Acer rated as most valuable Taiwan brand in 2009

From Digitimes -

Acer has been given the highest appraised brand value, at US$1.241 billion, of Taiwan-based global brands in 2009 by the government-sponsored Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). The 2009 annual survey was conducted by TAITRA and undertaken by UK-based consulting company Interbrand and Taiwan-based magazine publisher Business Next.

Acer took the top position for the first time after ranking third in 2008 with a brand value of US$1.265 billion and third in 2007 with a value of US$1.069 billion. Trend Micro and Asus each slipped one place in the rankings after holding the first and second spots in 2008.

Lenovo, Acer to launch Tegra smartbooks with Google's Chrome OS

From Shanzai -

Both Lenovo and Acer will probably launch Tegra-based smartbooks running Google's Chrome OS later this month. Nvidia's Tegra itself is due to make an appearance sometime soon and appears to have a won over Microsoft's Zune as well.

Given that mainland manufacturers have been using ARM processors for years in mobile phones and appear not to have any loyalty or affinity for a specific platform or OS, if the initial units sell well, we can expect a myriad of designs and colors by mid-2010.

Acer to launch three touch-enabled products with Windows 7

From Digitimes -

Acer plans to launch three touch-enabled products with Windows 7 that may be marketed as cheaper alternatives to tablet PCs. The company also plans to adopt in-cell touch panels when makers launch them. In-cell touch solutions, which build touch components directly on the TFT-LCD panels, are cheaper than built-on touch solutions, and are easier to apply to new products.

Acer on Track for Android Netbook Launch Q3

From PC World -

Refuting news reports that it has delayed its Android project, Acer has announced it remains on track to launch a version of its 10" Aspire One with Google's OS in the third quarter. Acer worked with a Taiwanese Linux outfit called Insyde Software to port Android over to a netbook with an Atom microprocessor.

No new netbooks from Asus, Acer in 2009

From Digitimes -

Both Asustek and Acer have decided to wait for Intel's Pine Trail-M platform due early next year and will not offer any new netbooks in the second half of 2009. In the interim they will focus on ultra-thin notebooks.

However Asus still has the touchscreen-based Eee PC T91, the T101, and an Android-based netbook scheduled for this year. The T101 is expected after the Windows 7 launch while the Android unit around Christmas. In addition, it has several ultra-thin models ready for release next month.

As for Acer, while has decided to postpone its Android model, it plans to launch several ultra-thins (13.3", 14.1", and 15.6") later this year.

Acer to launch the dual-OS netbook in August

From Digitimes -

Acer is expected to launch its previously announced dual-OS netbook (Windows XP and Android) next month. As the company still needs to pay licensing fees for Windows XP the product is unlikely to be priced lower than its XP-only models.

In additional news, while both Asus and MSI are developing Android-based netbooks, but have no plans to launch this year.

Acer: 3D Notebook in October, Netbook Q3 2010

From I4U News -

Acer has partnered up with Winstron to develop a 15.6" 3D notebook capable of playing 3D videos, as well as converting two dimensional videos into 3D. As it runs Windows 7, Acer is still waiting for the official release of the new OS to formally announce the new model.

In addition, Acer will soon be releasing its 3rd gen netbook by Q2 or Q3 this year. The new line looks and acts more like a MID with speed of accessibility, ease of use, and network connectivity look to be the focal points of this series.

Acer Will Use Moblin Linux Across Its Products

From PC World -

Acer CTO R.C. Chang announced at a news conferene that Acer products, including Aspire Ones, latops and desktops will soon run with Moblin Linux. At the same event, the company displayed Aspire One running Moblin, which was specifically developed for netbooks.

A number of netbooks from, HP, MSI, HP, and Asus were also on display, running several different versions of Moblin, including Suse Moblin, Xandros Moblin, Linpus Moblin, Red Flag Moblin and Ubuntu Moblin.

Acer shows off Android on a netbook

From Engadget -

Acer is showing off an Android-powered Aspire One D250 at Computex Taiwan allthough the company reiterated it isn't the actual Android netbook. The OS appears unmodified other than support for the 10" screen and runs pretty fast. One surprise is the inclusion of Firefox, including the menu bar.

Acer: Ultra-thin notebook proportion to reach 20%

From Digitimes -

Acer expects CULV-based ultra-thin notebooks will account for around 20% of its total notebook shipments in the future as consumer reaction are mostly positive. However, shortages of LED backlight panels and DRAM modules are increasing component costs and impacting gross margins. The company has already shipped around 2,000 ultra-thins in Taiwan since May and is currently completely sold out but it plans to increase monthly shipments to 5,000 units by the end of the month, and will continue to raise volumes beyond June.

Acer reportedly cuts netbook orders to ODMs

From Digitimes -

Acer has decided to focus on its higher-margin CULV-based notebooks. It has also scaled back as much as 50% on netbook orders at ODM partners Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics, partly due to the high inventory being experienced in its European channels.

Acer confirms Timeline ultra-thin notebook production problems

From Digitimes -

Acer chairman JT Wang has confirmed that the company's new Timeline ultra-thin notebook product line is facing a panel shortage. But he pointed out that Acer has already found a new panel supplier and the shortage will be solved soon. Only three models out of a planned ten will see delays, of around eight days, due to low panel yields, so there will not be any significant affect on shipment volumes.

Acer's dream team confirms netbook Android experiments

From Engadget -

Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci has confirmed his company has been experimenting with Android but didn't think an Android netbook was ready for primetime. While they've prototyped android on a netbook with good results, they don't foresee any desktop application at the moment. Also a major concern is making sure users get a full-fledged browser experience.

Acer aims to gain 2-3% in 2009 notebook market share

From Digitimes -

Acer is aiming to increase its global notebook market share 2-3 percentage points in 2009. Per company chairman JT Wang, China, Japan and the US are the three markets with high shipment growth potential for Acer this year and the company will work on enhancing its performance there. Currently, Acer has around 30% of most of its major markets, and the company hopes to boost the share to 40-50% in 2009.

Acer considering launch of non-Atom nettop in early 2009

From Digitimes -

Acer is planning to launch a low-power and low-cost nettop early 2009. However to prevent the new product from cannibalizing netbook shipments, Acer plans to use either AMD or VIA CPUs instead of the Atom found in its netbooks. Possible OEMs are Quanta, Wistron and MSI.

Acer surpasses HP and Dell over worldwide notebook shipment in September

From Digitimes -

Acer has shipped 3.4-3.6 million notebooks (including netbooks) in September this year, beating both HP (2.5-2.7 million) and Dell (1.8-1.9 million). Of that, 1.2-1.3 million units are Acer Aspire One notebooks.

-----------

Wonder how many Asus shipped for the same period?

Acer Readies Ultralight Atom Laptop for June

From Yahoo! News - Acer plans to launch its first low-cost ultraportable at the Taipei Computex trade show in Taipei this June. Expected to weigh less than a kilogram, the ultraportable will feature Intel's Atom processor.

However, Acer is not only the one who will be featuring new ultra-portables. According to Intel, there are already more than 25 modls being developed around the new Atom.

Asus is also expected to show an Atom-based Eee PC 900 while, ECS, MSI, and Gigabyte are all expected to launch competing products.

Full article can be read here.

Acer to ship over six million low-cost PCs in 2H08

According to Digitimes Acer is planning to launch two low-cost notebooks, an 8.9" Aspire sub-portable and and 12" Slim Gemstone Aspire. It also expects to ship around 6 - 6.5 million low-cost PCs in the second half of 2008, with 8.9" models accounting for 5 - 5.5 million.

The company had also ordered 1 million 12.1" LCDs from from AU Optoelectronics (AUO) in March this year. The panels are said to be priced around US$40-50 lower than same sized high-end panels.

.9-inch low-cost PC comparison
Company	HP	Acer	Asus
Model	Mini-Note	Aspire	Eee PC 900
Processor	VIA C7-M	Intel Atom	Intel Atom
OEM	Wistron, Inventec	Quanta, Wistron	Pegatron
Launch	April	May-June	May-June
Annual shipment goal	N/A	5-5.5 million	5 million (including Eee PC 701)
OS	Linux/XP	Linux/XP	Linux/XP
Storage	Hard drive	Hard drive/SSD	SSD
Price	US$599-849	US$300-450	US$350-450

You can read the complete article here.

Acer to launch low-cost notebooks by Q2

From Digitimes -

A Chinese-language Commercial Times is reporting that Acer plans to launch low-cost notebooks with 8" and 9" LCDs by Q2 of this year, with the products priced to compete directly with the Eee PC.

Acer will outsource the production of its low-cost notebooks to Wistron, while purchasing LCD panels from AU Optronics (AUO), a supplier of Asus for its Eee PC line.