One of the unique choices that colored netbooks occasionally offer is the choice between drive technologies. Of course there are several other choices to make decisions about but this is typical unique to the netbooks today.


The Acer Aspire One ZG5 is a good example of a colored netbook which offers a choice between an 8GB to 16GB configuration with a solid state drive and a 160GB SATA hard drive. When we recently compared each style we thought this model was actually a good opportunity to look at the benefits of each technology as well as other features.

This model is one of the Acer netbooks which comes with an 8.9 inch display screen size so it is not only one of the smaller laptops but one of the more affordable ones as well. Several laptop manufacturers offer very similar models which have various benefits and price points. The netbooks come in a variety of colors as well.

Acer Aspire One ZG5 Blue

The netbooks offer ultra portability to students and business professionals alike and they often weigh just over two pounds depending on the make, model and features. The solid state configuration is not only lightweight but capable of handling extended rough treatment outdoors or lots of motion and movement while using the laptop. These are often used by those who need to be outdoors a great deal where a good deal of motion or physical activities will be done and this technology is designed to handle these situations much better than traditional drives. The down side is that they do not offer as much storage space without getting rather expensive. In either case however you will find Windows XP or Windows 7 installed on several colored netbooks.


In a more standard example is the 160GB drive installed in the netbook still weighing just over two pounds and perfect for travelers who need a reliable mobile device companion. Powered by the 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor with special circuitry which works in conjunction with the operating system to conserve energy these colored netbooks give you lots of time away from electrical sources.

Typically this model will be configured with 1GB to 1.5GB of system memory (RAM) and will have Windows XP as the installed operating system providing reliability, security and ease of use. As is typical with most manufacturers of netbooks the Acer Aspire One ZG5 offers several ways to get connected to the Internet. There is the built-in 54g wireless LAN which uses the Acer InviLink for more advanced features which works with 802.11b as well 802.11g. Acer also implements the SignalUp technology which attempts to enhance the actual signal reception as a subset of the basic technology involved. There is also the standard Ethernet port allowing for connectivity directly through the cable or DSL service.

The Acer ZG5 offers the typical features found on many colored netbooks within the smaller laptop class offered by most computer manufacturers these days. Acer netbooks are well built and reliable and they stand up quite well to other traditional brand names.