Acer is planning to launch a low-power and low-cost 1-liter nettop at the beginning of 2009, according to sources at OEM providers.
Since Acer expects Aspire one netbook shipments to surpass its goal of 12-13 million units in 2009, to prevent the nettop from impacting the company’s Atom processor supply, Acer is considering using processors from VIA Technologies or AMD, but will still leave the Intel Atom as a possible option.
Acer also has three manufacturers in mind to make the nettop: Quanta Computer, Wistron and Micro-Star International (MSI). The company is expected to reach a decision in December.
Acer’s nettop will be targeting both enterprise and consumer markets and be able to connect to a TV and LCD monitor.
Source www.digitimes.com
Component supply problems and software development delays caused Acer to delay the launch of its Aspire one netbook by a month, leading it to revise down its shipment target for this year.
The world’s third-largest PC vendor now expects to ship 5 million to 6 million Aspire ones in 2008, down from a previous estimate of 5 million to 7 million, said Gianfranco Lanci, CEO of Acer, during a conference call.
“Originally, the plan was to ship by the end of May,” Lanci said. “We lost about one month for different reasons.”
Despite the product delay, Lanci remains bullish on prospects for the Aspire one. He said that demand appears to be strong for the product and that Acer is talking to 3G (third generation) mobile network operators to supply them with Aspire one laptops built to access the Internet via their networks.
Lanci was asked if the delay in launching the Aspire one was caused by a delay in the Atom. He declined to respond.
Further reading @ Network World
“On the Aspire’s 8.9 inch 1024×600 LCD, the Ubuntu mobile launcher looked crisp and elegant. He demonstrated several of the hardware features and showed me that the built-in webcam worked perfectly with Cheese, the GNOME webcam application. Seeing Ubuntu in action on the Aspire has cranked up my enthusiasm for Linux-based subnotebooks. I’ve gotten a tremendous amount of use out of my Eee in the past year, and I’m looking forward to replacing it when the next generation of Atom-based devices hits the market.”
Further reading @ ars technica
In a briefing Tuesday, Acer officials confirmed the company will now formally take on current market leaders in the low-cost laptop segment, including fellow Taiwanese company Asus with its Eee PC product line.
According to Asus, demand for the low-cost subnotebook in the Philippines has been so strong that supplies are short.
However, Manuel Wong, head of Acer Philippines, said Aspire One will have a distinct advantage over other competing products, as it is powered by Intel’s Atom processor.
First unveiled in March, Atom is being touted as the processor to power a new generation of Internet-enabled, ultra-portable laptops designed to consumer less power.
Read more at www.zdnetasia.com
