The $330 and above netbook market is dead

It’s hard to believe that less than a year ago when higher end netbooks still commanded $600 and maybe even above. But if you bought a netbook in the last month or two for $400 or more, this is a good time to kick yourself. The market for $400 netbooks justdied with the arrival of the $400 Acer Aspire AS1410-2285 ultraportable.

The AS1410-2285 has the following notable specifications:

Dual-core 1.2 GHz
SU2300 “CULV” processor
Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics chipset
Full-sized Keyboard
11.6″ LCD w/LED backlight
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 edition
VGA and HDMI port
6-cell battery
Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11 a/b/g/n
0.87″ to 1.18″ thick and 3.08 lbs
160 GB 2.5″ SATA HDD
2 GB RAM
Two real mouse buttons instead of a cheap imitation MacBook button that
works like garbage.
Did NOT see anything about BlueTooth but you can buy one of those tiny
dongles for $10 or less if you get a bargain.

This is the sort of specification that would have probably fetched close to $2000 just two years ago but the “race to the bottom” has been won by Acer. While I’m sure this saddens those in the notebook industry, consumers are rejoicing. I saw an ad over this weekend for a netbook with Windows 7 “Starter Edition” for $368 so I feel for the poor guy/gal who buys it.

It’s worth noting that the HP Mini 311 netbook with NVIDIA Ion still sells for $400. While the NVIDIA Ion LE graphics is about 79% faster than the GMA 4500MHD in 3DMark2006, the Atom CPU in the Mini 311 CPU is slower than a dual-core 1.2 GHz SU2300 especially for multi-thread optimized workloads. So which one is better depends on your preferred workload, but I personally don’t take gaming on netbooks too seriously.

Tags: Acer Aspire, Aspire AS1410

Comments

Paul

I think that compared to my few year old 15.4" Toshiba and my gf's 14.1", the 11.6" Acer computers are definitely "ultra portable".

My Windows Mobile phone and PDA fit in my pocket, but I won't type out a long email or spend any significant time surfing the web on them.

I'll be taking the new dual core AS1410 on a long international trip soon. It is going to make a huge difference in my traveling comfort compared to my previous trips where I lugged this 6lb Toshiba A105 15.4".

Japanese Game Source

An 11.6" screen is NOT an ultraportable, or even a netbook. It's a small laptop.

I will agree that around 12" is the sweet spot for most people. They can see everything clearly, and it's usually not heavy. But it offers practically no portability benefit over a 14", unless it's a really bulky 14" and a really slim 12".

Send me a message when you get to the sub-7" range. Then it'll be an ultra-portable. Like my 4.8" UMID M1. Fits in my pocket. Now THAT'S ultraportable.

That being said, this does look like a good, low-cost, entry-level laptop that is more on the portable side than most laptops. I approve of the laptop, just not all the people claiming it as a netbook or especially an ultraportable.

Reid Sprague

Impressive!

It's not just system specs but screen size that makes an ultra portable, and 11"-12" is the sweet spot for many people. As the owner of a Dell Mini 9, I have to say that at that size almost too many compromises have to be made - though it is much better since I Hackintoshed it.

I paid $400 for it a year ago, but then upgraded memory, added a Runcore SSD and paid for OS X, so my cost was a lot more than the Acer above. If I had it to do over, the Acer sounds like a better investment, and more future-proof as well.

Would be interested in feedback from folks who have bought the Acer - how happy are they with it in real use? Also, how many people who dumped Windows over Vista (I dumped XP on the Dell over speed and convenience issues) will return now that Windows 7 is here? The deal above is very compelling from my point of view.

Joe Wagner

I recently purchased the new AS1410 and I am very impressed.

I was a little let down that the Acer website said it would have one 2GB module, and it came with 2 x 1 GB. Also, the keyboard has a noticeable bit of flex.

In comparison to the Dell 9 Mini, which I used owned prior to this, the performance is leaps and bounds better - I can work all day on the laptop, the keyboard is great to type on, and I can watch 720p video on YouTube.

I am very, very satisfied with the notebook so far. The battery life, so far, is about 4-5 hours, not 6, but I generally have a browser with 10+ tabs open, an Internet radio station open, and a few messaging programs.