Acer is about to release another model, and it is the most advanced AA1 yet. Previously released or revealed models are more or less just 10.1" variants of the original AA1 with a new design and only minor changes to the technical specifications, while the model shown in the pictures below is a new generation AA1.

The most obvious difference is the new 11.6" display with a resolution of 1366x768 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Overall the design is similar to a previously revealed 10.1" model, except for the redesigned full size keyboard with flat keys. The port arrangement is also different, but the rather unusual placement of the VGA and RJ45 ports remains unchanged.

Another difference cannot be seen on the pictures. All previous AA1 models use an Intel Atom N270 and the Intel Mobile 945GSE chipset with integrated GMA950 graphics core. The new model uses an Intel Atom Z530 and the Intel SCH USW15S chipset, also known as Poulsbo, with integrated GMA500 graphics core. The GMA500 is actually a rebranded PowerVR SGX 535 licensed from Imagination Technologies and features hardware decoding of H.264 and a few other codecs.

The Poulsbo platform has a TDP of merely 4.3W, and that does also include Intel HD audio which is now integrated into the chipset. The previously used platform has a TDP of 11.8W, so that's quite a dramatic decrease in power consumption. A moderate amount of it is offset by the larger display panel, but the net result is a battery life of 4 hours with the standard battery and 8 hours with the high capacity battery.