I appreciate the suggestion for the updated version of this post coming out tomorrow.

Thanks very much Jeff for the thorough follow up – great information and feedback!

OK, I have had the Acer for a couple of months now and am really happy with it. I basically agree with most of the comments you will see on the Amazon reviews, including the one real annoyance which is the tiny size of the arrow keys (which I use a ton for paging up and down). For basically what I paid for my last netbook ($350 for this vs. $325 for the netbook in 2010) I have a MUCH more powerful computer, larger screen with better resolution, much more RAM, a larger hard drive and only slightly more size/weight. In fact, I can fit this computer in the same carrying case I had for my 10 inch netbook (snug, but fits). There is no USB 3.0 port, only 2.0 so for those with newer external drives you won’t get the highest speed possible, but that is a minor quibble. Another potentially minor complaint is the power cord. I like that it doesn’t include a brick and so is very light and compact. But, the cord is quite short (not sure the actual length), which could pose some issues when trying to use an outlet not too nearby. Finally, the major drawback for some is that it comes with a 4-cell battery so you are looking at 3-4 hours of life vs. much more for a netbook. I worried about that at first but since I am finally joining the smartphone crowd and I am also going to be buying a small tablet (Nexus 7) that gets great battery life, I can (remains to be seen) do my Web surfing and email with the tablet or smartphone and save the laptop battery for “real work.”

Thanks for sharing 🙂