Acer had a lot of success with its first netbook, the Aspire One. They have carefully engineered a nettop with strong multimedia capabilities: The Aspire Revo.

Aspire Revo specs

• CPU: Intel Atom N230, at 1.6GHz
• RAM: from 2GB DDR2
• HDD: from 160GB, at 5400rpm
• Graphics: nVidia ION (Geforce 9400)
• Ports: 6 x USB 2.0, eSATA
• Memory card reader: SD/SDHC/MMC/XD/Memory Stick
• Output: HDMI, VGA
• Networking: Ethernet, WiFi
• Dimensions: 7,1″ x 7,1″ x 1,2″ (18cm x 18cm x 3cm)
• OS: Windows Vista
• Monitor mount: VESA 80 to 120 standard
• List price: 289€ (about $399)

Unlike the Eeebox, the Revo has an integrated Wifi antenna and doesn’t have a panel hiding the front side. Therefore, the power button is easily accessible. There are two USB ports on the top.

The eSATA port will allow to connect an external hard disk drive at a speed of up to 3 Gbit/s.

The rear of the Revo contains 4 USB port, a VGA and an HDMI port.

I love my Eeebox. Nettops are great for an internet and a light office use. It is portable (when I remember how it was to move a 12kg tower…), takes a small room and runs very silently.
After nearly 9 months of use, the Eeebox’s only problem is the outdated Intel graphics. I don’t play games with my PC, but reproducing an MKV encoded video at 720p can be choppy, so a 1080p video is out of the question.

Acer addressed that problem by choosing the new NVidia ION platform, which integrates a GeForce 9400 GPU and 7.1 sound. If you are buying a nettop for a multimedia and occasional gaming use, you should choose an ION based product.

Like Asus, Acer provided a monitor mount, supporting VESA 80 and VESA 120 standards: the Aspire Revo can be attached behind a monitor or an LCD television. The HDMI output completes the picture. If your desktop station is not too far away from an LCD or a plasma TV, you can connect the Revo to your monitor with the VGA port, and to your TV at the same time. With its strong video capabilities, the Aspire Revo will be a great performer as a home multimedia box.

The only downside of the Aspire Revo the operating system. If you want to play a video on your TV, waiting two minutes and a half to boot your computer is a pain. Depending on your country, you may be able to request a refund on Windows Vista.

All in all, Acer launched a very attractive nettop, that will surely meet the Aspire One’s success.