Acer AO532h-2067 10.1-Inch Matrix Silver Netbook - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life Review
The Acer Aspire One 532H is sold in many versions, with some vendors, such as Costco, having unique versions. The major differences are 160GB hard drives versus 250GB hard drives, and "regular" six cell batteries versus long-life six cell batteries. All current versions should have Windows 7, instead of the older versions' Windows XP.
I bought the Costco version, which comes with a two year warranty, instead of the one year warranty, a 160GB hard drive, and the long-life battery. I have been able to routinely get 8 hours to 9 hours of use before needing to charge the battery. The ultra-light weight of the 532H and its slim body make it easy to carry in my briefcase all day.
When I stop for coffee, it quickly identifies available wireless internet connections. I use it primarily for e-mail and checking the news headlines. However, although the keyboard is a bit cramped, after some time to adjust, typing shorter documents is not difficult. The screen is sharp and easy to read.
The power pack and charger is smaller and lighter than usual, so bringing it along for a week-end trip is not a burden. If the battery is totally drained, it fully recharges in two to four hours, depending on whether you are using the computer while it is charging.
When I have a fast internet connection (1.3 mbps or faster) the 532H will play back TV shows on Hulu smoothly, although sometimes it is necessary to pause the show for a few minutes to enable the memory buffer to fill up.
Using the Windows Task Manager to monitor CPU use and memory use indicates that memory use tops out at 700 megs to 800 megs with eight or ten Browser tabs open, and also running another program, such as listening to music on Pandora or watching a TV show on Hulu. I suspect a program such as PhotoShop would be very slow with just one GB of memory however. The CPU sometimes tops out at 100% load, indicating that the CPU, not the 1GB of memory, is the primary cause of the computer running slowly during some tasks.
There is no reason to upgrade to two GB of RAM if you will be using the Aspire for e-mail, browsing the news, listening to music, or watching videos on Hulu. I purchased a mini-DVD unit so that I could watch movies. Using Windows Media Player, there was a great picture, but no sound. I downloaded the free VLC video software, and movies then played fine, with nice stereo sound. Then I tried Windows Media Player again, and it was also playing DVD movies with sound...I'm guessing that when I downloaded the VLC video player, it included an audio codec that Windows 7 was missing.
If I were going on a trip for a few weeks, the Aspire, its charger, and the mini-DVD player would provide me with a complete computer system that weighs less than a total of five pounds...light enough to keep with you all day. Folks would have laughed ten years ago if you said that someday you would be able to buy a computer that weighed less than three pounds and cost less than 0. A real bargain.
Acer AO532h-2067 10.1-Inch Matrix Silver Netbook - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life Feature
- 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 Processor
- 1GB DDR2 Memory
- 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM); 802.11 b/g/n Wireless Certified
- 10.1" WSVGA Acer CrystalBrite LED Display, Intel GMA 3150 Graphics
- Windows XP Home; Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life
Acer AO532h-2067 10.1-Inch Matrix Silver Netbook - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life Overview
Acer AO532h-2067 comes with these high level Specs. Intel Atom Processor N450, Windows XP Home (Service Pack 3), 10.1-Inch WSVGA Acer CrystalBrite LED Display, Mobile Intel NM10 Express Chipset, Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150, 1024MB DDR2 Memory, 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM), Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader, Acer InviLink 802.11b/g/Draft-N Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), Built-In Webcam, Two Built-in Stereo Speakers, 3 - USB 2.0 Ports, 6-cell Li-ion Battery (5600 mAh), 2.76 lbs. | 1.25 kg (system unit only)
Acer AO532h-2067 10.1-Inch Matrix Silver Netbook - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life Specifications
Aspire One AO532h: Go Anywhere Mobility
Browse the Web, check email, share photos, keep up with social networks, listen to music and enjoy a wide variety of entertainment with the Aspire One AO532h, which features a small compact design that you can take anywhere. Combining the power of the latest Intel Atom N450 processor and NM10 Express chipset with a 6-cell battery, this Aspire One AO532h model (AO532h-2067) in silver provides up to 10 hours of battery life on the go--enough for a full workday.
A great choice for students as well as business travelers who like to travel light, Acer makes it easy to stay productive while on the go with the 10.1-inch CrystalBrite LED-backlit screen as well as its excellent near full-size keyboard. You'll be able to easily video chat wherever you roam thanks to the Crystal Eye webcam integrated into the LCD's bezel, delivering smooth video streaming and high quality images even in low-light situations. Pinch, flick and swirl your fingers on the multi-gesture touchpad for an intuitive navigation to view web pages, photos, spreadsheets and more. It comes preinstalled with the familiar Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system.
Key Features
 The Aspire One AO532h is only 1-inch thin and weighs just over 2.5 pounds, yet the keyboard is 93 percent standard size with large keys for better typing. |
 The Aspire One AO532h in silver. |
- 10.1-inch LED-backlit CrystalBrite screen (1024 x 600 resolution) presents crisp, clear imagery for a great web browsing experience for on-line chats, email, surfing the Web.
- 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 processor (512 KB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB) combines performance and energy efficiency to explore the Internet and stay connected while mobile.
- Up to 10 hours of battery life with included 6-cell battery
- Multi-Gesture Touchpad allows you to pinch, flick and swirl your fingers across the touchpad for more natural photo and video viewing as well as intuitive navigation of websites such as Google Earth. It also enables you to scroll, zoom in and out and flip through web pages, photos, spreadsheets and more.
- Crystal Eye webcam supports Acer PrimaLite technology, which consists of a premium sensor, firmware and lenses to provide superior video performance under low-light conditions. A built-in digital microphone helps keep background noise levels low and minimizes echoes.
- 84-key keyboard, 93 percent of standard-size with 12 function keys, WLAN switch
- 160 GB SATA hard drive (5400 RPM)
- 1 GB DDR2 RAM (667 MHz)
- Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 video processor
- Wireless-N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) for ultra-fast connectivity to home and business networks.
- Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity enables you to communicate and synchronize with Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as PDAs and cell phones.
- Fast Ethernet (10/100)
- Multi-in-1 memory card reader compatible with Secure Digital (SD), MultiMedia (MMC), Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, and xD Picture Card media
- 3 USB ports
- VGA video output
- Stereo speakers
- Microsoft Window XP Home operating system (SP3)
- Pre-loaded software includes Microsoft Works for word processing and spreadsheet work. Enjoy a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007.
- Dimensions: 10.17 x 7.28 x 0.99 inches (WxDxH)
- Weight: 2.76 pounds
- Warranty: One-year parts and labor limited warranty with concurrent International Traveler's Warranty
What's in the Box
This package contains the Acer Aspire One AO532h-2067 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions
It also comes with the following software: McAfee Internet Security Suite 2009 (trial version with 60 days of live update); Microsoft Works with Office Home and Student 2007 Trial; Google Toolbar; Norton Online Backup; MyWinLocker; Acer eRecovery Management and Launch Manager
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Customer Reviews
Best one yet - Cooperstown39 - United States
This is my second netbook and very impressed. Most of these netbooks are very similar in performance and the selection really comes down to personal preferences. A few things I liked;
- The touch pad has a "bump" surface rather than being smooth
- Keyboard layout is ideal for touch typists (my other netbook is nice but it drives me crazy with the right shift key being smaller and offset)
- Screen is bright and can be easily adjusted to improve battery life
- As mentioned in other reviews, the battery life is great
- Most important for me was easy access to the memory and hard drive. This netbook has two access doors on the bottom so you can upgrade the memory or hard drive without having to take it completely apart (unlike the new Asus models)
I have upgraded the hard drive to an 80G SSD and the memory to 2G. It will never compete with a loaded laptop or desktop but it is pretty fast (for being a netbook) and easily handles MS Office.
The only item which causes some problem is the AC adapter. It has a rather large plug and will not fit in tight places (like some of the convenience outlets on the desks in hotel rooms). However, this is just a minor inconvenience.
Overall, this is a great netbook and plan to purchase a second one for a famiy member.
nice little unit. - J. Skilton - Portland, OR USA
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Got the XP version, because the whole -idea- of win7 'starter' just makes me angry. But specifically, the in-ability to extend the desktop onto another monitor (without a paid upgrade) is a major drawback for a unit with a 10" screen. No such prob with the XP version, as is. Xp versions not available with >160Gb disk, so there's your tradeoff.
I seriously considered the ASUS brand, which is well reviewed and offers slightly more bang for the buck, but, I own other Acer products, and finally just went with the familiar brand. I like the color too, fwiw.
The unit was packaged in the familiar handle box and arrived a day early without any sign of mis-handling. Unpacking and setting up the unit was straight-forward. Deleted several 'free trial versions,' dug up our home network key, downloaded Firefox, AVG, and a Citrix client (that gets me on the company server), and went to work.
The screen is clear, bright, and very sharp. I had no trouble working with smaller text and images. Didn't hate the 'chicklet' keyboard either. I seem to be using only four fingers, but good speed and no more typos than usual.
XP recognized all the peripherals in the house, including two Canon printers, a chinese knockoff portable dvd drive, and multiple mice, keyboards and monitors. With mouse, keyboard and cheap 17" monitor, this netbook is a desktop replacement as powerful and useful as any laptop I've ever owned. Disconnect everything, and its a great deal more portable -- at less than half the price.
Only caveat is that I am not a gamer, so no comment there. The video and sound systems are plenty good for what I do. Before it recognized my crappy old 17" monitor for the wimp it is, it was offering me some very large-pixel resolution choices.
Enthusiastically recommended.
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The Perfect Compromise - D. Martin -
When I shopped for this netbook, it was a long process. There are so many different configurations and price points available. What I finally did was to write a wish list by order of priority with price obviously being the deciding factor. What finally made me decide on this netbook was that it had all of my high priority criteria and I didn't pay 30 to 50% more to get what I really din't need (bigger hard drive,or windows 7 home premium etc)
The following was my wish list in order with comments on this unit.
Long battery life, (6 cell battery doesn't stick out of the rear like a growth. About 10 hours as advertised!)
N450 processor minimum (not the N270 or 280 which cuts your battery life about 25%).
Reasonable hard drive. (160 GB is hard to fill but I can always upgrade later reusing the 160 in an enclosure.)
Integrated Bluetooth, (no dongles and much better software. Function key on and off with indicator LED. Wireless mouse (any track pad used more than a couple of minutes drives me nuts), easy PDA syncing plus lan sharing if no wifi, using your headset from your cell phone etc. Bluetooth is a very useful feature that you will find more useful as you go. It works great with all of my devices and it shares nicely. The software and the hardware was integrated by the manufacturer to work together properly and I would go this route than go for the dongles that everyone seems to be complaining about. BTW, if something physically jars a dongle hard enough,it could destroy the computer board).
A good display (for one person viewing).
A reasonable keyboard.
XP is actually a bonus. (Works great on these smaller processors and it's a lot cheaper than 7 home premium!)
webcam and microphone (work very well with Skype etc).
SDHC card slot (don't have Sony stuff so I am not paying for the extra slots I won't use).
Purchased with Microsoft Bluetooth mouse, works great but wish it was a little shorter for packing alongside the Acer. When you are travelling, you end up using the mouse in locations that a lesser or wired mouse wouldn't be comfortable with. Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 Mac/Windows
Memory upgrade. Probably didn't need it in hindsight but it installed easily. Crucial 2GB 256Mx64PC2-5300 CT25664AC667 DDR2 200-Pin SODIMM Laptop Memory
In the end, it had all what I wanted at a good price. Quality was perfect with no issues with the hardware or software. (have edited out reference to not having 'n' wireless. It does! thanks D.Houghton)
