The Acer eMachine EM250 Netbook Review

As of this date, on Best Buy, they are offering this model for $199. That is an incredible price. Have no idea how long it will last.

10/21/2010

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I recently purchased a new netbook. It is the Emachine netbook, model 250-1162. It is a 10 inch screen netbook, so for me, it's a little bit smaller than my last one. I had the Acer Aspire One 11.6 inch screen and really liked it. But lately, I have felt that its too big for me. Getting a smaller netbook was the answer for me. What was amazing though, was the price! This netbook is by far the least expensive netbook out there.

Now, here are a few things you need to know about this netbook. Acer, in the most recenty history, has purchased not only Gateway, but Emachine as well. So, this new netbook may look familiar to you, because it is basically the exact model of the Acer 10 inch netbook the Acer D250. They are pretty much identical. The keyboard for me is much smaller then the Acer 11.6 inch model that I have. The screen is good, but again, I feel that it is much smaller for me because I am used to the Acer. I love that it comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition, however, I am anxious to see how it runs with Windows XP. One negative is that it comes with a 3 cell battery, which means low battery life. Another is how high it sits. The screen seems to be higher from the base of the netbook, and to me, makes it look longer.

The webcam is the typical 1.3 mega pixel cam. The screen is bright and beautiful. Plenty of hard drive space, and the RAM is upgradeable. It of course, does not come with a DVD drive, but you can buy a cheap external drive anywhere. Its a great price for a small netbook. I love it. I compared it with the Acer, and it is much smaller, and lighter. See pictures.

Here are the specs depending on which model you get:
- Genuine Windows® 7 Starter for Small Notebook PCs or Genuine Windows® XP Home (Service Pack 3)
- Processor Intel® Atom™ processor N270 (512 KB L2 cache, 1.60 GHz, 533 MHz FSB)
- Mobile Intel® 945GSE Express Chipset (DDR2 400/533/667 MHz) or Mobile Intel® 82801GBM Chipset
- Memory 1 GB of DDR2 667 MHz memory, upgradeable to 2 GB using one soDIMM module4
- Video Subsystem Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
- LCD Properties 10.1" SD 1024 x 600 (WSVGA) pixel resolution, high-brightness (200-nit) TFT LCD
- Hard Drive1,5 2.5" 9.5 mm 160 or 250 GB hard disk drive
- 5-in-1 Media card reader , supporting MMC, SD, xD, MS, and MS PRO cards
- No internal optical drive
- Audio Optimized Dolby® Headphone technology 6
- High-definition audio support
- Two built-in stereo speakers
- MS-Sound compatible
- Built-in digital microphone
- Peripheral Subsystem Integrated 0.3 megapixel webcam
- Built-in microphone
- Three USB 2.0 ports
- External display (VGA) port
- Headphone/speaker/line-out jack with S/PDIF support
- Microphone-in jack
- Ethernet (RJ-45) port
- DC-in jack for AC adapter
- Communication WLAN1, 7: 802.11b/g or 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED® wireless LAN card
- WPAN1: Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
- LAN: 10/100 Ethernet, Wake-on-LAN ready
- Keys and Controls 84-key keyboard with 1.6 mm (minimum) key travel
- Multi-gesture touchpad pointing device supporting: Circular-motion scrolling, Pinch-action zoom, Page flip
- 12 function keys, four cursor keys, one Windows® key for Windows® XP Home, hotkey controls, embedded numeric keypad, international language support
- Power button with LED
- Easy-access WLAN switch with LED
- Easy-launch Bluetooth® key1
- 30 W adapter with power cord
- Dimensions(W × D × H) 10.17 × 7.24 × 1.03 inches (258.5 × 184 × 26.4 mm)
- 2.62 lbs. (1.18 kg) with 3-cell battery pack

For the price, you are getting a great netbook, that is priced below the Acer, and is great for the basic needs of a computer user.