Acer Aspire AO532h-2223 10.1-inch Netbook Review

Feb 16 2010 - Acer's Aspire One AO532h-2223 is probably one of the least expensive of the new generation of netbooks. With a price tag of $300, it keeps the price level with previous generations. There were some compromises down to achieve this price including holding back the hard drive size and using a smaller battery. Still, if one ones a netbook for very little and minds a few compromises, this is certainly one to take a look at.

Feb 16 2010 - Acer's Aspire One 532h is their first netbook model to be based upon the new Intel PineTrail processors. The Intel Atom N450 doesn't provide much of a performance benefit over the previous N270 models but it has an improved memory speed that does provide a slight increase in some applications. Performance as usual is limited more by the single gigabyte of DDR2 memory as required by the Windows netbook licenses.

Now, the AO532h-2223 is Acer's most affordable model with a price tag of just under $300. In order to achieve this price, they did have to sacrifice a few features compared to many competing models. This is most notable in the storage and battery. Microsoft now allows Windows 7 based netbooks to go all the way up to 250GB of hard drive storage. Acer decided to keep the drive size down to the more typical 160GB of the previous generation to make it more affordable.

In terms of battery life, the Aspire One does have a 6-cell battery which is an advantage over many similarly priced netbooks. The overall capacity of these batteries is a lower 4400mA versus the more typical 5600mA. The net result is that during my video streaming battery drain test, it was able to run just under five hours before going into standby mode. This isn't quite as high as some other netbook models that can achieve near six and a half to seven hours of running time but it does provide a very long time for its price.

Another change in the Aspire One 532h is the keyboard design. Acer now uses an isolated keyboard design similar to many of its competitors. The downside is that Acer's design leaves very little space between the individual keys. This can result in a higher rate of typing errors especially for those who happen to have larger hands and fingers. It does have a few nice layout choices including full sized shift keys. The trackpad is designed with a flush design that is distinguished by a texture surface. While functional, it can be difficult to use at times.

Acer decided to continue to use the 10.1-inch LCD display size rather than moving to a larger one. This does help keep the overall size down but there is a wide bezel around the screen. The PineTrail platform also comes with a new GMA 3150 integrated graphics solution. Unfortunately, there isn't much difference from the older GMA 950 in terms of performance. It still lacks the performance to even handle high definition video streams.

While it may not have the best keyboard, large hard drive or the best battery life, the Acer Aspire One 532h definitely has an edge on the competition when it comes to the price. Too many of the new netbooks have raised their prices with the new platform but Acer has determined to keep their market share through price.