Acer’s newest Aspire One netbooks, the AO532h-based series, run Microsoft’s Windows 7 Starter, Intel’s new energy-efficient Atom N450 processor, and offer several connectivity and battery options.
Mobility and all-day performance are Acer’s major boasts with the netbooks. The former comes thanks to the new Aspire One’s 2.76-pound weight and Wi-Fi b/g/n and Ethernet LAN connectivity, and the latter is the combined result of the optional 6-cell, 5,600mAh battery; the Intel processor, graphics and Mobile Intel NM10 Express chipset; and also the 10.1-inch LED backlit TFT LCD display, which is said to be 22.2 percent more energy efficient than CCFL netbook displays.
With the 5,600mAH battery, users can expect up to eight hours of battery life, which dips to six hours with the 6-cell 4,400mAh battery option.
“These new Aspire One netbooks offer mobile users some of the features and performance of a larger notebook, while providing a highly portable, compact design that’s easy to take anywhere,” said Ray Sawall, senior manager of product marketing for Acer America, in a statement. “Consumers can browse the Internet, check e-mail, share photos, enjoy their entertainment applications and even get work done wherever their travel takes them.”
The Aspire One measures 10.17 by 7.28 by 0.99 inches. Its 10.1-inch display is coupled with a 93-percent standard size keyboard and a multitouch keypad that allows for quick pinching, flicking and finger-swirling screen navigation, as well as scrolling, zooming in and out, and flipping through multiple items, such as Web pages or images.
For business or pleasure, there’s an on-board Webcam for, Acer promises, smooth video streaming and high-quality image viewing. It’s paired with a digital microphone that dims background noises, and two stereo speakers.
There’s a 160GB, 5,400RPM SATA hard drive, 1,024MB DDR2 667MHz memory, an integrated Intel graphics media accelerator 3150 and a multi-in-one card reader.
The newest Aspire One will arrive later in January, in a choice of Onyx Blue, Garnet Red and Silver Matrix, for approximately $299.99
In October, Acer introduced the Aspire One AOD250 netbook, which runs both Microsoft Windows XP and Google’s Android operating system. It debuted at $350, offering the same screen size, a weight of 2.79 pounds and the Intel Atom N280 processor.
The Fujitsu LifeBook MH380, Hewlett-Packard Mini 210 and Dell Mini 10 all run the new Atom N450 processor, which Intel officially introduced Dec. 21.