Ultra-compact laptops became a new trend in gadget industry. The success of Asus Eee PC couldn’t be passed by other hardware manufacturers. Now Acer joins the race with its Aspire One laptop. The specs are rather simple and quite expected: 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor; 512MB of 533MHz DDR 2 memory with a single SO-Dimm slot for more; and an 8.9in, 1024 x 600, 262,000-colour LED-backlit display. There’s a 0.3-megapixel webcam in the screen bezel also.

There’s only one choice for potential Aspire One owner – Linux or Windows XP version of laptop. The other difference (except operating system) is HDD: Linux version comes with 8GB of solid-state storage, while the XP model is complected with 80GB hard drive and that means that XP model has lower battery life.

The prices seem very attractable for me – $400 for Linux model and $600 for Windows XP model.