Acer Aspire One Happy 2 Netbook Review

Tablets are becoming fairly common these days. Most people are turning to them for all their Web usage. However, netbooks are still managing to chug along in the market. While previously, netbook manufacturers only had to deal with competition from other brands in the same space, they now also have the ever popular tablet segment to contend with. To tackle this issue, Acer has come up with a unique solution by launching the Aspire One Happy 2 netbook. This laptop sets itself apart from others as, besides the ability to run the stock Windows 7 Starter Edition, it can also boot into Android. Read on to know if this netbook can face the competition and if it is worth a purchase.

The netbook is extremely lightweight

Design and Build Quality
The design of the Acer Aspire One Happy 2 is quite trendy and is available in a range of colours. We received the papaya milk variant at our labs with a liquid droplet design on the front panel. This netbook measures 10.1 inches and weighs just 1.25 kg, so it is pretty small and light, making it easy to carry around in a small bag.

On Video: Acer Aspire One Happy 2

The top panel, the on/off button and the trackpad don the papaya milk colour, while the rest has a white finish. The keys are not the regular chicklet style found on most keyboards, but rather a variant of it. The keys are well built and typing on it is easy and comfortable. The bezel surrounding the screen is pretty sturdy as well. The hinges have a metal rod running on the inside and there were no issues with the quality. Tilting the screen was effortless; neither too loose nor too tight.

Same colour used on the trackpad and on/ off button

Connectivity options lie on either side of the netbook. On the right are two USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader as well as jacks for headphones and mic. Located on the left are the VGA, Ethernet, USB 2.0 and charging ports. Overall, the build quality of the Aspire One Happy 2 is really good and we faced no problems whatsoever. Design-wise, this netbook would definitely appeal to the younger audience.

Features
The Aspire One Happy 2 has a unique, but not totally uncommon, feature in the form of its dual boot ability. This netbook can boot directly to either Windows or Android via the Acer configuration manager.

This netbook, like most nowadays, features the dual core Intel Atom N570 processor running at 1.66 GHz. This processor is produced in 45nm and belongs to the Intel Atom N series, which is designed for netbooks and nettops. With this CPU, you can expect to get better battery life than you would from a single core Atom processor. It promises lower power consumption, but has relatively slower performance too. The other core components of this netbook include a 320 GB hard drive along with 1 GB DDR3 memory. Having this much storage is pretty good for a netbook at this price point.

Comes in a variety of colours

Acer has configured the Happy 2 with the Windows 7 Starter Edition. This OS is usually preloaded on netbooks by manufacturers, making it easy for users to have all the basic functions of Windows. Along with the operating software, Acer has preloaded the netbook with some of its own software, including Acer Crystal Eye Webcam to record videos and make video calls, and Acer GameZone Console, which is a collection of mini games.