I have not used one of these but I can comment on the tech specs of this ultra portable notebook. Either the Core 2 Duo or Pentium (which is essentially a Core 2 Solo) processor that Acer puts in these (not really sure which one you will get) will be more capable than any Atom found in netbooks these days. Those Intel CULV and ULV processors really know how to push performance boundaries while consuming minuscule amounts of power.
The Intel GMA 4500MHD is also a huge improvement over the Intel GMA 500, GMA 950, and GMA 3000 series used with newer netbooks. Why? It supports hardware acceleration for full 1080p video playback. So the Aspire 1810 Timeline offers an HDMI port and a GPU that can actually drive HD videos. Lastly, the inclusion of Windows 7 Home Premium is rather nice.
The only thing I don't know about the model you want to purchase is if it is running a single-core or dual-core processor (there are four different configurations) and price.
Just to give you an idea; Toshiba has an 11.6" ultra portable that is running a dual-core 1.5GHz AMD Neo processor, 64-bit version of Windows 7 Premium, 2GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, 1336X768 screen, 6 hours of battery life (though there is a 12 cell battery for 12 hours of operation), and ATI HD3200 graphics (which is all around better than the Intel GMA 4500MHD) along with HDMI output for $499. That has better specs, except for the battery life, than any of the Acer 1810 Timeline configurations but I don't know the prices and configurations you are looking at
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