Netbook showdown: The top 10 mini laptops rated

By Derek Chesterfield on 30 October 2009, 12:48pm

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Acer Aspire One 751 £300

With its large, 11.6-inch screen and slinky styling, the Aspire One 751 is a seriously attractive machine that's likely to tempt many who would usually opt for a full-blown laptop.

Design and usability

Just 25mm thick, the 751 is one of the most impressively slim netbooks currently available. But, despite its diminutive size, it manages to pack in a superb 11.6-inch screen with a higher-than-usual resolution of 1,366x768 pixels. The extra width needed to accommodate the screen also means there's room for a relatively large keyboard and trackpad, with the result that, in use, the 751 feels very much like a laptop.

Connectivity

With three USB ports on offer, you should have no problem connecting external devices like MP3 players, memory sticks and external hard drives. Acer has also included a multi-format card reader so you can easily transfer pictures from your camera's memory card without having to hook it up via USB. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support is included as standard, but some models are available with built-in 3G, for broadband on the go, although you should expect this to add another £50 or so to the price tag.

Performance and battery life

The screen might be rather large for a netbook, but, by using LEDs for the display's backlighting, Acer has ensured that it doesn't hamper battery life too much. In Battery Eater's punishing Classic test, the netbook managed to keep running for just a shade under 5 hours, which isn't bad at all. Less impressive is the 751's rather sluggish Intel Atom N270 processor. It struggles to smoothly play video from BBC iPlayer in full-screen mode -- something that the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, for example, has no problems with.

Should I buy it?

The main appeal of the 751 is its great screen and roomy keyboard. These help it feel more like an ultra-portable laptop than a cramped netbook. But its sluggish performance means that those who want to run more demanding applications should probably opt for one of the faster models in this round-up.

Read our full Acer Aspire One 751 review