Today Acer has dropped the gauntlet on the mini-notebook battlefield. Introducing the Aspire one, which joins the ranks of the MSI Wind as one of the most powerful mini-notebooks yet, thanks to its blazing Intel Atom processor. Acer offers configurations with up to 1.5GB of memory and your choice of an 8GB flash drive or an 80GB hard drive into a 2.2-pound system with an 8.9-inch LED-backlit display.
Running Windows XP or Linux, the Aspire one includes an 89 percent full-size keyboard, a webcam, and a slew of ports (including three USB, VGA, and a 5-in-1 card reader). Rated battery life is 3 hours—a bit meager compared with the Wind's 5-plus—but we're still eager to get our hands on this potential mini-masterpiece. Pricing starts at a venerable $379. Full specs and images after the jump, and stay tuned for our full review to see how it really holds up.
Update: We originally reported that the Aspire one keyboard is a 95 percent full-size keyboard. The keyboard is actually 89 percent full-size.
Acer Aspire one specs:
- Starting price: $379
- OS: Linpus Linux Lite or Windows XP Home
- CPU: Intel Centrino Atom Single Core N270 (1.6 GHz, 533-MHz FSB, 512 KB L2 cache)
- Memory: 512MB onboard DDR2 533-MHz SDRAM; upgradeable to 1GB/1.5GB
- Display: 8.9-inch WSVGA (180-nit) TFT LCD, 1024 x 600-pixel resolution
- Storage: NAND flash (4GB/8GB) or HDD (80GB)
- Card Slots: 5-in-1 card reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro/xD)
- Ports: 3 USB, VGA, headphone/speaker/line-out, Ethernet, mic
- Wireless: 802.11b/g
- Battery: Three-cell Li-ion (optional 6-cell pack); AC adapter
- Keyboard: 84-key, 95 percent full-size
- Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 1.14 inches (for SKUs with NAND flash module)
- Weight: 2.17 pounds
- Warranty: One-year international travelers (ITW)
