Acer launched a pair of updated Aspire One netbooks yesterday to include better graphics and -- for the first time -- AMD processors. The 10.1-inch AO521 and 11.6-inch AO721 both use the 1.7GHz Athlon II Neo K125, a single core chip with 1MB of Level 2 cache and an 800MHz bus, as well as the Radeon HD 4225 integrated chipset with 384MB of dedicated memory and a 250GB 5,400RPM hard drive to store data on.
Either should be about under an inch thick and weight around 3 pounds with the six-cell battery installed. The main difference, besides screen size obviously, is with the installed operating system and included memory. Whereas the 10.1-inch AO521 is limited to 1GB of RAM and Windows 7 Starter, the larger model packs 2GB of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium. It also includes a standard full-size keyboard rather than a 93-percent sized keyboard on the former.
In terms of connectivity, both netbooks will get you 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Ethernet LAN and Bluetooth, as well as a webcam and digital microphone for video conferencing, and an HDMI-out port for connecting to an HDTV. These AMD-powered netbooks will reportedly start shipping today ship today at prices of $350 for the AOD521 and $430 for the AOD721.
For those Intel fans out there Acer also announced the Aspire One AOD260 and Aspire One AO533 with Intel Atom processors. The first is a slim model with a patterned look and a just over 2.4-pound weight. It carries the 1.66GHz Atom N450 processor, while the AO533 is just a bit heavier and features the newer 1.83GHz Atom N475. Both will be available later in the month, priced at just $298 for the AOD260 and $330 for the AOD533.
