NetbookShow

When I reviewed the Acer Aspire 1410 with a Core 2 Solo SU3500 processor and Windows Vista a last month, I found that it was much faster than your average netbook when it came CPU-intensive tasks like transcoding audio and video files. But there was one thing it still couldn’t do: play HD and high quality Flash videos on its high resolution 1366 x 768 pixel display.

But this week Acer released an updated version of the Aspire 1410. The new model has a 1.2GHz Intel Celeron SU2300 dual core processor and runs Windows 7 Home Premium. And according to Peter at Netbooked, it can handle HD YouTube videos reasonably well. But you don’t have to take his word for it. You can check it out for yourself by watching the… HD YouTube video below.

Playback isn’t 100% flawless, but the videos look very watchable. When you try watching similar videos with the older version of the Aspire 1410, it feels like you’re looking at a picture slideshow instead of a video. That’s no longer the case.

And that makes the new Acer Aspire 1410 the cheapest laptop I’m aware of with an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 4+ hour battery life, and HD Flash video capabilities. You can order one today from Amazon for just under $400. Of course, the $400 HP Mini 311 will give the Aspire 1410 a run for its money once Flash Player 10.1 is released. That’s the upcoming version of Adobe’s Flash Player that will support NVIDIA ION GPU acceleration for Flash video, allowing you to watch 1080p Flash video on a netbook with a low power Intel Atom processor (provided it has NVIDIA graphics).

If the Acer Aspire Timeline 1820PT is a touchscreen tablet version of the Acer Aspire 1810T, then what do you think the Acer Aspire 1420P is? That’s right, it’s a convertible touchscreen version of the company’s cheapest laptop with an Intel CULV processor: the Acer Aspire 1410.

While the Aspire 1410 goes for as little as $400, there’s no official word on the price for the 1420P yet. But Acer has posted a product page for the new laptop. Here’s a rundown of the specs:

* CPU: 1.2GHz Intel Cuelro SU2300 dual core
* Graphics: Intel GMA 4500MHD
* Display: 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel or 1024 x 60 pixel multitouch
* RAM: Ships with up to 4GB (upgradeable to 8GB)
* Storage: 250GB/320GB HDD
* Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Ethernet, optional Bluetooth, optional UMTS/HSPA/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE modules
* I/O: 3 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, VGA, headphone, mic jacks
* Webcam: 640 x 480
* Battery: 6 cell, 5600mAh, 62.16WHr
* Dimensions: 11.2″ x 8.2″ x 1.4″
* Weight: 3.79 pounds
* Colors: Black, blue, red

In related news, Acer has posted a new Touch page to describe multitouch gestures that can be used with Acer computers with touchscreens and touchpads. There’s also a section on Acer’s software applications designed for touch. And it looks like Acer will add a section with information about touch enabled PC models soon.

The Acer Aspire Timeline 1820P is a thin and light laptop that looks a lot like the Acer Aspire 1410/Acer Aspire Timeline 1810T series. But there’s one major difference: The 1820P has a touchscreen display that can be folded down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode.

We first heard about the Acer Aspire Timeline 1820P a few weeks ago. But now the folks at Notebook Italia have had a chance to spend some hands-on time with an Aspire 1820PT. They report that Acer has included some touch-friendly software including a TouchPortal which features a photo viewer, music and video player, and several other widgets. You can also print photos by dragging them to a printer icon.

There’s also a TouchMemo utility for writing notes with your fingers or a stylus.

The AcerAspire 1820PT has an Intel core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU, GMA 4500 graphics, 4GB of RAM, up to 320GB of hard drive space, and a 1366 x 768 pixel display. It reportedly gets up to 8 hours of battery life and should be available in blue, black, and red.

Asus isn’t the only company gearing up to launch its newest thin and light laptops with Intel CULV processors this week. Amazon is now taking pre-orders for the Acer Aspire Timeline AS180T and AS1810TZ, both of which will be available on Thursday, October 22nd.

The Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810T will cost $599.99 and features:

* CPU: 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300
* Display: 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pxiels
* Graphics: Intel GMA 4500MHD
* OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
* RAM: 4GB DDR2
* Storage: 320GB HDD (5400 rpm)
* Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, Ethernet
* I/O: HDMI, VGA, 3 USB ports, card reader
* Mouse: multitouch gesture support
* Battery: 6 cell, 5600mAh (rated at 8 hours)
* Dimensions: 11.2″ x 8″ x 1.2″
* Weight: 3.1 pounds

The Acer Aspire AS181TZ will run $549.99 and features:

* CPU: 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 dual core
* Display: 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixels
* Graphics: Intel GMA 4500MHD
* OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
* RAM: 3GB DDR2
* Storage: 320GB HDD (5400 rpm)
* Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1
* I/O: HDMI, VGA, 3 USB ports, card reader
* Mouse: Supports multitouch gestures
* Battery: 6 cell, 5600mAh battery (rated at 8 hours)
* Dimensions: 11.2″ x 8″ x 1.2″
* Weight: 3.1 pounds

Possibly the best news here is that Asus doesn’t appear to be launching different versions of these laptops on different sides of the Atlantic. When the company introduced the Acer Aspire Timeline 1810 with Windows Vista in Europe a few months ago, the company shortened the battery life and called it the Acer Aspire 1410 in the US.

Of course, if you don’t need the extended battery life, dual core processor, extra RAM and hard disk space and Windows 7, you can still pick up an Acer Aspire 1410 with Windows Vista for about $430.

Acer Aspire AS5738PGA new 15.6-inch Acer Aspire AS5738PG touchscreen laptop was released. The notebook is powered by 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 CPU, up to 4GB of DDR2, ATI Radeon 512MB graphics card, a 320GB HDD. There’s also a separate numeric keypad, DVD burner, HDMI, 4 USB 2.0 ports, WiFi a/g/n, a webcam, ethernet, multitouch-capable trackpad, audio in/out.

Acer Aspire AS5738PG is planned to run on Windows 7.

The Acer Aspire One D250 Android netbook has now been officially announced by Acer.

Looking at all the initial hands-on and video (LaptopMag, Pocket-lint, Register Hardware) Android looks very unfinished to me and at best would replace one of those instant-on OSes you get on some netbooks.

Interestingly, there is no dual-boot. Windows 7 is launched from Android (which takes about 30 seconds to boot up), because Acer says they expect you to be using Android most of the time.

Specs wise, the only thing I see different is 2GB RAM as default, you’ve still got the same 10.1” 1024×600 display, 160GB HDD. Full specs, price and launch date have yet to be announced.

So it seems the 11.6” Acer Timeline 1810T series is coming to the US after all, refreshed with new specs and Windows 7, on October 22. There are two models, the 1810T and 1810TZ:

Both have these features in common:

* Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 (1.3GHz, dual core)
* Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* 11.6” 1366 x 768 Display
* 4GB DDR2 667MHz RAM
* Intel GS45 Express Chipset
* Intel GMA 4500MHD Graphics
* 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
* Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
* 3x USB, HDMI, Card Reader
* Multi-touch touchpad
* 6-Cell 5600mAh Lithium-Ion Battery (8 hour battery life)
* 3.08 lbs weight

The low end 1810T has a 320GB 5400rpm HDD and Dolby Sound Room and will cost $599.
The high end 1810TZ has a 500GB, HD Webcam (resolution not mentioned), 2nd Generation Dolby Sound Room and will cost $799.

Available colors (depending on the model): Diamond Black, Sapphire Blue, Brushed Aluminum and the new Espresso.

I was pretty impressed with the Acer Aspire 1410 (also known as the 1810T in many parts of the globe) when I had a chance to review it. The 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 processor and GMA 4500MHD graphics were a nice step up from the Atom/GMA 950 combo you get with most netbooks. But at 11.6 inches and 3.1 pounds, the Acer Aspire 1410 isn’t much bigger or heavier than a typical netbook. But that Core 2 Solo processor wasn’t a miracle worker. The machine still struggled with some CPU-intensive tasks, like playing HD Flash video.

But now Acer is introducing an upgraded model called the Aspire Timeline AS1810TZ that should be able to handle more CPU heavy tasks thanks to a dual core 1.3GHz Intel Core to Duo SU7300 ULV processor.

The SU7300 is still a ULV, or ultra low voltage processor, which means it won’t really compete with the chips you’ll find in high end machines. But this processor has two advantages: It helps Acer keep the size and price down, and provides decent battery life. Acer is claiming that the laptop will be able to run for up to 8 hours using a 6 cell battery. I’ll believe that when I see it. I was lucky to get 5 hours out of the Aspire One 1410 with a single core CPU.

The Acer Aspire AS1810TZ will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, a webcam, and an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display. it’ll be available in black, blue, and brushed aluminum and have starting price of around $550 when it hits the streets on October 22nd. This probably explains why the Acer Aspire 1410 got a price cut this week and is now selling for $400.

Acer has issued a voluntary recall of some of it’s Acer Aspire laptops, due to an overheating issue.

The fault apparently lies a microphone cable that could cause laptops to overheat when extreme pressure is applied repeatedly to the left palm rest, which could damage the case of the affected units and cause the system to malfunction. Acer stated that it would replace the microphone cable “to eliminate any risk overheating”, however, users will still need to check the serial or ID number via the Web site to determine whether their laptops are eligible for the recall.

The laptops that are eligible for the recall include Acer Aspire models AS3410, AS3810T, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG, made before September 15 2009.

In case you haven’t looked at your calendar in a while, October 22nd is next week. I know, I was kind of shocked too, but there it is. And that means that Windows 7 will be available to the general public a week from Thursday. And along with the latest version of Windows we can expect a whole slew of new computers to hit the shelves, as well as minor updates to existing PCs.

Acer has announced it’s taking the latter route with its current flagship netbook, the Acer Aspire One D250. Starting on the 22nd, it ill be available with Windows 7 and a new high resolution 1280 x 720 pixel display. It will also have a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a choice of a 3.5 hour or 7.5 our battery.

The netbook will ship with Windows 7 Starter Edition and it will be available in Japan for ¥46,800 or about $520 US. Odds are it’ll be significantly cheaper in the US, although it’s not entirely clear whether it will ship in the US on the same day.