Acer offers up new trio of tempting Netbooks

by Stevie Smith - May 18 2009, 15:40

Another week, another batch of Netbooks to mull over as the little Web-centric platforms continue their collective bid for global dominance in a tech world currently governed by the pennywise. Bearing that in mind, today’s latest candidates looking to separate us from our cash all come from the Acer Aspire stable.

So, in a category largely defined by the Intel Atom processor and Windows XP, what – if anything – do Acer’s newest entrants offer in order to lift themselves clear of rival Netbook systems on the market from the likes of ASUS, Dell and MSI?

First up is the Aspire One A0751h, which is supported by the 1.22GHz Atom Z520 processor, Windows XP Home, Wi-Fi, optional 3G, up to 2GBs of DDR2, a hard drive selection reaching up to 250GBs, and an 11.6-inch LED backlit wide-screen display with 1364 x 768 resolution.

Other features include a multi-in-one digital media card reader and SD card, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, a built-in Web cam, a full-sized keyboard, twin speakers, and a rugged six-cell battery.

Then there’s the 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One D250, which relies on the stalwart 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, Windows XP Home, the Intel 945GSE chipset and GMA 950 graphics, 1GB of DDR memory, 160GBs of hard disk storage, Wi-Fi and optional 3G, a trio of USB ports, twin speakers, and more than three hours of operation on a single charge.

And, coming up on the outside is the Acer Aspire One 571, which is still residing in the realm of rumour but is perhaps worth cocking an inquisitive eyebrow at thanks to a 10.1-inch LCD display with appealing 1280 x 720 resolution, and the suggestion that it will even include an optical drive.

However, perhaps the standout feature aboard the 571 is the Quartics Q1721 Multimedia Co-processor, which, according to a Macles report, is expected to provide decoding for H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2 and Flash, along with the delivery of real-time image processing, noise reduction and SD upscaling capabilities.

The Acer Aspire One AO751h comes attached to a retail price of $349.99 USD, while the D250 will be attached to a tag of $298 USD. The mysterious but tantalising 571 has yet to be confirmed, let alone priced.

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