Laptop straddles line between netbook and notebook

New Acer Laptop Straddles Line Between Netbook and Notebook

This is sure to kick up the ol’ “what’s a netbook and what’s a notebook?” debate. The macles* blog says that Acer isn’t content with their 8.9- and 10-inch netbook models, so they’re outing an 11.6-inch Aspire One. Hmm… it probably should be the Aspire Three at this point, but I’m no marketing or product-naming guru. Anyway, this looks appealing if you want a tad bigger screen and higher resolution than most of the comparable netbooks out there. Acer’s going with a 1366×768 display, which I think is close to ideal: I’ve long thought that my 13.3-inch MacBook could squeeze in a res greater than 1280×800.

Even with the bigger display, Acer expects solid battery life thanks to the newer Intel Atom Z530 and Poulsbo chipset: four hours on a standard battery is the plan. The keyboard looks redesigned as well: it has a look simliar to Dell’s Inspiron Mini. Acer tends to compete very well on price, so whether you call this a netbook or a notebook, I suspect you can call it your own for under $450. Just a guess on my part since there’s no official pricing or availability details yet.