Price Watch: Aspire One Netbook, $289.99 Shipped

Notebook or Netbook? It's a question for the ages, or at least for anyone shopping for a new portable PC. Buy.com has the Acer Aspire One Netbook for a tantalizing $289.99 shipped. The hitch: it's a refurb.

The last time I posted about the Aspire One, it was $309.99 new. However, this refurb has much beefier specs, including 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and Windows XP instead of Linux.

The One also features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, an 8.9-inch screen, a Webcam, and 802.11b/g wireless. It's modeled in sapphire blue, which I can tell you firsthand looks mighty attractive.

That's because I've got one of these babies right here. You can read about my experiences with it in The Netbook Diaries, but I'll sum up: it's a great little travel companion if you don't mind a slightly cramped keyboard and screen and have easy access to AC power (battery life bites).

This configuration sells for around $370 new, so if you don't mind a 90-day warranty instead of the usual 12 months, the refurb is definitely a good deal. If Buy.com runs out, you can get the same model for the same price from TigerDirect. (story Link)