Acer Aspire One D260

If we could use one word to describe Acer's Aspire One D260 (23797), HP Compaq 6715B Battery would be "cute." While other netbooks might cringe at such an epithet, the D260 soaks it up. The target audience for this netbook is users who care more about good looks than battery life, and whomever these people are, they will certainly get their wish. Still, cute isn't a dirty word, especially when the D260 manages to be thinner, lighter, sony battery and less expensive than most other models in its class. Is the charm factor enough to make this slim and pretty $299 netbook fly off the shelves?

Design

Weighing just 2.6 pounds and measuring 10.2 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches, the lithe D260 feels feather-light. Unlike Acer's larger notebooks, the branding on the D260Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery is much more overt: the upper left-hand corner has Acer's logo in dark gray, and "Aspire One" is emblazoned in chrome across the middle. The light matte gray finish of the lid extends to the deck surrounding the Fine Tip keyboard, and is interrupted only by a gently glowing blue power button at the top and four sony vgp-bps13/b status LEDs on the bottom left.

Those who find a gray finish too staid Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery can get the netbook with an aquamarine black, pink, or purple lid. The black and charcoal lids are solid, but the others feature a flake-like pattern that extends to the palm rest.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Like other Acer netbooks, this one sports a 93-percent of full-size FineTip keyboard that isolates the keys slightly. Though some may find the keys positioned too close together, we didn't mind Sony VGP-BPS10 . During our typing sessions the keyboard offered strong tactile feedback, and we appreciated the large right Shift and Enter keys. The shrunken arrow keys were easy to locate without looking.

We'd like to see Acer follow the lead of other manufacturers and turn the function key shortcuts into Dell GD761 Battery direct action keys in the top row. For example, to raise the volume you have to press Fn + Up Arrow, when it should just be a dedicated button.

Oddly (but pleasingly), the 3 x 1.6-inch touchpad on the D260 is larger that of the 11-inch Aspire 721 and provides ample room for executing multitouch gestures. Also unlike the Aspire 721, the D260's touchpad is slightly raised from the rest of the deck, providing a tactile clue if your finger strays. The low-friction surface is smooth, making it easy to zoom around the screen. Though we usually prefer separate left and right mouse buttons, the single bar Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS on the D260 is long; we were always able to distinguish between the two buttons.

Heat

After streaming a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the D260 remained cool, reaching 84 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad, 86 degrees battery between the G and H keys, and 88 degrees underneath. The only part of the machine that got uncomfortable was near the vent, which registered 102 degrees.

Display and Audio

The picture on the Aspire One D260's glossy 1024 x 600-pixel display Acer Aspire One Battery was bright and crisp when surfing the web and viewing images. Though there was plenty of detail when watching standard-definition episodes of Lost, narrow viewing angles and reflections during dark scenes made the overall experience less enjoyable.

Though the front lip of the netbook tapers up to give the speakers beneath a boost in volume, we were never able to fill a small room while listening to music. Volume for Hulu was decent, though. Once we put the D260 in our lap the sound was almost completely muffled, just as with the 721. Despite these drawbacks, the quality of the audio impressed us, pumping the bass line in Superchick's "One Girl Revolution" and separating different layers Acer Aspire 5670 Battery of music enough that we heard the flute in Guns n' Roses' "November Rain" over the guitar solo.

Ports and Webcam

Acer included the standard spread of ports along the left and right sides--Ethernet, one USB, headphone, mic, and memory card reader line the right, acer aspire 9800 battery and the remaining two USB ports and VGA connector line the left.

We weren't impressed with the 1.3-megapixel webcam. Even good battery with backlight correction set to its highest level, the images it captured were dark and didn't represent colors well. While chatting with a friend on Skype they reported that we looked blocky and blurry whenever we moved.