Acer Aspire One D255 Netbook Reviews

Posted by admin

February 21, 2012

Acer Aspire One D255 Netbook – Switch Between Windows and Android

With cut throat competition in the netbook segment, there is always pressure on leading brands to develop differentiated offerings. Acer’s D255 netbook is one of the first 10 inch screen laptops to be embedded with the new 1.5 GHz Intel Atom N550 processor.

The Acer D255 comes loaded with Windows 7 Starter & Android 2.1; although adequate for the Android environment, the 1 GB RAM is barely enough for the Windows 7 interface. The D255 has got a 250 GB hard drive which is reasonably spacious for a 10”inch netbook. The N550 processor takes care of most multi threaded applications and the Intel GMA 3150 graphics chipset makes the multimedia experience exciting.

Connectivity is standard in the Aspire D255 with three benchmarks USB 2.0 ports, VGA video output, SDHC/MMC card reader plus headphone & microphone jacks. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are provided as the basic wireless solutions, with a webcam and microphone integrated on the top of the screen.

The D255 has large keys with an intelligent layout with proper shortcuts. The best part though is the good key feedback and a similarly brilliant click in the keys. The only negative aspect of the D255’s keyboard is the lack of space for the palms. The touch pad is small but highly sensitive and merges itself into the palm rest area not appearing odd to the user.

The screen of the Aspire One D255 is less surprising. It has glossy coating leading to vibrant colors and a well lit LED to avoid reflections. The screen is, however, well designed, and the display is perfect from deviating angles.

The speakers are satisfactory but competent enough. The music listening experience is an exception though without any real bass or treble, but acceptable. For other multimedia like movies or online media the user will have to use headphones.

Acer um08a73 laptop battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $60.81

Acer Aspire 6930 notebook battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $65.29

Acer aspire one zg5 battery – Brand New 5200mAh Only AU $71.71

Although the Acer netbook boasts nothing extraordinary, it does, however, carry a very impressive design. There are multiple colors available for the top and palm rest area, while a majority of the net-book is black. Acer Aspire One D255 comes in red, black, white, blue and brown mixed with a black body.

The D255′s applications are limited however, with the 2.1 Android, which has limited choices for applications. Initially designed for touch screen devices and now stuck with a small net-book, the Android OS is no good for this machine. Windows 7 Starter is, however, a great but limited option. The 1 GB RAM is not enough to drive the Windows OS. With no notable improvements to the laptop battery life, there is a serious battery life issue when running Windows 7. The amazing prospect of the Android 2.1 OS is that the booting time is a mere 15 seconds.

All in all, the D255 has a good processor and the ability to switch easily between Windows & Android. The lacking features are the battery life and chipset features, which should have had some radical upgrades. For a price of almost £200, the D255 might just tempt the odd one out, but this netbook will probably not make waves.