Acer Aspire One AO722-0473 11.6-Inch HD Netbook (Espresso Black)

This 11.6" 1.0Ghz [1.33 turbo] netbook packs a punch for its size and low power consumption. The AMD C-60 mobile dual core processor runs well enough to play videos without skipping and efficiently enough to stay charged for as much as 7 hours. I opted for this model over the earlier 722-454 version for several reasons: its dual core processor, 2GB of RAM installed/ upgradable to 4GB, and 320GB hard drive.
If you're still not sold on a netbook over a tablet or standard laptop read on.
Tablets are still recreational devices, fun, chic in cafes, but they're still mostly for playing games and looking busier than you actually are. They have a few practical features, but all require a keyboard, which is an extra expense, and conveniently included with a netbook! If you do a lot of writing, typing, or work related proposals and editing, the DataViz optional word processor for Android tablets won't replace MS Office. It has limited functionality and frequently crashes without auto-saving.

If you're thinking about an iPad or AirBook, remember, you're buying into a complete product line of computers, music, videos and applications which are virtually useless on non-Apple devices. If you buy one Apple product, you have to buy them all. This is great for some, but expensive for most.
As I said, if you're comparing this netbook to a traditional laptop, this model doesn't require you to make a lot of sacrifices in your performance expectations. Just remember, netbooks don't have CD/DVD drives, no 10-key, and smaller screens. One complaint I have with this model is that it's missing a built-in bluetooth antenna. Irritating, but easily remedied with a low-profile USB dongle in one of the three available USB ports, which is more than on most netbooks. I would recommend spending the extra $25 to upgrade the RAM to 4GB when you purchase it. It's very easy to install yourself--no under the keyboard poking around required.

There's a single philip's head screw in the middle of the bottom plate, unscrew it, slide forward and you'll find the single DIMM looking right at you. Anybody who played with shape blocks as a kid can figure it out. All in all, this is a good buy for 329.99. It's cheaper than most tablets and standard laptops and you can use it for actual work out of the box, no extra $50 keyboards required. Please reply if you have any other questions I can answer.

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