With so many new laptops coming out every time you turn around, it is to be expected that manufacturers are upping the game each time they announce a new release. It’s either that or sink. To be honest though, just how many times can one come up with something new and revolutionary – something that actually does make sense and benefit users?
I do not have the answer to that, but Acer’s new line of laptops will make you do a double take. At first glance, there’s really not much to say – Acer does make pretty sleek laptops and they make some of the better looking laptops out there. Dubbed the Acer Aspire Ethos, this new line of laptops does have something that I don’t believe I have seen before. A touchpad that is detachable. Now why would anyone want to have a detachable touchpad? To use as a remote, of course!
Now I haven’t the slightest idea why you would want a touchpad cum remote but if you go one step further and think “laptop and HDTV”…see where I am going here? So if you place your laptop by the TV (unless you have one of those WiDi devices), you simply have to remove the touchpad (which is impractical to use anyway in this situation) and use it as a remote. Here’s a closer look.
In the US, two models are now available – the 15-inch AS5951G and the 18.4-inch AS8951G. The smaller laptop goes for $1,399, while the larger one goes for $1,599. Pricey, no question about that but here is what you get:
Quad-core second-gen 2.0 GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM CPU
Nvidia GeForce GT 555M graphics with 2GB of memory
Edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass-covered displays
750GB, 5,400rpm hard drive
4x Blu-ray drive
Dolby-tuned stereo speakers and a bottom subwoofer
The difference is in the display and the RAM. The smaller laptop has a 1,366 x 768-pixel display and 6GB of RAM, while the larger one has a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel display and 8GB of RAM.
Now those specs are not something you can disregard – even if the removable touchpad seems silly to me!
The world of laptop enthusiasts is abuzz with the news that Acer is due to release a new netbook pretty soon. Acer already has a rather vast line up of affordable laptops of all sizes, and last year, the manufacturer released two netbooks with AMD processors. Acer continued to roll out new products this year, with the Acer Aspire One 522 10-inch netbook as a prime example. It also has an AMD processor, particularly the AMD C-50 APU (Accelerated Processing Unit). This processor has two x86 cores clocked at 1GHz.
The second quarter of the year has barely started, and yet we hear news about a new Acer Aspire One in the works! If the grapevine can be trusted, we shall soon see the Acer Aspire One 722 in the market. Like its predecessor, the 522, the 722 will also have the AMD C-50 chip. The rather obvious difference is the size. While the 522 was a 10-inch netbook, the 722 will be an 11.6-inch one, with a display of 1366 x 768. As for the graphics, rumor has it that the 722 will have Radeon HD 6250 (DirectX 11) integrated graphics. The operating system included in Windows 7. No surprises there, really.
Some photos of the upcoming Acer Aspire One 722 have been leaked, and I think it is pleasing to the eyes – at least when closed, like how it looks in this photo.
The water drop design on the cover shell is reminiscent of the AO257, and I think it is a good move. I am not too sure about the compatibility of the shade of blue and the black, but blue is blue and I am partial to this color. This is what the keyboard and screen look like.
Another important detail – the battery life is supposed to be 7 hours, which is a mere 1-hour improvement over its predecessor. No details have been released about the launch of the new netbook and its pricing scheme yet, but the Acer Aspire One 722 will make its way to your nearest store soon.
So we’ve been hearing about Google’s Chrome operating system for a while now, but we haven’t really heard of one computer manufacturer releasing a netbook running the much-awaited OS, have we?
It could change in two weeks, according to Venture Beat. If the rumors are to be believed, Taiwanese computer manufacturer Acer might be releasing a Google Chrome OS device at the Computex Taipei show, which will be held from June 1 to 5. Read more…
We’ve waited for a netbook rocking Google’s Android to come out for some time now, the dual-boot Acer Aspire D250 would be the thing for you. It dual boots into Windows 7 and Android. Honestly, I still don’t think it makes any sense, but whatever works for you, right?
Take note that there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to boot into Windows 7 though.
Check out the unboxing video below. It’s in French, but you’ll understand it well enough.
Apparently, Acer’s Android netbook will be available to the general public by November. The reported of the netbook is around $300 to $350, and it won’t be all that much cheaper than the current 10-inch Aspire One since it still runs Windows and will have comparable specs.
So now I’m wondering why install Android in the first place if Windows is still going to be running alongside it. I’d rather wait for the Google Chrome OS netbook, mind you.
