Acer has Big Plans for 2009

Confidence and ambition don’t seem to be things in short supply at Acer, at least as far as Netbooks are concerned.

Acer president Gianfranco Lanci stated a few days ago that Acer shipped around 2.4 million Netbooks in the third quarter of 2008 and that demand for the Aspire One continues to climb in the US market. Therefore, he expects the company to surpass its 2008 Netbook goal of 5-6 million units shipped.

Acer has been making optimistic noises like that ever since the Acer Aspire One was released so it is not big news anymore, and the critically acclaimed device is priced low enough that it has been the surprise winner of this season’s “Most Successful Netbook” sweepstakes. However, the really impressive statement Lanci prognosticated that in 2009, the global Netbook market will increase to 30-35 million units shipped from all vendors, and that Acer is in position to claim 40-50% of that market! Fifty percent of the Netbook market will be quite an impressive feat by Acer and I admit I am dubious, now that Lenovo and LG are in the space as well and #1 PC producer HP’s Mininote prices are rivaling the Aspire One.

2009 will be an exciting year for Netbooks. I am looking forward to see what tricks Acer has up their sleeve for the Aspire Two in order to meet that 50 percent of all Netbooks sold goal.

(Source – Digitimes)

Acer Leads Netbook Optimism

In these days of dire economic fears and direr (is that a real word? If not it should be) predictions, there is one tech segment in which sunny, unbridled optimism is still the Sparkleberry Kool-Aid of the day – Netbooks.

According to industry reports, Acer is on target to make it’s lofty goal of selling 7 (million…thanks Pedah) of their Acer Aspire One Netbook in 2008, despite it only hitting shelves in the middle of the year. What’s more, it has gone ahead and placed it’s 2009 Aspire One orders with turnkey manufacturers Compal Electronics and Wistron…calling for the companies to produce a whopping 15 million of the Netbooks in the calendar year. This will still leave another 5 million units left over (possibly to be produced by Quanta despite bad blood with Acer) as Acer is quite confident it will sell TWENTY MILLION of the devices in 2009. Whether this prediction is despite or because of the ongoing financial turmoil is hard to guess.

Acer does seem to be in the driver’s seat as of late regarding Netbooks, as they have found a way to sell units running Atom processors with large drives at a very low pricepoint. Add to this a lot of favorable reviews for the Aspire One’s keyboard, continued brand recognition problems for the MSi Wind (which they compound by OEMing the device to every two-bit company with a rebranding channel and a little dream of selling a Netbook all their own) and the fact that Dell has failed to sustain the initial hype over the Dell E and it seems that the Aspire One may be the Netbook leader coming into the holiday season.

(Source – Digitimes)

Acer Aspire One (AA1) Fan Control

Living South Florida has few advantages. One of them is the high temperature. Yes, having a high temperature means that we have our AC running more time and on top of that ceiling fans in each room. All that cause noise, and that’s the advantage: we can not hear the cpu fan noise in our devices. Those living in a cooler climate do not have all this extra noise so the cpu fan noise sounds to them like a mosquito flying around your head. Well, if you own a Acer Aspire One here is a freeware that you may want to have in  your device to control that noise coming from the CPU fan.

3G Aspire One, Data Included

According to a report on IDG, Acer is in talks with several mobile service providers to bundle Aspire One netbooks with data contracts right out of the box. The companies in question (says a conveniently anonymous Acer flak) are Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile in Asia and T-Mobile International, Vodafone Group and Orange in Europe.

The Aspire One comes with 802.11 b/g connectivity in all models, but Acer is discussing adding HSDPA and HSUPA (High Speed Downlink/Uplink Packet Access) for the Asian and Euro 3G models for fast and easy data traffic. A WiMax version for the US is also being discussed as a possibility by Acer. No prices have been mentioned, but Asus has already been bundling Eee UMPCs with wireless contracts in some markets. In those deals, such as one recently announced in Japan, the UMPC itself is practically free being heavily subsidized, but the data comes a little more dear. Considering the apparent ease of Acer’s Linpus Linux based operating system, the Aspire One could be an ideal machine for this kind of scenario, especially if it doesn’t light the marketplace on fire on its own. As the UMPC market gets more and more competitive (and level), companies will be looking for all sorts of way to move product and expand the value of these devices.

No data contract details were provided, and it appears the talks are still in a very early phase. Likely the providers are waiting to see how the market treats the Aspire One before committing to anything. Clever fellows.

An Early Look at the Aspire One

PC World recently got their hands on an Aspire One, Acer’s entry in the current UMPCaloosa. I have heard mixed reviews on this device coming from pre-release reviews and news trickling out of Taiwan (where the device is already available). PC World however seemed quite impressed, especially with Acer’s proprietary implementation of Linpus, a Linux distro.

The hands-on review has the following to say about the software side of the device:

From boot up to shut down, the Aspire one was a pleasure to use. Boot up took just 12 seconds due to the Linpus Linux Lite OS it runs. That compares to 30 to 40 seconds on other mini-notebooks I’ve tested running Microsoft Windows XP. Aspire one can also come with Windows XP, but after trying out the one with Linpus Linux, I’m not sure I’d want XP.

What Acer did best with Aspire one was focus on the Internet.

The Aspire one is designed for Internet use and comes loaded with software. The home page that opens on boot up offers software options right away, including a browser, an all-in-one email box, unified messaging center, media software and Office-like software.

I admit the hardware seems run of the mill compared with the other netbook summer releases. The most interesting element of the Aspire One is Linpus and the fact the company clearly focused on software over hardware which I think is refreshing and may give them a leg up in a space where all the hardware is more or less the same. Having a custom email application built right into the default home page shows Acer understands one of the factors people want most from a UMPC: ease of use. The fact that Linpus boots so quickly and puts key software applications front and center makes an otherwise somewhat humdrum machine very appealing to me.

Eee Sales 300,000 Short in First Half of 08

A not too surprising announcement today from Asus, as they fell 300,000 short of their goal to sell 2 million Asus Eees during the first half of 08. Of course, 1,700,000 units of anything is nothing to sneeze at, but after their 07 success Asus was clearly expecting the good times to go one forever. However, they are still confident they will make their goal of 5 million sold during all of 08, clearly banking on back to school and holiday sales as well as the Eee 901/1000 releases.

Admittedly some of the shortfall is not Asus’ fault. Intensified competition, Atom shortage, economic downturn…none of these are factors which bode well for consumer tech sales of any kind, let alone a “luxury” item such as the Eee.

However, most of Asus’ wounds right now are self inflicted. They are announcing too many products with no clear strategy which always confuses buyers. Too many models would be bad enough, but since they are always leaking yet another new version coming soon, buyers are likely to wait and see what else is coming. No one likes buying a product then regretting it the next week when a better model is announced. Asus has lost a lot of the consumer confidence they had after the 701’s success. Add to all of that the fact they have moved from having the lowest prices in their space to the highest (or nearly the highest) and it really seems that Asus has lost their way in this space.

The next half of the year is going to get harder for Asus and other UMPC vendors not easier, as more and more units flood the market place. In the face of that competition, it doesn’t help that Asus is acting like a fly-by-night outfit, trying to milk all they can out of a brand before it runs dry and they hide the money. Rather then coming in under expectations, I think Asus would be wise to just lower those expectations and suspend their ambitious roadmap for the time being. They should focus on what they have ready for shelves NOW, not what may be coming out sometime in the amorphous future.

In related news, Acer has looked at Asus’ troubles and declared themselves unconcerned and confident that the Aspire One will be a big seller for them despite mediocre to poor reviews. They are planning on the XP version moving 15,000 units a day. Yeah right. I think under the circumstances, Acer should pass Asus a little of what they are smoking, they could use the munchies.

(Source – Digitimes)

Aspire One and Eee 901 Head to Head

Over at Crave/CNET UK a very interesting review and photo set went up yesterday from Rory Reid. He was reviewing the Aspire One, Acer’s entry in the “MY UMPC is Cooler than YOUR UMPC” sweepstakes. Through the course of the stand alone review (which was overall very positive, in case you were on the edge of your seat about it) Reid stacks the device directly up against the Asus Eee 901. As these two devices share pretty much the same market space and specs (pricing wise, the Eee is a good deal more expensive, perhaps dealbreakingly so) this seemed to me a good thing, since a lot of consumers will be doing the exact same thing over the next couple months as the “back to school/holiday” season arrives.

Not surprisingly, it was largely a draw. Reid gave the Aspire One some raves about the keyboard (a bit larger then the Eee, as is the entire device) while the Eee gets the nod on battery life and trackpad usability. Wireless is also a bit of a tako, as the Aspire One lacks the Eee 901s built-in bluetooth but has a slot behind the battery to accept a 3G SIM card.

The review in a nutshell is as follows:

In some respects, the Acer Aspire One is better than an Eee PC 901. It has an excellent keyboard, solid performance and is highly portable. The Eee PC 901 still has the edge in terms of battery life and mouse input, so it’s a close call between the two machines.

Both devices got a solid 8.8 rating.

If you are debating between the two UMPCs, this review may make your job even harder as it doesn’t declare a clear winner….but it is still an excellent run down of the strengths and weaknesses of the two much-anticipated devices.

Read the entire review HERE, and click HERE for a further gallery of comparison shots from Crave.

What about Acer Windows Mobile Smartphones?

Hmm. That initially sounds awful to me, but Acer isn’t the same Acer they once were. My 1st experience with Acer was a horrible one. I transferred to Guam and found myself living in a 2 bed room hotel for at least 30 days while the Navy found housing for my family and I. This ended up being 62 days. This was in the mid 90s where I used to build all my own PCs. Well, being in a hotel, I went with a quick temp fix. I bought an Acer PC from the base exchange for a good price. I think it was a 386 dx2/66 for $1400. It was garbage. Proprietary crap inside and out. No upgradability, etc… I got by for the rest of the 62 days and swore I would never buy another Acer. I ended up selling it in the Guam newspaper for $1200 a couple weeks after we moved into base housing and I got my own computers back.

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Acer Presents the Aspire 8920G Series: Design Meets High Definition

Acer today presented the Aspire 8920G, a brand new notebook PC series designed to bring the enjoyment of High Definition anywhere you go. The Aspire 8920G series was designed to deliver a high-quality High-Definition experience that engages all the senses.

The new Aspire 8920G series expresses maximum power thanks to the Intel Centrino Processor Technology featuring the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, the mobile Intel PM965 Express Chipset and the integrated module for wireless connection, supporting Acer SignalUp with InviLink Nplify wireless technologies.

The Aspire 8920G is a pleasure for the eyes: Acer is first to market with a 18.4-inch Full HD CineCrystal LCD panel with 1920×1080 pixel resolution, 8ms response time and native 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, the golden ratio to enjoy HD content with realism and precision.

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Acer Presents the Aspire 6920 Series: Design Meets High Definition

Acer today presented the Aspire 6920 line, a brand new notebook PC series designed to bring the enjoyment of High Definition anywhere you go.

 

In the wake of the great success achieved by the first Aspire Gemstone range, launched in May 2007, Acer has developed a brand new notebook concept that fuses elements of the original Gemstone series – exclusive design, innovative textures (surfaces) and materials, Dolby audio enhancements – in a market-exclusive form factor based on a 16-inch footprint that reveals a true HD nature. In addition, a signature element animates the product: blue, both color and light, is the element that marks the design of this new series, named Aspire Gemstone blue.

The Aspire 6920 series was designed to deliver a high-quality High-Definition experience that engages all the senses.

 

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Acer Gobbles up E-TEN, I think this is good…

I got official word from E-TEN that they were bought out by Acer yesterday.

The board of directors of E-TEN recently voted unanimously to accept a proposed acquisition offer made by Acer. The successful completion of the deal is not expected to impact the management structure of E-TEN, and the company will continue to deliver products and services at a quality its customers have come to expect.

“E-TEN’s proven success in bringing state-of-the-art products and business concepts to the consumer mobility sector, united with the Acer Group’s global infrastructure, will allow us to provide more efficient local support to customers, while at the same time further extending the footprint of Glofiish-brand products.” noted Simon Hwang, CEO, E-TEN.

I have never really been a fan of either company’s mobile device offerings, but I think that combining forces, so good could come of it. The main complaint I’ve had in the past about E-TEN devices are the build quality. When compared to an HTC offering, their past models have just felt chinsy to me.

Complete Press Release after the break…

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