Acer Aspire One 533 review

A well-built netbook with few flaws, but also few standout features

Acer Aspire One 533
With the latest Aspire One, Acer's assault on the netbook sector shows no signs of stopping

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A 10.1-inch screen is standard for a netbook, and the Acer Aspire One 533's display is near identical to the one found on the Aspire One 532. The 1024 x 600-pixel resolution is suitably sharp with excellent contrast – perfect for viewing photos as well as working on complex spreadsheets.

To enhance vibrancy, a glossy Super-TFT coating has been used. Images look more realistic as a result, although this also makes the Aspire One 533's display highly reflective.

You won't notice the difference indoors, but try taking the Aspire One 533 outside and you'll be bobbing your head like a madman to make out what's on screen.

250GB of storage is what we'd expect of modern netbooks, and that's what you get with the Aspire One 533. For something that is likely to be used as a secondary computer, this should prove to be more than enough to carry all your important documents as well as thousands of songs and photos.

Netbook features are almost always limited, and the Aspire One 533 is no exception. You'll find a typically sparse number of ports, including three USB ports and a VGA port for hooking up an external display. There are also mic and headphone sockets and an Ethernet slot for wired networking.

Acer aspire one 533

While 10/100 Ethernet provides standard networking, the Aspire One 533 also includes built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi for connecting to a wireless network either at home or via a public Wi-Fi hotspot. This is the fastest wireless standard currently available, perfect for speedy web browsing.

Bluetooth is also on board for sharing files with compatible portable devices such as mobile phones.