Since my initial unboxing of the Acer Aspire One, I’ve managed to get my hands on a 6-cell version for testing. I was interested in seeing what this unit was like, considering that most complaints stemmed from the inadequate battery life of the 3-cell version, which was also evident to me. Here are some comparison pictures to help you decide whether the extra bulk is worth the additional run time. My opinion follows.
Update
I’ve since completed my full review of the Aspire One. Please read if you’re interested.
With the 3-cell battery you’re going to get less than three hours of run time on the Aspire One. Most reviews I’ve read report a battery life of around two and a half hours. I can confirm this, as I got just over 2h:35m of run time before the Windows power management automatically put the Aspire One into hibernate with 3% of battery life left.
This was with the wireless LAN enabled and the screen at just over half-way brightness. I was doing regular desktop activities like browsing the Internet for most of the time, though this is far from a scientific test as I didn’t keep track of exactly what I did or did not do. I have the subjective feeling that the Aspire One might have trouble making it through a full-length feature film during an airline flight with only the 3-cell battery.
Thankfully, that’s where the 6-cell comes into play. The 6-cell does not add that much bulk or weight to the overall package and even though it may look unsightly in the pictures, it is well worth the additional battery life. In any event, you will hardly notice its presence during use - I can wholeheartedly recommend the 6-cell version, especially with the recent price drops and introduction of an additional 6-cell version with a 160 GB HDD at a lower price than the previous top-of-the-line Aspire One.
Check out the rest of the photos here.
The 6-cell battery also adds some more tilt/slope to the Aspire One so that it’s more inclined towards you; supposedly this results at a better angle for typing but I didn’t perceive things to be better or worse after this. The 6-cell also prevents the screen from fully extending backwards, though as you’ll see from the photos, the screen can still swing back plenty.
Overall, getting 5+ hours of run time will make you confident that your Aspire One will make it through most movies and still leave you time for a game of solitaire.
As a final note, I’m still working on my full review of the Aspire One; expect it soon, depending on my schedule and free time.
do you happen to know when the 6 cell version is going to be available?
Hi Sean,
Here in Canada, the 6-cell version of the Aspire One has been widely available for about the past 2 weeks. Not sure about other countries though.
If you’re referring to the new version of the Aspire One, with the 160 GB HDD, I’m not sure when that will be available. Likely it’ll be a month or so before wide availability.
Hi, how much weight does the 6 cell battery add? Is there a noticeable difference between the 3 cell and
6 cell battery in weight? The official specs list the aspire one with the 120 GB HD and 6 cell battery at 1.27 kg. Does that sound about right.
Cheers.
Hi John,
To me, there is not a huge difference. Specs I’ve seen said that the 3-cell/8 GB SSD version weighs 0.995 kg/2.19 lbs and the 6-cell/120 GB HDD version weighs 1.26 kg/2.78 lbs.
Typically a human can perceive a weight difference of 10%. So the difference here is definitely perceivable by those standards, however we are talking about a difference of only 265 g, which to me, is well worth the huge increase in battery life. If you consider the case and other stuff that you will carry the Aspire One with, the extra weight is negligible in my opinion.
biggest problem with 6 cell is that there is no longer a gap between the body and the screen when the screen is open. I walk around the house with my 3 cell with my finger hooked in that gap. very handy.
Peter,
I found you while looking for a 6cell battery for my Aspire One and realized you were also based in Ontario. (I’m in Caledon north of Toronto)
Definitely like the machine which I bought at Tiger Direct but they don’t have batteries for sale.
Some of the “links” around show the battery back-ordered.
Any suggestions where I should look?
By the way, nice looking site you have.
Thanks,
JF
[...] Unistep.net have a done size comparision of the 3-cell vs. the 6-cell version with some pictures, check it out! [...]
Hi JF,
I ordered my 6-cell AAO from DirectCanada.com (which is basically NCIX.com) but I now notice that both of these retailers are out of stock for 6-cell batteries and the 6-cell Aspire One versions.
Unfortunately it seems as if the initial stock has sold out in Canada. However, it shouldn’t be too long before new units start arriving, especially since Acer is ramping up production of the 160 GB/6-cell version.
Disable the power management auto-hibernate and you’ll get an extra half hour easily. Windows is woefully inaccurate when it comes to computing remaining battery life. My Aspire One ran for a good 8 minutes after the battery showed 0% in the task tray!! At 3% you’ve got another 30 minutes of browsing left.
Also, no problems with watching movies. I use MacicDisc to mount ISO images of DVDs as a virtual drive, and I watched an entire movie with the brightness about halfway up, and still had plenty of juice left.
That being said, I’m lamenting my $349 Aspire One Best Buy purchase… I didn’t realize the 6-cell battery bundle was on the horizon.
I wonder if there’s any chance Acer will offer a discount for that 6-cell battery to people who purchased the 3-cell version…
Charles.
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That would be quite odd, since I assume the only people who would buy the 6-cell battery are people who purchased the 3-cell version? Who else are they selling them to?
Was the manufacturer number of the 6 cell version you tested?
I have an Aspire with the 6 cell battery on order with Amazon. After seeing it tough, I am worried. I usually just use my laptop at home, so the bigger battery isn’t that critical to me. It kind of looks like an ugly appendage in the photos. Is extra battery life worth making anice looking laptop look like a Frankenstein netbook?
mike, I’d be willing to trade my 3 cell battery + cash for your 6 cell battery, if you are interested drop me a line saltpepperbay at aol com, TIA.
How long does it usually take to get a full charge?
@sloth
It’s been a while since I had to do a full recharge, so I can’t remember exactly how long it took to fully recharge the 6-cell battery. Certainly not more than 2-3 hours.
[...] review in other blog http://unitstep.net/blog/2008/08/26/acer-aspire-one-6-cell-vs-3-cell-battery-comparison/ Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Lenovo Shows Off X200 Touchscreen Tablet Leaked [...]
Just received my 6-cell last week; doesn’t look as bad as in photos (I got the Onyx black; not sure if that helped). Does feel pretty hefty, though. But after one weekend trip, I’m sure I made the right decision - the battery life is so good I don’t think I’ll need to bring my power adapter for a weekend trip with normal, evening browsing/emailing. Haven’t tested the full-drain yet, but was able to browse using Sprint Mobile Broadband (USB version) for cumulatively 4 hours with quite a bit of battery remaining.
There is a 6 Cell 160 GB version on newegg for 399 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115515 and they say ETA is 10.27.08. Going to pick one up, wish it had solid state but i can’t justify spending extra $100 for SSD.
Hello..
I would prefer buying a 3-Cell battery version. But everyone is selling the 6-cell battery Aspire One.
Is it possible for me to buy a 6- Cell one but buy the 3-cell separately. Where would I get it and would it work with the 6-Cell version of Acer Aspire One?
Please advise.
My email address: bizprofessor@gmail.com
Thanks!
@Charlie
Great to hear you’re enjoying the 6-cell version. I’m happy with mine as well.
@Espy
Most places are carrying the 3-cell version, at least in Canada. You can probably find 3-cell/6-cell batteries as well, they are available in Canada.
You mentioned watching movies with the 6 cell version. Is it possible to do so legally without the DVD. I know it is possible to rip a DVD with certain programs, but most now honor copy protection.
Thanks,
Clark
@Clark
It depends on what country you live in. IANAL, but from what I understand making a copy of a DVD in Canada is okay so as long as it is only for personal use and you still possess the original. Again, I’m not a lawyer, so don’t take this as professional advice or endorsement.
In the US, while the act of making a personal copy of a DVD may not be prohibited by itself, the act of ripping the DVD (i.e. decrypting it) is most likely against the DMCA.
That’s where I figured I would end up. So much for watching movies on it. If I have to attach it to an external drive, I might as well use my big computer with a big screen. The lack of a DVD is a problem regardless of the OS - at least in the US. Perhaps, some studios will start releasing movies on SDs or they will eventually pass a fair use law allowing us to copy movies (backup) as long as we retain both the original and the copy.
In anycase, appreciate the reply and information.
Thanks, Clark
Can you use a 3 cell battery on a 6 cell acer aspire one? If so, where do I get the 3 cell battery for it?
Acer website doesn’t have any 3-cell battery.
Thanks for you response.
BTW:
I have ordered 6 cell system from Amazon but I think it looks rather ugly.
@Clark
Don’t forget the recent popularity of digital download services like iTunes.
@Espy
The 3-cell and 6-cell batteries are compatible with one another, in that they both fit in the Aspire One since they use the same connector. I’m not sure where you can buy just the 3-cell battery, though.
With young grandkids coming in November, can you legally buy and download popular movies such as Disney to be played and replayed later. Perhaps save them on an SD card? I am looking to let them watch in the car. (My son has a DVD player so they are used to doing this, especially if we go to the beach - a 3 hr drive. But I don’t have one.)
Thanks,
Clark
I just brought a 6-cell aspire one and find it heaveir comparing to ASUS mini note. I am interested in getting a 3-cell battery. Any suggestion on where can I buy one?
@Clark
I think it depends on the service. Different services have different DRM that may only allow you to play back the movie on the PC that you downloaded it to, and not allow for even legitimate copying as you described.
@Richard
Depends where you are located. In Canada, they are available at some retailers but are quite expensive. NCIX.com might have some.
What’s the difference between the acer aspire 150-1006 and 150-1786?
Saw the 1786 on walmart website and was wondering if they were the same thing:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10575195#Specifications
Clark, you can legally (or semi-legally, it’s a grey area) rip your own DVD’s to create digital copies of them that you can then place on the AAO… Handbrake’s a good program for re-encoding or compressing that video to transfer it to the AAO, and so is SUPER.
Although first you will need something like DVD Decrypter to decrypt the contents of the DVD and copy it to your HD. That’s where the grey area is, technically it’s legal to make backup copies of DVDs you own, but circumventing copy protection isn’t. See the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_Decrypter
It’s not like the DMCA is enforced at this level though, unless you actually go ahead and put your compressed rips online for others to download… Then the MPAA may go RIAA on you. :p (MPAA hasn’t been as active at policing it’s content online as the RIAA has AFAIK, or as active at suing the ever living daylights out of everyone)
I cancelled my order for 6-cell Aspire One with Amazon and ordered a 3-Cell system.
The reason/s being:
1.I am buying this for pure portability. No point in making it heavier (unless I have to).
2. For most part, my computers are plugged in.
3. On airline, most of my flights do not exceed 2 hours.
4. You can always buy a 6 cell battery separately. No such luck with 3 cell battery.
I am writing this as I see several posts deliberating between 3-cell and 6-cell systems.
Regards
Wondering if the SSD makes a significant improvement to the battery life? Anyone see a comparison on that somewhere?
Thanks,
Hello!
What a great review, I was looking to buy the 6 cell batter off the internet, but I didn’t know it sticks out from the netbook like that. Maybe it is worth to compensate that for the battery life it adds, but I was just wondering how are you going to put your acer aspire one in your case? Will it fit?
I bought the 6 cell version for $399
I’m debating whether to exchange it for the 3 cell version and 40gig less ahrd drive to enjoy more portability.
I htink the 3 cells’ 2 hour life might suffice to me and even though i have not opened the package yet, pictures of the batter ysticking out might be uncomfortable for me in a car with it on my lap
J
Thanks to all of you. I tonight bought a 3 cell Aspire One at Radio Shack and had the same questions.
Guess I will be happy with this, and buy a separate 6 cell if needed. Thanks again to all of you!
i think the acer aspire one is a excellen laptop for business. but the 3 cell and 6 cell battery isnot perfect for it.
now in the market, we can find the 9 cell acer aspire one battery.
i find a website the price is $78.6 for the 9 cell acer aspire one battery.
we are can get buy one for your laptop. they have black, blue , white three color.
http://www.global-laptop-batteries.com/acer-laptop-battery/acer-aspire-one-h-battery.html
@Jeff
The 6-cell vs. 3-cell is really a aesthetics choice. The 6-cell is not uncomfortable to use, even if its on your lap.
@ndplume
I haven’t tested it myself, but I doubt the SSD makes a huge difference in battery life for everyday usage. See this thread for more details.
Need more RAM? look what i found… http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=609546&highlight=bb320
Hi,
I don’t know where i can buy the 6-cell battery Acer Aspire laptop. I live in Ottawa. I’ve checked the website of Future Shop, best Buy, Walmart.ca and Circuit City and they all don’t carry it according to their websites. Where did u guys get it from.
Please let me know.
* is the fan really loud?
Thanks,
Amy
@Amy
I bought mine at DirectCanada. However you should check local smaller computer stores, they may carry it as well. (Canada Computers comes to mind, if there is one in Ottawa)
Also, the fan can be a little annoying if you are in a really quiet environment. I use AA1 Fan Control software to lower the noise/control the fan.
Costco (USA) has Acer Aspire One for $349 this week…
Jake L