Acer Aspire One AO722-C60

Acer has released a refreshed version of its Aspire One 722 notebook. The older version, with model number AO722-C52, was powered by a AMD C-50 APU. The new model, the AO722-C60, has the newer and more powerful AMD C-60 APU and has doubled the amount of RAM installed, now coming with 4GB.

The AO722 is a nicely built 11.6-inch laptop. There is a bit of keyboard flex, but other than that the rest of the package is solid. Measuring 11.2 x 7.9 x 1.0 inches and weighing at three pounds, with the supplied 6-cell battery, it is one of the thinner and lighter 11-inch laptops in the market.

Specifications wise, the new AO722 is well kitted. Priced at Php21,500, it comes with 4GB of RAM, 256MB of RAM for the graphics card and a 500GB hard drive. For ports and connectivity you have Bluetooth, card reader, Webcam, WiFi, HDMI and the other ports you would expect to found in a modern laptop. There is no USB 3.0 port though. The OS is also better than you would expect at this price, Windows 7 Home Premium.

Going to the APU, the C-60 runs at 1.0 GHz, same as the C-50. The difference is that the C-60 has a turbo mode which lets the processor to run at up to 1.33 GHz when needed. The other half of the APU is the graphics processor, which has been upgraded to the Radeon HD 6290. The newer graphics processor tins at the same 276 MHz of the Radeon HD 6250 on the C-50, but graphics is also blessed with a turbo mode, and can run as fast as 400 MHz on demand.

The problem with the AO722 is that its 21.5k asking price puts it in competition with more powerful AMD E-350 and E-450 powered laptops. The new C-60, is a big improvement over the C-50. It should be about 80% as powerful as the E-350, with the additional RAM closing the gap even further. At the same time, it should run cooler than AMD E series APU's. I would go as far as to say that the new AO722 is a better choice than the HP DM1z. But the upgrades in the AO722 are enough to make it a viable option for those looking for something thinner and lighter than a HP DM1z.