Acer Aspire One D250

While the 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One D250 is not without faults, reviews say that it would be hard to find as capable a netbook for a lower price. The Aspire One performs about as well as a lot of pricier netbooks, because most netbooks have pretty much the same specs: 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB of memory, Intel Atom processor, etc. Experts say the 10.1-inch screen is clear and bright, but the 89 percent-size keyboard is smaller than other netbooks' keyboards and feels crowded. Critics despise the touchpad and the rocker button that replaces the usual mouse buttons, but some say they're better than those found on its predecessor, the still-available Acer Aspire One D150 (*Est. $295 and up). The D150 is also a touch larger and heavier than the Acer Aspire One D250, but inside -- where it counts -- the two mini-laptops are identical. Performance is on par with the Toshiba mini NB205-N310 (*Est. $400), but that netbook and the less expensive Toshiba mini NB205-N210 (*Est. $340) both have a better keyboard, more comfortable touchpad and far longer battery life.

Laptop Magazine, PCMag.com and CNET provide detailed, testing-backed reports on the Acer Aspire One D250. ConsumerReports.org tests the D250 as one of the 24 netbooks ranked and rated in its latest update, but there is very little description of the individual netbooks. Owner reviews can be found at Amazon.com.