10-Inch Acer Aspire Live Gallery Suggests Handsome, Sturdy Update
Acer are hoping for another home-run with the 10-inch version of their Aspire One netbook, and so far neither the specs nor the estimated pricing has let them down. Going by Akihabara's brief hands-on, it sounds like the devices themselves aren't a disappointment either; details are scarce (so make the most of the photos) but they do say they "LOVE the new larger screen".More images after the cut
From the live photos, it looks as though Acer have answered perhaps the one main complaint about the original Aspire One: that it felt a little toy-like. The new 10-inch version looks far more maturely-designed, and while it will take a hands-on session to tell what difference the larger keyboard makes, given that the original 8.9-inch model's 'board wasn't exactly awful we're confident the Aspire One will remain a highly usable netbook.
Three versions of the 10-inch Acer Aspire One netbook are expected: the entry level D150-0B will have the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of memory, a 160GB hard-drive and 3-cell battery, priced at around €329 ($425) and launching in February, while that will be followed in March by the D150-1B with the same specs aside from a 6-cell battery, priced at around €349 ($450). Finally, also in March, there'll be the Acer Aspire One D150-2BG: that will have Intel's 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor together with the 6-cell battery and integrated 3G quadband UMTS/HSDPA mobile broadband. Pricing for the D150-2BG is expected to be around €449 ($575).