Acer Aspire One 531 reviewed by T3

The best way to think of the Acer Aspire One 531 is a slimmer version of the Aspire One D250 netbook. In almost every other way the specifications are identical, apart from slightly less battery life. T3 has reviewed the 531 and, overall, finds that it’s a worthy upgrade to the 8.9-inch Aspire One.

The model that T3 reviewed came with a 10.1-inch (1024 x 600) display, powered by a 1.66GHz N280 Atom CPUs. It comes with 1GB RAM (2GB supported) and a 160GB hard-disk drive. The keyboard is 89-percent the size of a standard keyboard whilst its touchpad will support multi-touch. Other features include three USB ports, WiFi (b/g only), Bluetooth 2.0 and a 0.3MP webcam.

The Aspire One 531 certainly looks very attractive. It’s half way between a fashion item, such as the Asus S101, and a regular netbook, and it looks like a good deal. Check out the key points from the review after the break.

Key Acer Aspire One 531 review points:

• The slim chassis with its matte finish gives its aesthetic design an edge. The chassis has been slimmed down considerably; excess fat is shaved off at almost every turn.
• Glossy screen is bright that makes watching movies on the go even more enjoyable.
• Intel Atom N280 generates less heat, and thus less fan noise, and its basic operation is noticeably faster too.
• Trackpad has mouse buttons in the right place (side-by-side).
• Keyboard is 89 percent of full size. Comfortable to use, although the arrow keys are still a little too cramped for comfort. Another problem is that the Enter key is smaller, which means it is too easy to hit Enter and when you’re searching the internet.
• Standard battery is 3-cell version. Given that many are including better capacity batteries as standard this is a disappointment.