Acer Aspire Vs. Acer Extensa
Just a few years ago, if you wanted to buy a laptop, you could just identify the company with the best reputation and buy its latest model. IBM, Toshiba and Compaq were arguably the main companies to go to. IBM was known for its keyboards and Compaq was known for its aggressive pricing. Now, there are parallel product lines with overlapping features. Acer's Aspire and Extensa lines are one such example.
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Aspire Overview
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There are two versions of the Aspire line. The "vanilla" Aspire is Acer's high-end line, with powerful hardware, large screens and lots of features. The Aspire One line is in Acer's "netbook" category. These are much smaller than standard laptops and are designed for light applications, long battery life and lower costs. They typically do not have CD or DVD drives.
Some retailers do not make a clear distinction in their item descriptions; look for the letters "AO" in the model name for an Aspire One. Also, be aware that some Aspire Ones come with the Linux operating system instead of Windows.
Translating Model Numbers
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Assuming you want the high-end Aspire, you can apply a rule of thumb to find out which one will best suit your needs. The model numbers indicate the size of the screen. For example, Aspires in the 4000 series have a screen between 14 and 15 inches. The 5000 series increases it to between 15 and 16 inches. The 8000 series has an 18-inch screen or larger.
Meanwhile, the 4500, 5500, 6500 and 7500 series models use an AMD Athlon processor instead of an Intel processor. Acer also produces "Timeline" variants that emphasize long battery life and a thinner and lighter product (making it easier to travel with). Each model number has at least one official configuration. An Aspire 8930, for example, has nine. Instead of customizing your notebook at an online store, you choose one those configurations. A retailer may only have one or two configurations available.
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Extensa Overview
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The Acer Extensa series is smaller than the "vanilla" Aspire but is much closer to it in performance than the Aspire One series. Acer pitches it as its business-oriented laptop, with more of an emphasis on portability and competitive pricing. In this series, a higher model number is not an indicator of more features or larger screens. The Extensa 5630 has many features than the 5635.
Translating Model Numbers
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All 5630s have dual-core processors. The screen on the 5635 has a higher resolution and its memory is faster, but it doesn't have connectors for a PC card, express card or HDMI. It doesn't come with a fax modem. But the 5635 comes with a Windows Vista installation CD and a 105-button keyboard. (The 5630 has an 88-button keyboard.)
An Online Index
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There are so many models to choose from, and so many configurations of each model, that an online database becomes very helpful for sorting among the options. Acer provides an official index with detailed profiles of every model and configuration it manufactures (see References).
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