep the smudges down.
- I got a Boxwave matte screen cover to reduce glare and screen smudges.
- I might add some tactile dots to the FNC key and LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to help me type in the dark.
- I bought a little slip case to protect it when in transit.
- I installed a full version of Microsoft Office and deleted all the junk apps that I could.


Bottom Line:
Based on my experience it is a great little netbook at a nice price. I feel made a good purchase decision. Good luck with your search.

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Acer AO532h-2382 10.1-Inch Onyx Blue Netbook - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life Features

• 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 Processor
• 1GB DDR2 Memory
• 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM); 802.11 b/g/n Wireless Certified
• 10.1" WSVGA Acer CrystalBrite LED Display, Intel GMA 3150 Graphics
• Windows XP Home; Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life

Customer Reviews

acer ao532h - L-cubed - Los Angeles
Bought this netbook to use on a 5000+ mile trip in the western U.S. Wanted to keep in touch with email and use the internet while traveling for 30+ days and not have the bulk of my laptop. This Acer exceeded my expectations on accomplishing those tasks. I did take a wireless mouse with me - I find the touch pad to be a little sensitive, or else I'm just fumble fingered. I did discover that it is best to take an ethernet cable with you. Some motels chains realize that they don't have good wireless coverage in all their rooms, so they provide ethernet connections. I have a 10' cable, so I wasn't held to working on a night stand because of the placement of the wall connection. Also discovered that many small, non-chain, restaurants have WiFi(just ask the server) you can use while a customer. Battery life on the netbook is great. Overall, I would recommend this item.