Acer Aspire One 721 11.6-Inch Netbook

In the growing market for netbooks, consumers are faced with so many choices that it is often difficult to sift through the wheat and the chaff. The main dificulty rests in the general lack of knowledge that most people have with respect to netbook technology. To counter that, many manufacturers have began in the last two years to produce slightly larger netbooks that enable consumers to feel more comfortable with the new ttols and view them in much the same way that they view their old laptops. The Acer Aspire 721 Netbook is a prime example of that change.

Product Features

• The 11.6-inch Aspire One AO721 Netbook is light and less than 1-inch thin, while boasting a full-size keyboard and excellent connectivity for the best of both worlds: portability plus usability
• The AMD Athlon II Neo processor is designed to deliver the balanced performance you need to enjoy your favorite applications; Browse the Internet, read and send email, watch videos, and play games – all on the go
• The AO721 boasts HD resolution and ATI Radeon HD 4225 Graphics with 384 MB of dedicated system memory delivering the performance so you can experience smooth, streaming Internet videos from popular sites like Hulu.com or YouTube
• The 6-cell battery fits flush into the chassis, further streamlining the Netbook’s look and providing up to 5.5 hours cable-free battery life on a single charge
• HDMI output lets you pipe HD content and high quality audio to a large display or big screen HDTV via a single cable so you can share HD entertainment with family and friends anywhere

Sizing it up

Coming in at 11.6 inches, the Aspire One is still a little thinner than an inch, and as light as you expect any netbook to be. The main differences you will notice with the nearly 12 inch size is the full keyboard. Let’s face it; the first year of netbook existence saw many users excited at the reduced size and portability of the units, but still frustrated by the small size of the keyboard and the general difficulty they had getting accustomed to such a cramped workspace. This is one instance where the manufacturers listened to their customers’ concerns!

Netbook uses

Like other netbooks beforer it, this Acer model is designed to excel in certain areas such as internet browsing, email, and document creation. Unlike many of its predeccessors, however, the Aspire 721 can do much, much more. With its 250 GB hard drive, and a 1.6 Gigahertz processor speed, this netbook has already proven itself capable of flawless video playback and high frame-rate online gaming! The fact is that even many laptops with larger storage capacity and greater memory and speed suffer in comparison.

Life on the go

Its battery is rated at five and a half hours of charged life, and is – like many other netbooks and most laptops these days – tucked within the body of the netbook to conform to the unit’s sleek chassis. The Aspire is designed with single outlet connectivity so that you can link it to your laptop, larger display screen, and even a high definition television set. Its three USB ports enable you to run a variety of accessories at once. This Acer netbook obviously involved a lot of planning on the part of its makers, whose success in creating a netbook that is heads and heels above many of its competitors is truly admirable.

Though some users have complained about the angle of view on the screen – the screen resolution is sometimes inconsistent dependent upon what viewing angle you are using – the good news is that this phenomenon appears to be limited to the verticel angle, as the horizontal is quite good. Overall, the Acer Aspire 721 is a more than competent netbook that is capable of far more than most users expect from such a small machine. For the user on the go who wants more than just email capabilities, this Acer model is must have item.

More info: http://us.acer.com/showrooms/aspireone/ao521_ao721.htm

Acer Aspire One Specifications (721-3574, 721-3620)

Operating System	Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Processor	AMD Athlon II Neo K125 (1.70GHz, 1MB L2 cache)
Chipset	AMD 880G
Memory	2GB DDR3 RAM (2 slots, Max 4GB)
Storage	250GB HDD (5400 rpm)
Display	11.6 inch WXGA CineCrystal LED-backlit HD widescreen (glossy screen)
Display Resolution	1366 x 768 (HD Resolution)
Graphics	ATI Radeon HD 4225 (integrated graphics) with up to 384 MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory Microsoft DirectX 10.1 support
Audio	High Definition Audio Integrated microphone Microsoft DirectSound compatibility
Webcam	1.3 megapixel Acer Crystal Eye webcam, 640 x 480 resolution
Ethernet LAN	10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless LAN	Wireless-N (802.11b/g/n)
Bluetooth	No
Optical Drive	Sold separate
Memory Card Reader	MultiMedia Card (MMC) Secure Digital (SD) Memory Stick (MS) Memory Stick Pro (MS Pro) xD-Picture Card (xD)
Ports	HDMI video output port VGA port for connecting to an external monitor 3 USB 2.0 ports RJ45 LAN port Microphone input port Headphone output port
Keyboard and Touchpad	84 key, full-size keyboard and Multi-gesture touchpad
Security	User, administrator and hard drive BIOS passwords Kensington lock slot
Dimensions (W x D x H)	11.2″ x 8″ x1.1″
Weight	3.09 lbs. (1.4 kg)
Power/Battery	65W AC Adapter 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (4400 mAh), up to 5.5 hours
Included Software	Acer® Assisst Acer® ePower Management Acer® eRecovery Management Acer® Identity Card Acer® Registration Acer® Updater Acer® Video Conference Manager Adobe® Acrobat® Reader Adobe® Flash® Player CyberLink® PowerDVD™* eSobi™ Google™ Toolbar McAfee® Internet Security Suite (trial version) Microsoft® Office (60-day trial) Microsoft® Silverlight® Microsoft® Works Norton™ Online Backup Skype™ Windows Live™ Essentials *OEM, not full-featured, version.
Warranty and Support	1-Year parts and labor limited warranty with concurrent International Traveler’s Warranty
Color	Black, Mesh Black
Date first available at Amazon.com	May 19, 2010 (AO721-3574) January 1, 2011 (AO721-3620)
Retail Price	$429.99

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