Acer to introduce Android netbook in Q3 2009

It was not too long ago that Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci was talking about it being “too early to say if we’re going to see Android on a netbook in the near future.” However, Acer has now confirmed that we will see an Acer netbook running on the Android operating system by the third quarter this year.

“Today’s netbooks are not close to perfection at all. In two years, it will all be very different,” said Jim Wong, Acer’s global president for IT products, at a Computex news conference. “If we do not continue to change our mobile Internet devices, consumers may not choose then any more.” Read more

A closer look at Pixel Qi’s 3Qi Hybrid display

Mary Lou Jepsen recently demonstrated Pixel Qi’s much anticipated 3Qi Hybrid display this week. The 3-in-1 display can not only switch between an efficient black-and-white mode and a high resolution colour screen, but also to an e-paper mode suitable for reading in direct sunlight. Time managed to get a closer look at some modded Acer Aspire One netbooks with the Pixel Qi display.

The pictures show a toggle switch on the side of the netbook that allows you to switch between reflective and emissive display. The way in which Pixel Qi’s technology differs from E-ink is that the 3Qi screen allows you to use the netbook as traditional LCD which means full colour and video (at 60fps). Read more

Pixel Qi demos 3Qi Hybrid Display

Pixel Qi has demonstrated its 3Qi screen which it hopes will revolutionise display technology. The 3-in-1 display can not only switch between an efficient black-and-white mode and a high resolution colour screen, but also to an e-paper mode suitable for reading in direct sunlight.

The same panel is used in the picture below. The left picture has the backlight on, with the screen set to full colour saturation. The right picture shows the same screen in e-paper mode with the backlight off. Battery life will be conserved when using the e-paper mode, as the only energy consumption occurs when the page changes. Read more

Packard Bell dot s & dot m netbooks hands-on & UK pricing

We first heard of the 11.6-inch Packard Bell dot m and 10.1-inch dot s netbooks back in early April. Whilst the European launch details were revealed, we didn’t have any news on the UK side of things. Well the official UK pricing details have now been announced – the smaller dot s will cost £299 whilst the dot m will cost £369 when it launches in July.

Acer-owned Packard Bell, has based the 11.6-inch dot m netbook on the Aspire One 751. If you compare them side by side, the keyboard and hinges look similar. Things are slightly different under the hood, with it powered by a AMD Athlon L1110 CPU and will support memory up to 2GB and a hard-drive up to 320GB. Other options for the dot m include an Intel Atom CPU, Windows Vista and 3G. Read more

Acer Aspire One 751 netbook dissected

Following on from their recent Samsung N120 dismantling, Netbook Italia have moved onto the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire One 751. Whilst many of the reviews have bemoaned about the low performance under the hood, there’s no denying it’s an attractive netbook with glossy high–def display, full-sized keyboard and ultrathin chassis.

The Aspire One 751 already provides separate access panels for the HDD, memory and Wi-Fi. When opening the Wi-Fi slot, it can be seen that there are two Mini PCI-E slots with only one in use. The 751 is completely taken apart in the disassembly guide, the motherboard and internals are all laid out for all to see. Modders out there can add 3G HSDPA functionality to the 751. See a selection of pictures after the jump. Read more

Acer Aspire One 751 netbook disappoints on benchmarks

One of the complaints from the recent Acer Aspire One 751 review, was that the 1.3GHz Z520 Atom processor was just not powerful enough for this 11.6-inch slender netbook. Now Riccardo from NetbookNews.it has come out with the benchmarks to highlight the same point. He says that you shouldn’t expect anything more from the netbook but basic web browsing and use of word documents and spreadsheets.

YouTube HQ (not HD) videos played okay, despite a CPU load of near 100 percent. However, HD Vimeo videos were unwatchable. So poor were the results that he ended up re-installing the operating system. He had thought that there was something wrong with the configuration. Whilst the HDD and RAM perform satisfactorily, he concludes that the poor performance is down to the Z520 CPU. A performance benchmark comparison chart against other netbooks is attached after the break.

It also seems that Acer is shipping a 4400mAh rated 6-cell battery, rather than the 5200mAh battery suggested by Acer’s website. The Aspire One 751 has a suggested retail price of £379.99 and is expected to be available from next week, along with the Aspire One D250 which will retail for £329.99. A 3G version of the D250 will set you back a pricey £479.99. Read more

Acer launches Aspire One D250 and 751 netbooks in US

Whilst the 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One D250 and 11.6-inch Aspire One 751 have been announced for the European markets for a few weeks now, it has now officially launched in the US market. The D250 has a suggested retail price of $298 whilst the 751 will set you back $379.99. The press release says that both models should be available in retail channels now.

The specifications for both appear to be the same as that announced for Europe. The 11.6-inch Aspire One AO751h has a HD resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and sports a full size keyboard. The 751h is certainly a looker with its slender lines measuring just 1-inch in thickness. The Aspire One AOD250 has a 10.1 inch (1024 x 600) display and is thinner than its predecessor. The specifications are pretty run of the mill, with a N270 Atom CPU, 945GSE chipset, 1GB RAM and a 160GB HDD. The full specs are attached after the break. Read more

Acer cutting netbook orders on low demand

Acer is reportedly cutting back on netbook orders from its ODM (original design manufacturer) partners due to weak demand and a focus on the higher-margin CULV ultra-thin notebook segment.

According to Digitimes, weak demand in Europe has left a high inventory of Acer netbooks in local retail channels. Cutbacks for some netbook models will be reduced by over 50 percent with the reductions starting in June.

This news comes at the same time that Taiwan netbook vendors, such as Acer, are lowering their CULV notebook shipments due to a short supply of key components. These shortages have led to the total cost of CULV ultra-thin notebooks to increase by 10 percent higher than expected.

Acer Aspire One 751 video unboxing

We have already seen a lacklustre review for the Acer Aspire One 751, but that didn’t stop Riccardo from NetbookNews.it wanting to test the 751 himself. He has posted a video of his first impressions along with the full unboxing.

The Aspire One 751 is a model we were quite interested in, mainly due to its stylish and slender design along with an 11.6-inch high-resolution display. Initial impressions seem to be positive, with an attractive, thin and lightweight design that rivals some 10-inch netbooks. The full-sized keyboard is comfortable. The 751 comes with a glossy display that is very reflective but isn’t too much of an issue given the high brightness levels of the screen.

The main criticisms seem to be the fingerprint smudges on the glossy lid and slight keyboard flex. Also, for some reason, the 6-cell battery was rated at 4400mAh, whilst the manual indicates it should be 5200mAh. A full review is expected in the next few days in the meantime check out the video after the break. Read more

Acer to introduce Aspire One 571, a 10-inch HD netbook

Asus is a pretty bad offender when it comes to model names. When looking at their line up of 10-inch Eee PCs it’s a nightmare trying to work out and remember which features they all have with their slightly changed names. But I think Acer is just as bad, we already have the Aspire One 531, Aspire One 751 and Aspire One Pro 531 and now, according to macles, the Aspire One 571 will shortly be launched. Given that these are the same three digits used in the 11.6-inch 751 will only confuse the matter further. Read more

Acer Aspire One 751 reviewed – beauty only skin deep

Pocket-Lint has posted the first English review of Acer’s 11.6-inch Aspire One 751 netbook. Now whether one classifies an 11.6-inch device as a netbook rather than notebook is debateable. However, considering that Acer has bunched the 751 with the Aspire One family and Asus will be doing tagging their rumoured 11.6-inch device to its Eee line, it’s a definition that consumers should get used to.

Overall, whilst they loved the design decisions made by Acer, which includes striking angles in a skinny form-factor, they felt it was let down by a poor keyboard and weak performance. Whilst they welcomed the higher resolution not normally seen in netbooks at 1366 x 768 pixels, they felt it was underpowered, limiting the ability to watch HD content. They awarded the 751 a 6/10 and felt that “it looks great out and about, but has so many issues, it is a nightmare to live with“. Check out the key points of the review after the jump. Read more

AT&T to offer 10-inch Acer Aspire One through Costco from May 11th

Whilst subsidised netbooks through mobile phone operators are commonplace here in Europe, this isn’t the case in the US. AT&T recently held a number of netbook trials in two US States and we reported recently that positive early results meant a likely national push into its retails stores. Well it now seems that AT&T will be offering the 10-inch Acer Aspire One netbook to customers through a partnership with Costco.

BoyGeniusReport has got its hands on a some Costco training materials which points to availability of these netbooks from May 11. Acer’s existing 8.9-inch Acer Aspire One 3G netbook went on sale back in December 2008. AT&T dropped the price of this model by $20 to $79.99 last month with a new, two-year agreement. There is no pricing details on this 10-inch netbook, but it can’t be that long before some firm details start to appear if the leak is true.

Acer Aspire One 751 UK pre-orders open, official press shots appear

Acer’s 11.6-inch netbook, the Aspire One 751, is due to launch in the next few weeks and is already up on pre-order through a number of UK retailers including CCLOnline for £376.12 and Laptops Direct for £399.97. CCL is expecting stock in the next 2-3 days, so the 751 could start shipping by the end of this week.

The Aspire One 751 saw its official UK launch last week, along with a full list of detailed specs. The 751 will come with a 1366 x 768 LED backlit display, powered by a 1.33GHz Z520 Intel Atom processor and Intel’s newer US15W (Poulsbo) chipset. What we didn’t have though is any official press images of Acer’s netbook. The 751 definitely has some sleek looks measuring just 1-inch in thickness and weighing 1.25kg. We have included the official shots after the break.

Also, after the jump, we include a video demo of the 751 in action, hosted by Acer’s UK MD, Bobby Watkins. A couple of new things we learned is that pricing is expected to start at £379 (in line with the above pre-order prices) rather than the £349 price quoted last week. Also, battery life was said to be 5 hours with the 3-cell battery and 9 hours with the 6-cell battery. I imagine this is a mistake as the official specs on Acer’s website point to 4 and 8 hours of battery life respectively. Read more

Acer Aspire One 751 gets official, UK pricing confirmed

The Acer Aspire One 751 was officially announced for the UK market at a London event yesterday. The 11.6-inch Aspire One 751 will be priced from £349 when it launches in mid-May. This seems like a very reasonable price to us, especially for a netbook that has an 11.6-inch LED backlit screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.

The 751 will be powered by a 1.33GHz Z520 Intel Atom processor and the US15W (Poulsbo) chipset. It will come with 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, a multi-card reader and Dolby Pro Logic Sound. Wireless connectivity will come in the form of Wi-Fi (b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 as well as optional 3G support. It seems that you will also be able to choose between Windows XP and Windows Vista Basic for your operating system. Read more

Acer lowers netbook shipment forecast, no Android netbook this year

Acer reported its first quarter results today and it didn’t make for pretty reading. The global recession led to profits slumping by almost a third to NT$2.0 billion ($60 million). Acer’s popular netbooks helped to shore the company’s results in the first quarter as consumers reined in spending amid a global recession. “Consumers are so picky, they don’t want to spend one dollar more than they really need,” says Acer chairman J.T. Wang.

Despite the resilient netbook segment, Acer lowered its netbook shipment forecast for 2009. It now expects to ship 10 million-12 million netbook PCs this year, compared with its previous forecast of 12 million-15 million. JT Wang says that he expects overall global netbook shipments to reach 50 million units in 2010. Read more

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