Acer Aspire One 751 review

At 1.4kg, Acer’s Aspire One 751 is slightly heavier than most netbooks.

This is mainly due to its larger 11.6in screen. The benefit of this extra size is the 1,336×768-pixel resolution, which feels much more spacious than the 1,024×600 resolution of most netbooks, and prevents the problem of some dialog boxes not fitting on the screen.

The lid doesn’t tilt back very far, which could make the 751 awkward to use in tight spaces. The glossy screen is bright, although viewing angles are a little tight. This is unlikely to be a problem in everyday use, though.

The 751’s slender frame means it doesn’t feel much bigger than a 10in netbook. We were immediately taken with its attractive and slim, yet sturdy, design. The large battery jutting out of the rear looks a little ungainly, but it can be used as a handle.

Battery life was impressive at just under six hours and 50 minutes. Although other netbooks can last well over two hours more, this is the longest battery life we’ve seen for a netbook with an 11.6in or 12in screen.

With a 1.33GHz Atom Z520 processor on board, the Aspire was a little slower in our benchmarks than the other netbooks here. Windows felt a little sluggish when switching between multiple applications, but a bigger concern is video playback. The Aspire One sometimes struggled to play standard-definition iPlayer videos smoothly, which we suspect is due to the immature drivers for the Intel GMA 500 integrated graphics. This problem may be solved with newer drivers.

We were also a little disappointed with the Aspire’s keyboard. Although the keys are large, they also feel too stiff, so they don’t give quite enough feedback when pressed. The smooth, accurate and reasonably large touchpad is a pleasure to use, but the single pivoting button is so spongy that we were never quite sure if we’d pressed it.

Despite its flaws, the Aspire One is a good choice if you need its high-resolution screen. Still, we’d rather have Samsung’s N120, which has a smaller screen but a superior keyboard and battery life.