Taiwan-based computer technology companies ASUS and Acer Inc. provide a line-up of netbooks -- small, lightweight and less expensive versions of laptops -- from their Eee PC and Aspire One brands, respectively. The ASUS Eee PC was introduced in 2007, while the Acer Aspire One came along a year later. The offerings from both ASUS and Acer are more or less evenly matched, with each netbook sporting advantages over the other.
Operating System, Processor and Memory
Although both ASUS and Acer netbooks are primarily based on the Windows operating system from Microsoft, a few ASUS machines use the GNU Linux platform instead. Most Eee PCs and Aspire Ones use the Atom processor, which is from a brand semiconductor company Intel Corp. introduced in 2008 for use on netbooks; a few ASUS and Acer netbooks use Intel Celeron or Advanced Micro Devices' Athlon/Fusion chips, respectively. The maximum system memory capacity of the Aspire One is 4GB; some ASUS netbooks match that capacity, while others can only handle up to 2GB.
Storage and Multimedia
The Serial Advanced Technology Attachment-connected hard disk drive on the ASUS netbook can be up to 320GB. The maximum data storage on the Acer netbook is higher, at 500GB. ASUS, however, offers the choice of getting a netbook with a solid state drive, which, while not offering as much space due to being more expensive per GB, is a quieter and sturdier form of data storage than the SATA-attached disk drive. For video and graphics, most ASUS and Acer netbooks use an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator, although the AMD technology-based Aspire Ones use a Radeon HD graphics processor instead. Also included is a 0.3- or 1.3-megapixel Web camera.
Networking and Communications
Both the ASUS Eee PC and Acer's Aspire One have an Ethernet driver for wired local area networking. It provides a peak data transfer rate of 100 megabits per second; some Eee PCs have a much faster 1,000Mbps connection instead. A Wi-Fi card that complies with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.11b/g/n standards supplies the wireless LAN capability. Some netbooks get Bluetooth 3.0 wireless technology as well.
Size and External Connectors
ASUS, at the time of publication, offers four netbook screen sizes: 7 inches, 8.9 inches, 10.2 inches and 12.1 inches. The Acer netbook, on the other hand, is available only as a 10.1-inch computer. The external interfaces on each netbook include three USB 2.0 ports, RJ-45 jack for the Ethernet, Video Graphics Array port for connecting an external display, headphone and microphone jacks, and flash memory card slot.
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