Packard Bell launches Dot netbooks in the UK (Acer Aspire One clones)

packard-bell-dot-sAcer subsidiary Packard Bell has announced plans to sell its new line of  Dot mini-laptops in the UK. Basically, these are just rebranded versions of Acer Aspire one laptops… with a few changes in both branding and specifications.

The Packard Bell Dot S has a 10.1 inch display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and Windows XP. Prices will start at about £249 or around $397 US. If you ask me, it looks a lot like the Acer Aspire One D250.

The Packard Bell Dot M has the same chassis as the Acer Aspire One 751. But the insides are a bit different. In lieu of the underperforming Intel Atom z520 CPU found in the Aspire One 751, the Packard Bell Dot M has an AMD Athlon L1110 and up to 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. The computer runs Windows Vista and will run about £349 or $556 US. A version with an Intel processor will also be available.

We first heard about the Packard Bell Dot M and S in April, but now it looks like we have a time frame for a product launch (in the UK anyway). Both laptops should be available in July.


Posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009, 3:32 pm by Brad
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  • TrackSmart
    I remembered an older Tom's Hardware article that compared the Atom to an underclocked Athlon 64 "2000+" running at 1000 MHz. I dug it up again. The AMD processor had 8 watts TDP, which is pretty low, but higher than Atom. Maybe that's what AMD is putting out there as the Athlon 1110?

    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/Athlon-Atom...

    "we received a low-power Athlon 64 2000+ processor for Socket AM2 some months ago, and this processor is rated at a TDP of only 8 W. Although this is not a commercial product (yet), it does a good job of showing what a low-power version of the device would offer for mainstream PC applications."
  • TrackSmart
    Aha! From AMD's website! An 8 Watt Sempron processor running at 1000 MHz designed for "ultrathin notebooks". Sounds like the processor that Tom's Hardware tested a year ago. Why the heck has AMD waited so long to get in the game?!

    Processor AMD Sempron™ Processor for Ultrathin Notebooks
    Model 200U
    OPN Tray SMF200UOAX3DV
    OPN PIB n/a
    Operating Mode 32 Bit Yes
    Operating Mode 64 Bit Yes
    Frequency (MHz) 1000
    System Bus Speed (MHz) 1600
    Wattage 8 W
    L2 Cache Size 256
    Process Technology 65nm SOI
    Package/Infrastructure Socket ASB1
  • TrackSmart
    And more information! You have to search for the Sempron 200u.

    http://www.windowsfordevices.com/news/NS7818796...

    "Revised, Aug. 25] -- While Intel's Developer Forum hogged the limelight last week, AMD was shyly preparing to ship its own competitors to Intel's Atom. The AMD Sempron 200U and 210U will sample next month on a 3.5-inch SBC (single board computer), says Taiwanese manufacturer Ibase.

    Despite its longtime association with power-sipping, low-cost x86 and MIPS-based CPUs, AMD has remained publicly aloof from the "nettop" and netbook fray. However, the blogosphere has been alive for several months with rumors of an AMD processor, reportedly code-named "Bobcat" and also referred to as the "K8 BGA" or Sempron BGA. The CPU was rumored to use AMD's Sempron core, clocked down to 1.0GHz or 1.5GHz, and offered in a 27mm x 27mm BGA (ball grid array) package for installation in low-cost devices.

    As it turns out, the rumors were true -- but confirmation comes not from AMD, but from Ibase. The Taiwanese motherboard manufacturer says it has employed the 1.0GHz Sempron 200U and 1.5GHz Sempron 210U on a new SBC, the IB885, which will sample in the next month, and be available in quantity in October."
  • TrackSmart
    I can't find anything about this new AMD processor. What are the specs? Is it just an underclocked Athlon 64? Will it outperform the atom? How much power does it use?
  • Anonymous Coward
    Ooh... AMD finally getting in the game!
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