Acer Aspire One is a line of netbooks and laptops that were produced by Acer Inc. from 2008 to 2013.
Many characteristics of a particular model of Acer Aspire One were dictated by the CPU platform chosen. Initial models were based on Intel Atoms. Later, models with various AMD chips were introduced. Newer versions of the Atom were adopted as well.
Early versions were based on the Intel Atom platform, which consisted of the Intel Atom processor, Intel 945GSE Express chipset and Intel 82801GBM (ICH7M) I/O controller,About – Platform . Acer.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-29. and was available in several shell colors: seashell white, sapphire blue, golden brown, onyx black, and coral pink.
Higher end models were released in June 2010 consisting of the AMD Athlon II Neo processor and ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics controller. These were available in onyx black, antique brass, or mesh black shells depending on model.Michelle Maisto (18 June 2010). . eweek.com Also released was a version of the Aspire One 521 with an AMD V105 processor running at 1.2 GHz, an ATI Radeon 4225 graphics controller, and equipped with a HDMI port.. macles.blogspot.com (19 April 2010).
A range of later models were powered by AMD Brazos APUs (combined CPU/GPU chips). The AMD chips had more powerful video capabilities but consumed more power.
Its main competitor in the low-cost netbook market was the Asus Eee PC line.
In January 2013, Acer officially ended production of their Aspire One netbook series due to declining sales as a result of consumers favoring tablets and Ultrabooks over netbooks.
History The line was originally manufactured for Acer Inc. by Quanta Computer; Quanta was phased out as a supplier to Acer, and production of the Acer Aspire One line shifted to other manufacturers in 2009. Also starting in 2009, eSobi Inc. partnered with Acer to preload the eSobi News Center on Acer Aspire One netbooks beginning in the first quarter of 2009.
Operating systems Windows
Windows XP Home Edition SP3 was installed on the models with a name ending in X, or ending in B followed by another letter denoting color.
It was also possible to install and run Windows Vista or Windows 7 on the earlier model laptop. In high-end versions appearing during 2009, Windows Vista was pre-installed. The lack of a DVD-ROM drive required creating a bootable USB flash drive (the on-board card reader slots are not bootable) using a USB external DVD drive or PXE boot network install.
Windows 7 Starter was installed by default on models with a name starting in D such as D255E and D257 as well as other later Aspire models.
Linux Models with names starting in L, or ending in A followed by a letter for color, were shipped with Linpus Linux Lite, which was based on Fedora 8. This offered a simplified user interface, with default applications like the Firefox 2 browser, OpenOffice.org 2.3, Acer One Mail and Acer One Messenger available directly on the main screen. The default desktop environment was designed to hide advanced features from the user and to prevent modification. It was possible to modify the system to present a more traditional Xfce 4 desktop, enable more advanced features such as context menus, or install additional software.
It was possible to install and run other Linux distributions on the Acer Aspire One, and some specially customised Linux distributions were designed to offer out-of-the-box functionality. Other Linux-based operating systems could also run.Aspire One reorganized page. Help.ubuntu.com (26 April 2012). Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
Mac OS X Through the OSx86 project, an Aspire One could boot and run a modified version of Mac OS X, including iAtkos, iDeneb, "XxX" and Kalyway distributions. This procedure was not supported by Apple or Acer.Installing OS X onto your Acer Aspire 1. Nazimjamil.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
FreeBSD FreeBSD v. 8.2 was known to run on the Acer Aspire One, although some limitations applied: lid close not starting a hibernate, and power management which worked to a very limited degree.
OpenBSD OpenBSD releases ranging from 4.4 to 6.4 were known to run on some of the many models of Aspire One, with some limitations based on BIOS and other variations.
Android Some models were dual boot (e.g. D250, D260), with Android 1.6 and Windows 7 Starter. The computer booted up into Android first, with a tab to select Windows. The Android-x86 OS had limited apps available to it.Acer Aspire One Android netbook « Acer Aspire One « ACER ICONIA TABS . Acericoniatabs.com (22 February 2012). Retrieved on 2012-07-29. The Android 1.6 dual boot version was not available in North America.
FreeDOS It was possible to install FreeDOS on even the earliest models. Some peripherals, like a USB mouse or Ethernet port, would not be detected by the standard setup and require manual tweaking. There were exceptions - the Aspire One ZG5 would not boot DOS directly. A workaround was to boot DOS from a USB drive first to access a FAT16 partition (must be the first partition) on the hard drive.
Storage Solid state drives
The A110 model shipped with an 8 GB or 16 GB solid-state drive (SSD), although some models did not come with one. Early 8 GB models came with the Intel Z-P230, model SSDPAMM0008G1. This SSD was criticized for its slow read and write speed. Intel listed the drive's maximum speeds as 38 MB/s read and 10 MB/s write. Later models came with the slightly faster Samsung P-SSD 1800.
Hard disks The hard disk was a regular 2.5-in 5400 rpm SATA drive with 80, 120, 160, 250, 320, 500 or 750 GB. A number of different drives from different manufacturers were reported to be included. Newer-model Aspire Ones took a 7 mm thick drive, as opposed to the usual 9.5 mm thickness that makes up most 2.5-inch form factor hard drives and SSDs.
Expansion slot There was an SD/SDHC storage expansion slot on all models for additional storage (the 533 model did not support SDHC as verified by Acer support UK). On Linux versions this automatically expanded the space of the SSD or HDD using aufs. Windows XP models treated it as a normal removable drive.
Some models had a second slot that functions as a standard multi-in-1 flash memory card reader. The 110 BIOS did not allow one to boot an operating system from this slot, but the 150 BIOS was capable of booting from an SDHC card in the slot. (Note: with Linux, it was possible essentially to boot from HD or USB by using a /boot partition on the regular boot device and an initrd that loaded the real OS from the slot).
Power management The Intel Atom platform had a specified maximum TDP of 11.8 W. Individual figures were 2.5 W for the N270 processor, 6 W for the 945GSE chipset and 3.3 W for the 82801GBM I/O controller. The AUO B089AW01 LCD panel was rated at a maximum power consumption of 3 W.WSVGA Color TFT-LCD with LED Backlight design. Product Specification . gblcd.com (6 February 2008). Typical read–write power consumption for the SSD was around 0.3 W, and 0.01 W when idle. The different HDDs were rated at about 1.5–2.5 W for read–write operations and around 0.7 W when idle.Momentus 5400.4 SATA. Product Manual. seagate.comWD Scorpio Blue-SATA-Festplattenlaufwerke mit 120 GB (WD1200BEVS) . Wdc.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.Travelstar 5K320 . hitachigst.com
The official ratings for the battery were up to 3 hours for the three cell, and up to 8 hours for the six cell. Linpus Linux Lite was optimized by Acer for lower power consumption. Battery life was shorter on HDD configurations with Windows XP, at approximately 2.5 hours for the three cell. Although the standard three cell battery was 2.2 Ah, some users reported 2.4 Ah and 2.9 Ah batteries from the factory. Various suppliers online carried aftermarket batteries, including the six cell. Aftermarket nine cell batteries were available though they were quite heavy and also protruded out of the back, reducing the aesthetics but improving airflow.
Specifications Model Display CPU OS Storage Memory (RAM)Audio Battery Webcam Bluetooth Availability Type SizeA110L8.9 in,1024×600 TFT LCDIntel Atom N270LinuxSSD8 GB512 MBIntel High Definition Audio3 cell 24 Wh0.3 megapixel rowspan=13 US, CA, GB, AU, UAE, EU, PTA110XWindows XP16 GB1 GBUS, CA, GB, AU, UAE, INDIAA150LLinuxHDD120 GB1.3 megapixelCA, GB, INDIAA150L-3G160 GBUS, INDIAA150XWindows XP120 GB0.3 megapixelUS, CA, GB, AE, TW, AU, INDIA160 GB6 cell 57 Wh1.3 megapixelUS, CA, CH, TW, INDIAA150X-3G120 GBGB, MX, DE (T-Mobile), INDIAZG5120 GB512 MB3 cell 24 Wh/ 6 cell 57 Wh0.3/1.3 megapixel BR CA, GB, INDIA160 GBUS (Walmart, RadioShack), SI (SiOL)flyer in Slovenian . (PDF) . Retrieved on 2012-07-29.Linux160 GBGB, TW, BRSSD8 GBDK, TW, GR, PT, AT, INDIA16 GBGB, others?Windows XP8 GBUS, INDIAD15010.1 in,1024×600 TFT LCDHDD160 GB1 GB, can accept up to 2 GB (D250 can accept 4 GB)3 cell 24 Wh/ 6 cell 48/58 Wh0.3 megapixel rowspan=18AU, CA, GB, IN, NL, SG, TH, US, UAE D250 Intel Atom N270 or N280Windows XP//Linux, some with Android 1.6250 GB3 cell 24 Wh/ 6 cell 48 Wh0.3 megapixelAU, CA, GB, IN, ID, NL, SG, UAE, US D255Intel Atom N450 or N5501.3 megapixel D257Intel Atom N455, N550, N570250/320/500 GB DK FR D260 Intel Atom N450, N455, N475, some with Android 1.6250 GB0.3 megapixelAU, PH, UAE, ROD270Intel Atom N2600, N2800250/320/500 GB1/2 GB, can accept up to 2 GB (You can force up to 4 GB)ID, others? 521AMD Neo K125 or AMD V105250 GB1 GB 6 cell 48/63 Wh 1.3 megapixelUS52210.1 in1280×720 TFT LCDAMD C-50, C-601 GB, can accept up to 4 GB, Starter will only use up to 2 GB3 cell 24 Wh/ 6 cell 48 WhUS, CA, EU, THLinpus Linux320 GB2 GB, can accept up to 4 GB 0.3 megapixelTH531h10.1 in,1024×600 TFT LCDIntel Atom N270, N280Windows XP160 GB1 GB, can accept up to 2 GB6 cell 48/58 Wh1.3 megapixelRU, others?P531h1 GB0.3 megapixelUS, CA, GB, AU, UAE, IN, SG, NL 532hIntel Atom N450160/250 GB1 GB, can accept up to 2 GB3 cell 24 Wh / 6 cell 48 Wh US, CA, GB, AU, UAE, EU, PT 72111.6 in1366×768 TFT LCDAMD Neo K125250 GB2 GB, can accept up to 12 GB6 cell 48/63 Wh 0.3/1.3 megapixelUS722AMD C-50, C-60250/320/500 GB1 GB, can accept up to 8 GB6 cell 48 WhUS, CA, EU, Asia751h (AKA ZA3)Intel Atom Z520Windows XP/Vista/160/250/500/750 GB1/2 GB, can accept up to 2 GB3 cell 24 Wh/ 6 cell 58 WhUS, CA, EU, AU, TH752Intel Celeron M 743320 GB2 GB, can accept up to 4 GB3 cell 24 Wh/ 6 cell 48/62 Wh 0.3 megapixelNO753Intel Celeron M U3400250 GB6 cell 48 Wh 1.3 megapixelDA, possibly EU756 Intel Celeron 877 or Pentium B987Windows 7/Linpus Linux/Windows 8320/500 GB2/4 GB, can accept up to 16 GB4 cell 37 WhEU?
An Acer AOD model (10.1" screen) product comparison guide, in the form of a spreadsheet file download, was available from increa.com.Increa Computer Resources. Increa.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
Additional hardware From November 2008 the 3G-enabled model Aspire One A150X-3G was available in Europe, while models with 3G modems began shipping in the United Kingdom in December of the same year and were denoted by the letter G in their model number. The first generation Aspire One webcam was an Acer Labs International M5608 camera controller with attached 0.3 MP SuYin or 1.3 MP LiteOn CMOS sensor.
Some models of the Aspire One used an Intel 945GSE chipset which only supported 2 GB of RAM. Installing memory modules larger than 2 GB has caused the Aspire to fail the power-on self-test. Model 522, featuring the AMD Fusion C-50 chip, was reported to work with 4 GB installed (although the included Windows 7 Starter edition had an artificially imposed 2 GB limit).
AO751h (751h) (ZA3)