Acer Aspire One Cloudbook Sports Windows 10

Acer is courting the budget-conscious market with the release of the Aspire One Cloudbook, which uses Windows 10 and features Acer's abApps ecosystem.

Nathan Eddy, Freelance Writer

August 4, 2015

3 Min Read
<p align="left">(Image: Acer)</p>

Windows 10: 5 Reasons It Matters, 5 Key Concerns

Windows 10: 5 Reasons It Matters, 5 Key Concerns


Windows 10: 5 Reasons It Matters, 5 Key Concerns (Click image for larger view and slideshow.)

Acer took the wraps off its latest notebook -- the Aspire One Cloudbook -- which runs Microsoft's recently released Windows 10 operating system and features 802.11ac wireless technology, as well as the latest Intel mobile processors.

The Aspire One Cloudbook 11 and 14 come with a one-year subscription of Office 365 Personal and up to 1TB of OneDrive online storage, which is preloaded on 32GB and select 64GB models.

Acer is just one of several PC makers preparing new Windows machines for the market. Whether or not the launch of Windows 10 revitalizes the PC market is yet to be seen. Just before Microsoft released the new operating system, Gartner reported that PC shipments dropped 10% as users turn to mobile devices for their computing needs. 

Available in North America this month, the Aspire One Cloudbook 11 with starts at $169 and will make its debut in the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market in September.

The 14-inch model will be available in North America starting in September for $199, and comes to EMEA in October.

The 100GB OneDrive voucher is bundled with 16GB models, though the company noted specifications and bundled services would vary depending on region and model.

The 802.11ac wireless feature is also noted as an option, with the additional disclaimer that actual speed will vary based on range, connection rate, site conditions, size of network, and other factors.

The fanless design is just 0.7-inches thin. The 11-inch model is weighs in at just over 2.5 pounds, and the 14-inch model weighs 3.5 pounds.

Both models boast 2GB of DDR3L system memory, and feature a HD, 16:9 ratio LED-backlit display.

Other features include a full-sized chiclet keyboard and large touchpad supporting Windows 10 gestures, as well as full-sized HDMI, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, and SD Card ports.

In addition, the notebooks come bundled with Acer’s cloud-enabled abApps, including abPhoto, abMusic, abDocs, and abFiles, which allow consumers to sync their files and documents with their smartphones or tablets through their own personal cloud.

After taking photos on a smartphone or tablet, abPhoto helps users auto-archive them back to the PC. Photos are also pushed to all of the user's other cross-platform devices over a wireless or mobile network.

With abMusic, the notebook becomes a media hub for the user's music library, which allows access to a music collection from any of their devices and gives users the ability to download the songs on mobile devices to listen to them later.

[Read about PCs that can upgrade to Windows 10.]

With abFiles, users can convert Office documents into PDF format or compress selected files into ZIP format. Constant availability means a user can put the notebook into sleep or hibernation mode as usual and then abFiles can wake it up whenever the user needs to get a file.

Finally, abDocuments allows users to view and edit Office documents updated in the last 30 days using any of their devices over a wireless or mobile network.

Even when Personal Cloud Storage is powered off, users can still access Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents from the last 30 days.

Rounding out the package are dual digital microphones with enhanced digital signal processing (DSP), which are designed to cancel background noise while allowing users to take advantage of Cortana, Microsoft's personal digital assistant.

On the aesthetic side, both notebooks sport a mineral gray cover with a dotted textile pattern.

About the Author

Nathan Eddy

Freelance Writer

Nathan Eddy is a freelance writer for InformationWeek. He has written for Popular Mechanics, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine, FierceMarkets, and CRN, among others. In 2012 he made his first documentary film, The Absent Column. He currently lives in Berlin.

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