Acer Aspire One 751h 11.6-inch Netbook Laptop PC

Aug 17 2009 - Acer's Aspire One 751h is a compromise in features among netbooks that some may like and others could hate. It uses a larger, higher resolution display that gives it a much better working environment. This also gives it a larger keyboard that is surprisingly pleasant to use over long period. The downside is the slower Z series Atom processor that makes the already slow netbook experience even slower. At least it is able to provide long running times with the lower wattage processor and has a very attractive price point.

Aug 17 2009 - The most notable feature of the Acer Aspire One 751h netbook is the larger 11.6-inch display. The screen offers a much higher 1366x768 resolution that provides a much more functional workspace than the more typical 1024x600 displays found in 10-inch netbooks.

While the screen does increase the overall width of the Aspire One 751h, it also has the added benefit of additional space for the keyboard. In fact, Acer has used almost the entire width of the unit and put in a new isolated key design similar to what Apple and Sony have been using for some time. This makes the netbook a much more pleasant experience to type on over extended periods of time. The same can't be said for the trackpad that is very small and difficult to use at times.

Another key design decision by Acer was to use the lower wattage Intel Atom Z520 processors over the much more common N270/N280 found in the netbook segment. While this has the advantage of a lower overall power drain and thus a longer theoretically battery life, the performance drop is quite noticeable, especially when the larger graphics space is used. The processors and graphics do not have the capability to even display a good 720p high definition video feed.

With the lower power consumption of the processor, the Aspire One 751h does benefit from better than average battery life. Claims of eight hours by Acer will be possible in some situations. A video playback test that is more demanding resulted in just under six hours of playback time that is quite good.

Overall, the Aspire One 751h is certainly a good value for those looking for a larger screen netbook with long battery life and a decent keyboard. They just need to not be as concerned about performance which may put many people off.