Acer 10″ Netbook Announced

I am a big fan of netbooks: I love the way they combine portability with a machine that you can actually do things on without being bulky or fiddly (almost a compromise between a smartphone and a laptop). However during the last 6 months I have grown increasingly frustrated with the amount of netbooks being released by big names that have been so generic it is untrue.

But if you are going to look at netbooks you will see there are a few that immediately stand out: the Acer Aspire One, the Samsung NC10 and Asus’ N10 and numerous Eee PCs. They all occupy well defined rungs in the price ladder (roughly £200, £300, £450 [and everything in between for the Eee PCs] although obviously different models result in a large range). But Acer, who have so far been flushed with success, are hoping to displace the NC10 from this list.

The Samsung NC10 really is an example of how netbooks should be done: with the predictable Atom processor, 1GB RAM, Windows XP o/s and 160 GB HDD you would be forgiven for thinking that it was nothing special.

But when you consider that its’ 5,200mAh manages to stay alive for well over 7 hours (around 7 hours 25 minutes), its screen is clear and sharp, the build quality is immaculate it really is the leader of the 10 inch category (other rivals include MSI Wind, the unimpressive Advent 4213 and the rather more expensive Asus N10).

But the Aspire One is also a very good netbook and there is no surprise that it is the best selling company with regards to laptops in Europe. It has a 120Gb HDD, 512 MB of RAM and a very nice keyboard, but it is those specifications (along with the optional exclusion of Windows) that keeps the price down to around £200. It is possible to get 1Gb (of RAM) versions, as well as those with Windows.

But now they are moving into the aforementioned 10 inch market with a slightly improved version of the Aspire One. Apart from the obvious screen size change one of the first (or maybe I should say last) things you will notice is the battery life which Acer claim can last for a good 7 hours which will rival the NC10 and win the hearts of power-a-holics.

It also comes with a 160GB HDD and with come with up to 2GB of RAM (although one suspects the lower end will have 1GB) and it interestingly will have the option of Wi-Max or 3G connectivity two things that most netbooks lack. It also has an attractive (starting) price of £299, but when you see that word ‘starting’ you realise that it’s not as good as it claims to be.

Firstly the ‘starting’ price will only get you a measly 3 cell battery which can only go for around 3hrs (in the NC10 the 6 cell is included) as well as only 1GB of RAM. Despite this they will still retain the wonderful looks of the previous Aspire Ones and will come in a choice of colours (red, blue, white and black) all of which look sleek and glossy.

So perhaps it isn’t as good as the Samsung NC10, and it probably won’t knock it off the top, but it is still a nice try by Acer and just a shame that they couldn’t keep the price down. But will anyone be able to beat the NC10s’ undeniable built quality and yet low price? We will have to see.

Source – PC Pro

Related Pages:

1. Acer Android-Based Smartphone and Netbook Announced
2. Archos 10 Netbook Launched
3. Acer Aspire One Netbook Review
4. Sony Netbook (Vaio P Series)
5. Travelling With My Netbook – Part 2

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