The WiMAX Aspire One managed speedtest.net results of 6.7 Mbps on the downlink and 2.8 Mbps on the uplink; it also loaded the NY Times homepage in 15 seconds and played smooth streaming video from Hulu in full-screen.  Check out the Laptop Mag link for the video demo of the WiMAX netbook in action. 

As for market availability, our contacts at Acer passed us this European press release for the netbook which confirms that not only integrated 3G but integrated WiMAX are upcoming options.  While the release specifies the Euro/Asian spec 2100MHz HSDPA band, we’re told a 3G version suited to the US is certainly on the cards. 

Further reading @ www.slashgear.com

“The Aspire One A150X basically uses the same frame as the Aspire One A110L. It is still currently the smallest of the Atom-based UMPCs at 170 millimeter (width) by 249 mm (depth) by 29 mm (height). Without its battery, this model weighs only 0.7 kilograms. It becomes heavier when its main 6-cell 52000 mAh (milliampere/hour) lithium ion battery is plugged in. The battery is actually the single heaviest object in the laptop, about half a kilogram, and it juts out of the back of the unit. Despite the aesthetically unappealing look, the batteries extend the operating period of the Aspire One.”

Further reading @ inquirer.net

Thankfully, Acer has taken a slightly more restrained view of what constitutes an SCC. Its Aspire One is available in just three basic flavours: 8GB SSD and Linux; 120GB HDD with Linux; and 120GB HDD with Windows XP. On the desk in front of us, we have the least expensive, most basic model, the 8GB in MacBook-envy white, the most pure iteration of the SCC concept to date, in our opinion.

 
Acer’s Aspire One: stylish

Out of the box, the AA1 - as fans call it - is a petite 249 x 170 x 29mm and weighs in at a correspondingly featherweight 995g (2.19lbs). So the portability box is well and truly ticked.

It’s wider than the Eee: about 25mm more than the Eee 900, for example. That’s to accommodate the AA1’s larger keyboard, which Acer claims is 85 per cent of the size of a full laptop keyboard - larger and less cramped than the one on the Asus and, consequently, easier for bigger hands to use.

Overall, the AA1’s build quality is excellent. The keyboard is well laid out, firm and responsive, the screen hinge is solid, and the fan is never intrusive once it fires up to cool things down. It has a decent colour scheme as well, the black screen surround nicely setting off the white of the lower half of the device, though we’re not entirely sure what the red rims on the lid hinge are all about. There’s a pleasing lack of stickers too, with only the Intel Atom label besmirching the palmrest area.

Full review at reghardware.co.uk

ACER’s Aspire One is a solid netbook, but it can be much more.

In the last two weeks, I’ve been using it as a full notebook, running office applications, editing digital photos, surfing the Web and watching videos on a robust, full-featured system. The remarkable thing is, I’m doing it on a such a small, lightweight computer (less than a kilo) that has only 8 gigabytes (GB) of storage and 1GB of memory.

The key to unlocking the Aspire One’s power was to replace the Linpus Lite Linux operating system that comes installed with the netbook with Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron).

Linpus Lite, based on Fedora, is a good choice for first-time Linux users because it shields them from the complexity of the operating system. On the other hand, the simplified approach also makes it unwieldy to add programs that do not come installed, or to customize the system to work the way you want.

I chose Ubuntu as a replacement because it’s a great, user-friendly Linux distribution and I’ve always wanted to run it on a notebook.

The first challenge in installing the new operating system was the absence of a CD-ROM drive. Fortunately, I found an excellent guide (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne) that stepped me through the process, which entails using a USB drive in lieu of an install CD.

A few caveats before you decide to jump in.

First, you will need another machine with Internet access to download the latest version of Ubuntu and Live USB, a program to create the boot USB disk.

Second, you will need a wired connection because Ubuntu’s default drivers will not work with the netbook’s Atheros wireless card when you first boot it. This shouldn’t be a problem if you have a standard wireless router—just connect the netbook to one of the LAN ports with a cable and you’re ready.

Third, because Ubuntu is not tailored to work with the Aspire One’s hardware, some features—the Wi-Fi indicator light and hibernate—will not work. Other functions work only partially.

Further reading @ Philippine News

Further reading here

PCWorld down under, has a nice review of the Acer Aspire One “ZG5″ and before you ask, your guess is good as mine (prob different model number in different countries maybe ?) they have more pictures on their site.

“We looked at the Linux (Linpus) version for this review, which has an 8GB SSD and 512MB of DDR2 RAM accompanying its 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU. Straight out of the box, the Linpus interface boots up in around 20sec. It’s easy to use and its desktop contains shortcuts to all of the unit’s essential applications. Firefox and OpenOffice are installed, as is an instant messaging client that allows you to sign in to MSN, Yahoo, AIM and Google Talk accounts. The desktop is split up into four sections: Connect, Work, Fun and Files, so it’s easy to navigate, but it doesn’t allow for much advanced functionality. Unlike the Eee PC, it doesn’t have any educational tools installed.

It might be worth waiting for the Windows XP version of the Aspire One, which will cost only $100 more than the Linux version but will have 1.5GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive. Furthermore, you might also want to wait until the 3G versions are released, which will make this the perfect tool for journalists’ on-the-scene reporting and for users who have to put up with long public transport rides. As it stands, the Linux version has a solid-state drive in its favour, as well as the seamless integration of the storage expansion slot. Another few gigs of built in storage wouldn’t go astray, nor would an extra 512MB of RAM.”

Full review here

On a side note, they referenced a little website called AspireOneUser.com

IT’S difficult to write about the Aspire One from Acer without gushing.

Out of the box, this mini-notebook is the perfect traveling companion for anyone who simply needs to surf the Web, send e-mail and perform typical office tasks such as typing up documents, working on spreadsheets or giving a presentation.

Its compact size—6.7″x9.8″ and less than an inch thick—and weight—less than a kilo—make the Aspire One extremely easy to bring along anywhere. The netbook is slightly longer than the pioneering Asus Eee PC, but Acer has put that extra space to good use by building in a larger keyboard that most touch typists will appreciate (about 85 percent of a full-sized one) and a glossy black frame around the LCD screen that makes it look brighter.

“Like the Eee PC, the Aspire One doesn’t make this easy to the casual user. In fact, the default launcher doesn’t even have an icon for installing or removing software.

Fortunately, Laptop Magazine details how to do this:

1) Open a terminal by going to My Documents in the Files group. Then choose File > Terminal.

2) Type “xfce-setting-show” (without the quotation marks) and hit Enter.

3) In the Settings Manager window that appears, select the Desktop icon. In the Behavior tab, check the box that says “Show desktop menu on right click.” Now you have access to the system’s advanced menu by right-clicking on a blank area of the desktop.

4) Open a terminal and type “sudo -su” and hit Enter. Type “password” and Enter. Type in a new root password. The password cannot be a dictionary word but a combination of letters and numbers. Retype the password.

5) Right-click on the desktop and choose System > Add/Remove Software. Enter the root password you set and use the Package Manager to install the programs you want.

Using this method, I was able to install Gimp, a powerful open source image editing program similar to Photoshop and Deluge, a BitTorrent client for downloading large files.”

Further reading here

Verdict: Acer’s Aspire one makes a splash. A great keyboard, a fine screen and a keen price make for a simply superb netbook.

Before we go any further, let’s get this out of the way; the Aspire one is absolutely gorgeous. It doesn’t share the HP Mini-Note’s extravagant metal shell, but slip it from its tiny box and it’s got curves in all the right places. Our review unit came in pearly white, but it’s also available in a rich shade of royal blue, a welcome contrast to the plain black and white of the Asus Eees. Whatever colour you eventually choose, though, the smooth lines and the little flash of colour on the lid’s hinges all coalesce into a surprisingly attractive whole.

And when you glance at the Acer Aspire one’s price, that surprise may just spill over into amazement. Where other manufacturers have ignored the Eee’s humble laptop-for-£200 beginnings, and consequently found that their £300+ price tags are treading on the toes of fully-fledged laptops, this, the most lowly of Acer’s five specifications, costs just £191. It also offers an assortment of hardware and vital statistics that easily trumps Asus’ most frugal of Eee PCs, the 701.

The basic specification consists of one of Intel’s Atom N270 processors running at 1.6GHz, 512MB RAM, an 8GB solid-state drive, 802.11bg networking and Linpus Linux Lite as the OS of choice. It’s not a specification to get the pulse racing - we’d have liked Draft-N and Bluetooth - but given the modest demands of Linpus’ OS, it’s still plenty enough for the core tasks expected of it - mail, word processing, internet browsing and media playback.

And, talking of the OS, Linpus Linux Lite shows some promise. The front end isn’t visually as neat as that of the Asus Eee, but it does much the same job. Programs are divided into four main headings: Connect, Work, Fun and Files. The usual suspects such as Mozilla Firefox and OpenOffice are present and correct and Asus has opted to use its own proprietary email client, dubbed Aspire one mail.

More reading here

Acer, the world’s third largest PC vendor, is a big believer in the future of mini-laptops, or netbooks, and the company gave me a chance to try out its first device, the Aspire one, in an interview last week.

It’s one of the best mini-notebooks I’ve tested for the price — which ranges from US$399 to $499, software and other features.

From boot up to shut down, the Aspire one was a pleasure to use. Boot up took just 12 seconds due to the Linpus Linux Lite OS it runs. That compares to 30 to 40 seconds on other mini-notebooks I’ve tested running Microsoft Windows XP. Aspire one can also come with Windows XP, but after trying out the one with Linpus Linux, I’m not sure I’d want XP.

What Acer did best with Aspire one was focus on the Internet.

The Aspire one is designed for Internet use and comes loaded with software. The home page that opens on boot up offers software options right away, including a browser, an all-in-one email box, unified messaging center, media software and Office-like software.

Further reading at PCWorld.com

The German tech site Golem.de has posted a excellent review of the Acer Aspire One SSD 8GB Linux Linpus version, both hardware and software wise.  They also tested the laptop with Windows XP SP3 also.

Interesting note, that the 120gb hard drive model will be a tiny bit larger than the SSD version.
“The Aspire One 110L with SSD weighs with 3-cell battery is 968 grams and 24.9 x 17 x 2.9 centimeters in size.  Aspire is not yet available One-150X, with 120 GB hard drive and Windows XP should, according to Acer 24.9 x 19.5 x 3.6 cm measure the weight is not yet known but is likely much higher than a kilogram.”

Translated by Google into English here
Below - lots of pictures taken by Golem.de