Acer this morning made its launch into micro notebooks official with the Aspire one. Following closely in the style of systems from ASUS and MSI, the 8.9-inch portable is based on an Intel Atom processor that Acer claims should last for about 6 hours on an optional battery, or slightly longer than the MSI Wind’s 5.5 hours. A unique twist is a second SD slot that can be used for expanding the computer’s permanent storage: a file manager app can automatically merge any SD card put into the slot with the built-in memory, giving owners of at least the 8GB Aspire one an upgrade path.

Acer is currently quiet on detailed specifications but notes that systems start from $379 with 512MB of memory, Linux, and the 8GB flash storage; a premium version with 1GB of memory, Windows XP, and an 80GB hard disk will also be available for an unspecified price. Both variants ship in early summer with blue and white color trims available on launch. Brown and pink versions will appear later this year.

Acer continues its steady march up-market with its increasingly stylish designs, and the Aspire 8920G delivers a mix of textures and finishes to keep your senses stimulated. The glossy lid of our 17.4 x 11.8 x 1.6-inch review unit featuring Acer’s Gemstone Blue holographic-like paint looks sharp, and we like the silver Acer logo and its white backlighting. The bluish-black lid attracts smudges, though that’s less of an issue since users likely won’t carry the Aspire 8920G that often.

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