14 DAY TRIAL // Though it hasn't exactly issued a press release to announce this latest development, Acer has begun to ship one of its previously-announced ultrathin laptops to customers stationed in the United States. Unlike most of the mobile PCs currently on sale though, this particular machine is based on AMD's Nile platform, specifically a Turion II central processing unit, and not Intel's ULV chips. The laptop makes a point of being affordable while still packing a significant level of horsepower.
The product in question goes by the name of Acer Aspire One 1551 and has been on pre-order, in Europe at least, for about two weeks. It is an 11.6-inch model whose configuration is centered on the AMD Turion II Neo K625 central processing unit. This CPU is clocked at 1.5GHz and is backed up by 4GB of RAM. Furthermore, a 320GB hard disk drive provides the necessary storage space, whereas the Radeon HD 4225 integrated graphics fuels the LED-backlit display with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
Of course, Acer threw in all the necessary connectivity and I/O options that consumers have come to expect from any notebook. Gigabit Ethernet is, predictably, present, as is 802.11 b/g/n WiFi wireless connectivity. Other specifications include a 1.3 megapixel webcam, a 5-in-1 card reader, the Acer CineCrystal technology, three USB 2.0 ports, two built-in stereo speakers, a VGA output, a HDMI connector and a 6-cell battery.
All of the parts and chips are condensed inside a thin enclosure measuring 11.22 x 8.03 x 1.01 – 1.10 inches and outfitted with a multi-gesture touchpad that supports two-finger scroll, pinch, rotate and flip. The machine should be able to last for up to 5 hours on a single battery charge and can be ordered via Newegg, as long as consumers are willing to part with at least $550.