The suffix Pro is always an easy one for manufacturers to tack on to the end of their products, pandering to those people who view themselves as (apologies in advance for this ugly portmanteau word) prosumers, professional consumers who consider themselves more switched on the average person in the street. Often the Pro is used as an excuse to charge a large premium for a smattering of additional features that do not justify the extra money.
So, the postman arrives with a box labelled Acer Aspire One Pro 531. That’s too much of a mouthful in my opinion so let’s call it the Pro.
Acer launched the Aspire One in September 2008. Back then, it was a Asus Eee wannabe with an 8.9 inch screen, a choice of Linux or XP Home and a long-lasting battery.
Like the Eee, the Aspire range has grown dramatically since then with an array of odd model numbers that tell you little about what each model is for – what do A110, D150 and 751 tell you?
Back to that Pro business. Acer launched the Aspire One 531 in January this year with the big differentiator from previous models being a 10.1 inch screen. It ran Windows XP Home as standard.
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The Pro version now offers a choice of operating system: XP Home as before, XP Pro or Vista Business. It also comes with a bigger hard drive, 250 gigs instead of 160. It’s also only available in black with silver grey trim – you can get the 531 in blue and red too.
Otherwise, the deal is pretty much the same: a lightweight package (1.27 kilos with the bigger six-cell battery) with a spunky processor under the hood.
The design is functional rather than fashionable. For example, the rear of the Pro is raised which means the screen has to be attached by longer hinges. When the screen is in the upright position, this reveals an unsightly gap that you could trap a finger in if you closed it too quickly. The six-cell battery also protrudes from the back in an ungainly fashion. It’s worth the extra time though. Acer claims 7.5 hours of stamina. Count on five or six if used in a power-hungry manner.
The Intel N270 isn’t the quickest of processors but I found it worked well enough when faced with the typical traveller combo of presentation software, web page and email all working at the same time.
The screen is one of those glossy ones that does not work too well in direct light. Some people like this because it makes it look nice but for users on the road in bright lighting situations such as airports, a matt screen is better. Still, the screen delivers crisp images when used in a normal lighting situation. The screen layout could also be better – the rim is wider at the top than the bottom when a more centralised screen would be more aesthetically pleasing.
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Acer claims the keyboard is 89% of full size, although I found the enter and backspace keys a bit too small for my liking. The keys offer a reasonable amount of travel (a minimum of 1.6mm, say the Acer bods) which made typing a pleasant experience in general.
Below the keyboard is a gesture trackpad with a separate two-button pad below it. Unlike some netbooks, these are of a reasonable size and allow pinch zooming, circular gesture scrolling and two-finger web page flipping.
The spec
Dimensions: 259.41 x 186.8 to 206.37 x 26.1 to 33.09 mm, weight: 1.12kg (with three-cell battery) 1.27kg (with six-cell battery), Intel N270 1.60Ghz processor, 10.1 inch WSVGA (1024 x 600) TFT LCD screen, 2GB RAM, 250GB hard disk, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Windows Vista Business (or XP Home or Pro)
The hype
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They say: “Portable, powerful and styled for mobile productivity, this on-the-go office lets you work for up to 7.5 hours without interruption.”
The reality
We say: This is business traveller functional rather than a style statement. Stamina is good and you won’t need to recharge on a transatlantic flight with moderate use.
The bottom line
£308.17 including VAT for the Intel N270, 250GB model from Scan, about £25 more than the non-Pro version
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The verdict
The Acer Aspire One Pro 531 is not ground-breaking but something of a workhorse. You’ll want the six-cell battery as a business traveller but you will have to live with it hanging out of the back like a netbook version of a Renault Megane. Business travellers should pay the £25 or so premium for this Pro version