Acer Aspire One D250 (Atom N270 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home, blue)

Summary: I've been using this netbook for almost a year and a half now. It's pretty neat to look at, and very portable, but the only thing I don't like is the small touchpad, I always carry my mouse wherever I go.

Summary: I did a lot of research before I bought my netbook. I needed something to take notes on for college and I wanted a very basic netbook with Windows 7. The size, portability, and configuration are all huge pluses to me. I can put this netbook in an over-sized purse and just carry that around from class to class. If you or your college student is sick of lugging around a huge backpack full of pens, paper and notebooks for each class get a little Acer Netbook and solve your back problems.

The one I have is purple, with Windows 7, and I upgraded the RAM (memory) from 1 GB to 2 GB. All the rest is the same as the model that CNET reviewed.

I have done several tweaks to this netbook after I got it. First, I uninstalled all the games, second I use Google Chrome instead of Internet Explorer. I cannot tell you how much I recommend Google Chrome. I'm a rather tech savvy gal and I'm always concerned with keeping my computers as zippy as possible. Google Chrome cuts out all the needless toolbars and opens up wasted space and also is INFINITELY faster than IE. I've also installed an app to change the background on Windows 7. I know this is an issue for most people. The one I have is called Oceanis, which I find to be the best out there for the average user who wants a light weight app.

Also, if you're going to do word processing on this netbook, I highly recommend using Open Office. It's free, light weight, and doesn't bog down your speed like Microsoft Office will. I still have Office on my netbook, but only because I'm much more accustomed to editing documents with it, as I'm an administrative professional by trade. However for note taking, which is this netbooks main purpose for me, it's garbage.

Do your research, take advantage of free apps that will make your life much easier when using this resource slim netbook and you'll just love it! I'm super happy that I didn't buy the new model, the D260, because from what it sounds like you can't upgrade the RAM, but it's comparable in speed!

I also get constant compliments on the glossy, purple finish on mine. I know it attracts fingerprints, but I don't mind. I kind of like the attention! Plus it has little jewel accent on the hinge which just make me giggle. The purple is just silly cute.