Looks like Acer is aiming to make the Aspire One netbook the best-selling netbook of 2010, just as they did back in 2008. Though there is far more competition now, the Acer Aspire One AO532h has a lot going for it. The new Intel Atom N450 processor, the promise of 10 hours of battery life, and a price that blows away the comepetition: $299. Yep, just $299 for a netbook that will most likely be pretty sweet.
We're fans of the Aspire One series, particularly those models that come with 6-cell batteries as the AO532h will. And if the press images are to be believed, this netbook will come with Acer's wonderful FineTip keyboard. The touchpad also looks fairly large and promises to be multitouch, another nice feature.
The price alone is worth getting excited about, but don't forget that battery life. Even if it doesn't get up to 10 hours, I'll take 7 - 8 and be happy. Like most new netbooks, the AO532h will come with Windows 7 (Starter Edition, unfortunately), which isn't so great for netbook battery life. But Intel's Pine Trail CPUs are more energy-efficient, and help to give back some of the battery life Windows 7 steals. Acer also claims that the "10.1-inch LED-backlit TFT LCD saves 22.2 percent power compared with other netbook displays." Will all this allow the low-capacity battery (4400 mAh) to last long enough? We'll see when we test it.
Other specs include a b/g/-draft-n wireless card, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, and the standard spread of ports.
Yes, it's pretty much like your typical netbook except with a fancy new processor. But $299. I get the feeling even if this netbook doesn't wow reviewers it's going to sell like hotcakes. It will be available in January and we're going to get our first look at CES next week.
