Up an' Atom
The sub-laptop category has been the hottest part of the PC industry since Asus launched its first Eee PC late last year.
The USP of the sub-laptop, or netbook as Intel would like us to call it, is that it is small, cheap and low power. So when Intel announced its Atom processor earlier this year, which was small, cheap and low power, it was a match made in heaven.
This month has seen the launch of the next generation of netbooks (let’s indulge them), predominantly based on Atom processors. It has also seen the emergence of offerings from Asus’s rivals. MSI has already launched the Wind, but now we await the first netbook offering from the world’s third biggest PC maker – Acer – but, as ever, the question is when and for how much.
This being Acer, they had to go and launch five SKUs straight away that cover all the variables of RAM, storage and operating system. Additionally, each one can be either blue or white.
Here are the specs they all share:
- CPU: Atom, specifically a Diamondville-SC mobile processor N270 (1.60 GHz, 533 MHz FSB, 512 KB L2 cache)
- Display: 8.9” WSVGA TFT LCD, 1024 x 600
- Chipset: Intel 954GSE + ICH7M
- Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g
- Webcam: 0.3Mp Integrated CrystalEye
- Battery life: 3 cell, up to 3 hours (usage level not specified)
- Warranty: 1 year
- Weight: 985g
Now here’s the pricing with variables:
- AOA110-A: £219.99 (all are street prices) – OS: Linpus Linux Lite version, 512MB RAM (all are DDR2 533MHz SDRAM), storage: 8GB NAND flash.
- AOA150-A: £229.99 – Linpus Linux Lite version, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD
- AOA150-A: £249.99 – Linpus Linux Lite version, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD
- AOA150-B: £279.99 – Windows XP Home, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD
- AOA150-B: £299.99 – Windows XP Home, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD
Acer was unable to give any confirmation or otherwise concerning a rumoured 120GB HDD model.
And finally, the availability. Adam Westley, the UK marketing manager for Acer, was unable to promise a precise date, but did commit to the week commencing 21st July.
Apparently the Dixons group will be the first to get it but a lot of that depends on distributors like Computer 2000 and Micro P rather than Acer itself.
Further reading:
Acer Aspire One available for pre-order
MSI Wind notebook: is it the Eee-beater we've been waiting for?
