IT Pro Verdict

The Acer Ferrari One 200 lives up to its motorsport branding well as it’s the fastest netbook we’ve tested, though it pushes that definition to breaking point. It’s really a well-featured, relatively inexpensive laptop, but the lack lustre battery life and other issuettes mean that it’s not really suitable for business use.

By Benny Har-Even

published 16 October 2009

in Reviews

The processor is backed up by 2GB of RAM, which powers Windows 7 Home Premium along quite nicely. In fact, this is the first shipping Windows 7 machine we've looked at, and is a decent showcase ahead of the operating system's launch next week, with everything feeling snappy and responsive. HD content from YouTube played smoothly, but the higher quality streams from BBC HD prove a little too much for it.

Storage is handled by a generously sized 250GB 5,400rpm hard disk. Unfortunately, battery life was less impressive.

You'd think the larger chassis would enable it to hold a hefty battery, but we got less than five hours from our light use test, and less than two under heavy use around half of what you see from class leaders such as the NC10.

Despite its garishness the Ferrari One has appeal, but the fact that, like a real Ferrari, it requires regular fuel top up, means it's only really suitable for occasional use away from the power socket.

For those that want a bit of motorsport-inspired style, in a typically understated Ferrari way, it's a winner, but if you need a serious business machine we'd look elsewhere.

All in all, this is a very interesting machine. But, in all honestly, it's really just a small, relatively inexpensive laptop there's not really anything netbook-like here.

Verdict

Processor: AMD Athlon X2 L310 Memory: 2GB DDR2 Storage: 250GB hard disk Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3200 Display: 11.6in 1,366 x 768 Ports: 3 x USB, VGA, SD memory card, Gigabit Ethernet Connectivity: 802.11bg +, Bluetooth OS: Windows 7 Home Premium Warranty: 1yr return to base Dimensions: 329 x 229 x 29mm (WDH) Weight: 1.5kg

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Benny Har-Even is a twenty-year stalwart of technology journalism who is passionate about all areas of the industry, but telecoms and mobile and home entertainment are among his chief interests. He has written for many of the leading tech publications in the UK, such as PC Pro and Wired, and previously held the position of technology editor at ITPro before regularly contributing as a freelancer.

Known affectionately as a ‘geek’ to his friends, his passion has seen him land opportunities to speak about technology on BBC television broadcasts, as well as a number of speaking engagements at industry events.