Netbook Review UK

If reports are true, Acer’s new Aspire One 521 will swap out the ubiquitous Intel Atom processor for an AMD instead.  That’s not incredibly shocking for a larger netbook/thin and light, but for a 10″ netbook, that’s surprising.  Acer is reportedly preparing to launch the new Acer Aspire One 521 with AMD’s 1.2GHz  V105 single core processor.

The V105 is part of AMD’s Nile lineup, and it has 512KB of L2 cache, support for DDR3 memory, and a total power draw of 9 watts, which is pretty good for an AMD chip, and almost the same as the Intel equivalent.  The fact that is runs at 1.2ghz does not necessarily mean it will run more slowly than Intel’s 1.6ghz chips – nor do we know yet which one will win in the battery life war.

Graphics-wise, the new Aspire One will also reportedly have ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 graphics and the AMD M880G chipset. The netbook should be capable of HD video playback and it even has an HDMI output.  According to Macles, the netbook will have optional Bluetooth 3 support and a compact charger with changeable plus. The battery is supposed to be good for up to 7 hours.

No word on a launch date or price. You can find more pictures at Macles, which has a pretty good track record of digging up news on unannounced Acer laptops.