Well, as long as you’re here: it seems that the popular Acer Aspire One, a perfectly decent netbook if I ever saw one, is going to be sporting the new Atom N450 processor. This is the newest Atom, and it lowers wattage while integrating graphics. So you can expect slightly better battery life and better performance, although the clock speed is still hanging out at the same old 1.66GHz.

Good for Acer, but hold on to your wallets. We expect pretty much every netbook maker have similar specs after the next week or so. That’s not so long to wait, is it? Just chill a bit, watch our CES coverage, and then decide which is the best afterwards. I’m betting Doug is just itching to get hands-on with all these things. He’s like that.

Here are the full specs from the press release. Should go for $300 MSRP, less of course on the strizzle.

Acer Aspire One AO532h
• Intel® Atom(TM) Processor N450 (1.66GHz, 512KB L2 cache, 667MHz FSB)
• 10.1″ WSVGA Acer CrystalBrite(TM) LED-backlit Display
• Mobile Intel® NM10 Express Chipset
• Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
• 1024MB DDR2 667MHz Memory
• 160GB(2) 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
• Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
• Acer InviLink(TM) Nplify(TM) 802.11b/g/Draft-N Wi-Fi CERTIFIED®
• 10/100 Fast Ethernet LAN (RJ-45)
• Built-in Webcam
• Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
• Multi-Gesture Touchpad
• 3 – USB 2.0 Ports
• 6-cell Li-ion Battery (4400 mAh)
• 2.76 lbs. | 1.25 kg
• 10.17” (W) x7.28” (D) x .99” (H)
• Windows® 7 Starter
• Three stylish colors: Onyx Blue, Garnet Red and Silver Matrix.
• MSRP: $299.99

Short Version: The $399 Acer Aspire One 751h is an affordable netbook with marathon battery life, a gorgeous screen, and an excellent keyboard. As long as you don’t expect to watch high-quality video clips, this machine makes for a very compelling purchase.

Specs:

• Intel Atom Z520 CPU at 1.2GHz
• Windows XP Home SP3
• 11.6-inch widescreen display at 1366×768
• Intel GMA 500 graphics chipset
• 2GB RAM (upgraded from 1GB)
• 160GB hard drive (5400RPM)
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
• Built-in webcam
• Three USB ports
• Six-cell battery
• MSRP: $399, Street Price: $379

Review:

If you’ve been researching the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire 751h netbook and haven’t purchased it yet, you’re likely on the fence because of several reviews prior to this one that say the machine is underpowered. And if you’re looking to play HD video, you’ll find it to be underpowered as well. It simply doesn’t play HD video without stuttering. It doesn’t even play non-HD fullscreen Hulu video without stuttering. So this is not a machine to buy if you want to play videos. Standard-definition YouTube videos work fine, but that’s about it.

Taking videos out of the equation, I’m reviewing this machine as if I’d purchased it myself. The first thing I did — and the first thing I do with all new computers — was to remove the antivirus software. In this case, it was McAfee. Boom, instantly this “underpowered” computer starting picking up the pace somewhat.

After that, I opened up the trapdoor on the bottom of the machine and popped in a 2GB RAM stick (cost: about $30), swapping out the included 1GB stick. Boom again, now we’re cooking.

Then, I did what no full-time blogger in their right mind would ever do: I left my trusty $2000 Sony VAIO laptop at home and took the Aspire 751h with me on the road and used it as my only computer for two weeks.

So how did everything work out? Just fine, thank you. The 751h is a more-than-capable portable computer as long as you remove resource-hogging applications (like antivirus software) and bump the RAM up to two gigabytes. I had no problems using the computer day after day to surf the internet using Google Chrome with multiple tabs open, play some old-school games (Risk II, Sim City 3000, etc.), and post stuff to CrunchGear.

Truth be told, I used the machine for about a day before upgrading the RAM and it worked pretty well with just one gigabyte. I upgraded the RAM out of principle, as I think that any computer nowadays should have at least two gigabytes just to be on the safe side. Netbook RAM is cheap and it’s a quick and easy upgrade.

And just to see what all the hubbub was about regarding not being able to play video, I loaded up Hulu Desktop — no go — and tried to play HD YouTube clips — also, no go. Here’s a video of what you can expect if you try to do the same.

As you can see, Hulu Desktop is pretty much out of the question, regular YouTube videos play just fine, and HD YouTube videos don’t play well at all.

Now from a portability standpoint, the design of 751h has found the Goldilocks Zone as far as I’m concerned. It’s not too big, not too small, not too light, not too heavy. It’s juuuuust right. The material used is sturdy, not cheap-feeling, and the curved lines, nice high-resolution screen, and great keyboard make the 751h feel like it’d cost much more than $400. Here it is pictured next to the original 8.9-inch Aspire One for size comparison purposes.

The machine’s glossy outer coating does indeed pick up fingerprints, as does the area around the trackpad (the trackpad itself now looks like it’s covered in butter). Just something to keep in mind. That kind of stuff doesn’t bother me all that much but if it bothers you, you may want to see if you can find one of these on display somewhere and manhandle it for a bit.

Typing on the island keyboard took a bit of getting used to at first but by a few days in, it felt like I was typing on a standard laptop keyboard. The big Shift and Backspace keys are definitely appreciated and, while the tiny arrow keys leave a bit to be desired, this is still by far the best netbook keyboard I’ve used.

The trackpad is kind of a weak spot. It’s bigger than most netbook trackpads and the all-in-one button is placed underneath it instead of flanking the sides but it still takes a fair amount of scrolling and sliding to get the cursor from one side of the screen to the other. The single mouse button registers left and right clicks but it sits almost a bit recessed, so pushing it down to click takes a bit of extra effort sometimes. The trackpad also features multitouch gestures but the actual surface area and slow-to-register timing made multitouch an afterthought aside from vertical scrolling and the occasional zooming.

All in all, the trackpad is fine for occasional, casual browsing and lighter stuff but when I would use the 751h all day for work, I had a USB mouse hooked up.

As for the six-cell battery, this is the first portable computer I’ve ever used that I basically recharge as often as I recharge my cell phone. I’d plug it in at night, and it would pretty much run all throughout the next day. I even took it on a quick three-day weekend without the charger and still had plenty of juice when I got back. So what you give up in power and performance, you absolutely gain in battery life.

Acer promises 8+ hours of battery life and I can definitely say that’s an accurate estimate, all things considered. I was able to muster over six hours of pretty aggressive non-stop computing with Wi-Fi on and the screen brightness set pretty high, along with weekend-long casual use — checking e-mail, surfing the web for a bit, listening to music for a bit, and stuff like that. It’s a welcome change from the battery life found on most standard laptops.

Some may be turned off by the six-cell battery pack jutting out the back, but there’s a three-cell version available and the curvature of the six-cell battery pulls double duty as a nice way to carry the computer around. My hand fit — you guessed it — just right.

So what didn’t I like about this computer? Not enough to make me want to stop using it. I’m not wild about the trackpad, but it’s still usable. The fact that it doesn’t play high-bitrate video is compensated for, in my opinion, by the huge battery life. And I can see how leaving antivirus software and not upgrading the RAM could slow everything down, but that’s all easily fixable and you don’t really need to upgrade the RAM.

The basic premise of this machine — long battery life, high-resolution screen, great keyboard, excellent portability, low price — makes it a great choice against most of the other netbooks on the market. Its Achilles heel, for most people, will be the whole “can’t play HD video” thing. If that’s the case, Gateway (which is owned by Acer) sells basically the exact same machine but with an AMD processor that ought to be able to handle HD video just fine. You lose out on battery life (5 hours versus 8 hours) but that may be a trade-off people are willing to make in the name of acceptable video playback.

Overall, I’ve been excited about this netbook ever since it was announced and, after reading some early reviews, I thought I may have been looking down the barrel of a slow, pokey, disappointing machine. But after a few minor tweaks and upgrades, making peace with the HD video stuff, and a couple weeks of daily use, the Acer Aspire One 751h has quickly become my go-to portable computer — even over my regular laptop.

Acer Aspire One 751h [Acer.com]

Photos:

.gallery {
margin: auto;
}
.gallery-item {
float: left;
margin-top: 10px;
text-align: center;
width: 33%; }
.gallery img {
border: 2px solid #cfcfcf;
}
.gallery-caption {
margin-left: 0;
}

Acer went all official on the 10-inch Aspire One a few days ago, but that model is loaded with XP Home. It seems however that a Linux flavor with a 16GB SSD is in the works of the same model and might be loaded with the same distro of Linux as the original 8.9-inch Aspire One. The rest of the specs are probably identical – webcam, Atom CPU, optional 3G or WiMAX – but the linux and SSD option is a welcomed alternative to Windows XP. The Linux option will apparently not be available when the 10-inch Windows XP model launches though. In fact, there hasn’t been an exact availability date announced just yet.

Not too shabby considering the 120GB, three-cell version generally retails for around $349 or so, depending on the store.

Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Netbook [Amazon]

Starting Sunday, RadioShack will be selling the Acer Aspire One for $99 with a two-year contract from AT&T at $60 per month for 5GB of high speed data.

If $60 sounds like a lot to be paying for 5GB of wireless data each month, it is (if you ask me). Maybe you could wait for future offerings with carriers other than AT&T, right? Wrong. It’s $60 for 5GB of 3G/EVDO data across the board whether you go with AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint unless you go with Verizon’s $39.99/month plan, which gives you a whopping 50MB of data.

My personal suspicions about price-fixing aside, if you’re a potential candidate for the Acer deal, you’ll get an Aspire One with an 8.9-inch screen, 160GB hard drive, 1GB memory, XP Home, built-in 3G, and a travel weight of 2.44 pounds. You’d save around $300 on the computer up-front, so you’ve got that going for you. Maybe someday you’ll be able to get one for free with a two-year contract, eh?

Full press release:

RadioShack Introduces 3G Netbook Utilizing AT&T’s Mobile Broadband Service to Help People Stay Connected

Innovative portable notebook technology for $99.99 when combined with qualifying AT&T mobile broadband service

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Starting Dec. 14, RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) becomes the first major U.S. retailer to offer an ultra-lightweight, mobile netbook Internet device with integrated 3G wireless technology. Netbooks, designed to fulfill people’s growing needs for mobile access to Internet applications, are widely expected to be a hot growth area for the computer industry. The unique combination of technologies created for this launch to help people stay connected enhances RadioShack’s reputation for offering innovative solutions at affordable prices.

The Acer Aspire one netbook is priced at $99.99 for customers who sign up for a qualifying two-year AT&T DataConnect mobile broadband service agreement with plans starting at $60 a month. Once activated, this netbook allows people to easily access the Internet anywhere within AT&T’s wireless network. The offer is available in 4,400 RadioShack company-operated stores through Dec. 24. Prices may vary outside the continental U.S. See stores or visit http://www.RadioShack.com for complete offer details.

"Many people internationally are already enjoying the portability, on-the-go connectivity and affordability of this emerging new technology," said Peter Whitsett, RadioShack’s executive vice president – merchandising. "We are proud to introduce this concept in the U.S. by offering a netbook with integrated 3G functionality in addition to full Wi-Fi capability.

"RadioShack is offering this innovative technology solution at a very attractive price through our collaboration with Acer and AT&T," he continued. "Helping people stay connected during these challenging economic times illustrates our continued commitment to meeting their personal technology needs affordably."

The lightweight, 2.44-pound netbook includes 1GB memory, 160GB hard drive, built-in memory card readers and Windows XP software that supports the portable connectivity needs of commuters, students, travellers and mobile professionals. This allows everyone to keep in touch via email, participate in social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, use the built-in Web cam and crystal-clear LCD screen for video conferencing with family, friends and business associates, conduct online research, and a host of other online functions.

The Acer Aspire one 3G netbook comes equipped with the following features:   

–  Weighs 2.44 pounds
–  Ultra-compact size measuring 9.8" x 6.7" x 1.1" (W x D x H)
–  Stylish piano-black finish
–  Built-in 3G capability
–  802.11b/g wireless (Wi-Fi)
–  8.9-inch LCD screen
–  Built-in Web cam
–  Intel(R) Atom(TM) processor
–  Windows XP(R) Home
–  1GB memory
–  160GB hard drive
–  Built-in memory card readers (dedicated SD and 5-in-1)

Don’t be surprised to hear that Acer is planning a 10-inch version of its wildly popular Aspire One netbook. It’s the next logical evolution, after all. Plus, you hate surprises. Perhaps you could be surprised that it’s taken Acer this long to build a 10-inch version.

DigiTimes is reporting that Acer will be rolling out the 10-inch Aspire One early next year — likely February or March. That appears to be in Taiwan, though, so we’ll see how long it takes those models to make it here. The company will also finally start producing 13.3-inch notebooks next year under the Gateway brand.

No pricing or information yet, except that “prices are expected to continue to drop” for notebooks in Taiwan, which seem to generally be priced about 20% higher than here.

Woot.com is selling the Acer Aspire One netbook for $289.99 plus $5 shipping. It’s the version with the Linpus Linux operating system, 512MB of RAM, 8GB SSD, and three-cell battery. It sells for around $330 elsewhere so if you’ve been waiting for this particular model, now might be the time to pull the trigger.

This deal is only available today (Saturday).

Acer Aspire One Ultra Portable Notebook [Woot.com]

Another day, another deal on a netbook. Today it’s the Acer Aspire One, which Buy.com has for just $309.99 – that’s cheap! You’ll get a 1.6 GHz Atom processor, 512MB of RAM, 8GB solid state drive, 8.9-inch 1024×600 screen, built-in webcam, and the Linpus Linux Lite operating system. The whole thing weighs just 2.19 pounds.

Acer Aspire One [Buy.com via dealnews]

Acer, recently in the news because of its well-received Aspire One netbook, just held a press conference in Budapest—I’m only a two-hour flight away, hence my presence—talking about a whole lot of stuff that doesn’t necessarily apply to us here at CrunchGear. (Profit margins, possible acquisitions, sponsorships, etc.) One thing I want to immediately address is this slide, taken from the aforementioned, two-and-a-half hour press conference.

What I want to know, sports fans, is where you see yourself in Acer’s little chart? (Click here for a hi-res version of the photo.) My guess, and it’s only a guess, is that many of you fall into the Techno Leader profile—you troll gadget blogs all day, you actually read liveblogs of events, etc. Well, that many of you see yourself as a Techno Leader—maybe you don’t always have the money to buy the absolute latest video card or spiffy portable media player, but you would in a second if you had the money.

You’re a Techno Leader at heart, in other words.

My personal favorite from the six categories is the Practical & Value dude, who’s apparently only found in Germany (?). I guess zee Germans are all about getting things done as efficiently as possible, no fuss, no muss. And no frills, apparently. A long-standing stereotype of the German people, I think. At least it’s a positive one.

Tools Needed

• Small Philips screwdriver
• Two small flathead screwdrivers (or something similar) to get at the keyboard
• 512MB or 1GB stick of RAM. For best results, use PC2-5300 RAM.
• Time, patience, and a blatant disregard for your warranty

Step One

Remove the battery and the following eight screws. Two of them are hidden under the rubber feet.

Step Two

Use a flat object (like a flathead screwdriver) to push each of the three tabs toward the screen while using another flat object to gently pry the keyboard upwards.

Step Three

Disconnect the keyboard and trackpad ribbons, followed by the following six screws.

Step Four

Unscrew the two screws near the Wi-Fi module, unplug the audio cable, and disconnect the SSD ribbon. The RAM slot is on the underside of the motherboard in the lower left-hand corner. Carefully lift the board up and insert the RAM.

Step Five

Reassemble the computer and tap F2 while it’s booting to enter the BIOS. Under the “Main” tab, make sure your total memory is 1,536 megabytes. That’s it!

Tip of the hat to AspireOneUser.com and its forums. I got a lot of the info for this project from over there. It’s a great resource for Aspire One owners.

Acer’s netbook, the Aspire One, the netbook that our own John Biggs called “quite small” is getting a smaller price as well. Starting now, the base model with Linpus Linux Lite and a three-cell battery will fall from $379 to $329, the XP version will fall from $399 to $349, and a new six-cell, XP version with a 160GB hard drive will sell for $399. That’s insane. Check out that new one with the big hard drive for sure.

I looked around at all the places the Aspire One is sold and the prices haven’t dropped yet. The announcement was just made today, though, so give the retailers some time to adjust. The new Acer One, by the way, is model number AOA150-1447.

Full release…

Acer Drives Outstanding Value in the Netbook Category With Price Reductions on Its Popular Aspire one

Ideal for Students, an Acer Aspire one Ultra-Lightweight Mobile Internet Device Featuring Windows XP Is Now Available for Just $349

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(Business Wire)–Acer America, the third largest vendor in the global PC market(source: Gartner data, 2Q 2008), today announced it has lowered the price of the popular Aspire one ultra-lightweight mobile Internet device in the U.S. retail channel. In a move that will provide affordability and value just in time for back-to-school, the Aspire one featuring Windows XP Home(R) will now retail for $349.

Compact and smart, the Aspire one provides continuous access to the Internet in an easy-to-use, stylish and ultra-mobile platform.Light enough to tote in a backpack at just 2.17 pounds, the Aspire one is designed to be an affordable, entry-level, "first PC" solution for students, as well as a secondary computing device for on-the-go tech savvy enthusiasts and professionals.

The Aspire one is ideal for everyday tasks such as Web browsing,checking email, listening to music, instant messaging, viewing photos,VOIP calls and streaming video. Equipped with Intel(R) Atom(TM)processor, Windows XP(R) Home, 1GB of RAM memory installed, 120 GB internal hard drive, and a three-cell battery, the Aspire oneAOA150-1570 is now priced at $349. The Aspire one AOA110-1722 with Linpus(TM) Linux Lite is now priced at $329.

"The Aspire one is a breakthrough product that meets the connectivity needs of both students and mobile professionals," said Kristin Markworth, senior manager of notebook product marketing for Acer America. "By increasing the value of our mobile Internet device lineup, Acer is opening the Aspire one experience to a whole new base of users."

Also introduced for business and education customers, the Aspire one AOA150-1447 offers a professional solution for those who require added performance. Featuring a six-cell battery, 160GB internal hard drive and Windows XP Home, the Aspire one is perfect for on-the-go business travellers and environments which require long-lasting battery power. The Aspire one AOA150-1447 is now available via Acer authorized resellers with prices beginning at $399.

Pricing and Availability

The Acer Aspire one netbook is available now via Acer’s authorized resellers and at major retailers nationwide. All models come with aone-year limited warranty.

Acer’s new Aspire One netbook is now shipping in the US. Apparently Best Buy and Circuit City are supposed to have them, although I was unable to find them on either store’s website, so maybe they’re in-store items only.

CDW has them, though, with the Linux-based model going for $379.99 and shipping in 1-3 days while the XP-based model costs only $20 more and features a 120GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM versus the Linux version’s 8GB flash drive and 512MB of RAM. Unfortunately, the XP version’s got about a two week lead time.

Even so, $399 is a hell of a deal for a netbook with those specs.

On the bright side, the machine’s three cell battery is good for a little over two hours of battery life, which beats out the Eee 900, and you can increase the in-built 8GB of storage by adding a SD(HC) memory card. Interestingly, the memory card’s storage is added to the machine’s main memory, not as a separate storage device.

So there seem to be a few tradeoffs, but the expectation is that these Acer machines will be priced really aggressively, so it may be worth it for some people.

Acer’s entry into the netbook arena, the Aspire One, has apparently been seen “in price comparison engines in Germany,” according to UMPCPortal, who says that the base model (8GB of storage, 512MB RAM, and Linux) is being advertised at 329 Euro – 50 Euro more expensive than the 4G Asus Eee. The higher-end model (80GB of storage, 1GB RAM, and Linux) is priced at 399 Euro, “which is 40 Euro less than the ‘old’ and less equipped Eee PC 900.”

The base price for the Aspire One here in the US will likely fall between $350 and $400, according to earlier reports. There’s also supposed to be a 12.1-inch model coming some time for under $500. The units seen on German web sites have shipping dates of between 4 and 7 weeks, according to UMPCPortal, “although one reseller is quoting 10 days.” Hopefully, we’ll see these in the US very soon.