Impressions and Conclusions
Having spent some time testing and using the Acer Ferrari One 200, I would almost consider it more of a notebook replacement than just a netbook. The combination of the AMD Athlon 64 X2 L310 CPU, 3 GB of RAM (Note: Models being sold at retailers feature 4GB of RAM), and Radeon HD 3200 proved to be a potent combination as tests like file compression and PCMark Vantage show its ability to whip through your every day workload.

I did use Adobe Illustrator CS4 and Lightroom 2.6 simultaneously for a day and found it kept up with the demand, although there was some noticeable slow down when editing 10MP RAW camera files (all the while running Pidgin, Skype, Yammer, and Firefox 3.6.2).

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The Acer Ferrari One 200 is much more than performance numbers, it also features one of the best audio and display panels I have used in a while. The panel is bright and the colours are beautiful and has a nice 1366×768 resolution. The audio doesn’t suck and it’s actually better than speakers I’ve heard recently on more expensive and larger mobile systems. For a product classified as a netbook, this is all very surprising.

Following in the tradition of the Ferrari brand stamped on the lid, the construction is very solid and sturdy, all the while looking very good. The Ferrari One 200 looks like a computer you’d want to protect and keep out of harm’s way, it’s built tough and can take a beating when you need it to.

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While the Acer Ferrari One 200 has a list of excellent qualities, there are a few things that keep it from reaching true perfection. First is the lack of HDMI output – the Radeon HD 3200 is more than capable in handling full HD content (as long as it’s not Flash video), but lacks the pure digital output for today’s HD displays. For a product marketed as a premium offering, this sticks out as a glaring omission. Instead of HDMI, you have an XGP port which will likely have limited appeal due to the cost and availability of XGP devices.

Battery life could be better. Granted the Acer Ferrari is a fast performer and requires a bit more juice to drive its parts, a 6-cell battery with a bit more capacity would have been a welcome feature. But comparing power consumption, the Acer Ferrari One 200 with its AMD components is nearly just as good as the Asus Eee 1201N with its Intel Atom Processor and NVIDIA ION.

Stepping back, taking a look at the product as a whole, and evaluating it for its merits – the Acer Ferrari One 200 has surpassed my expectations. It’s the sum of all the parts that make it great – the decent audio, the beautiful high-resolution screen, the solid construction, the impressive design, and of course the power under the hood. What is hard to believe is that all of this can be had for less than $600 USD (at time of publishing, on sale for $579 at Newegg).

It’s not every day a notebook hits the sweet spot, and Acer has done just that with the Ferrari One 200. Price. Performance. Style. You really can have it all and because of that, the Ferrari One 200 is being recognized with an Editor’s Choice award for its accomplishment.

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