Acer's flagship ULPC product, the Aspire One will get a 10-inch model refresh with the Aspire One 10.1, which is preparing for a February launch. The new model comes with a screen that is physically bigger at 10", though having the same resolution as its 8.9" counterparts: 1024 x 600 px.

Acer seems to have made a few cosmetic changes with a brushed-metal chassis near its keyboard area, an expansion slot with a multi-card reader (swappable), a larger track-pad and the standard features of Aspire One. On to the hardware front, it comes with an Intel Atom CPU at 1.60 GHz, 1 GB of DDR2 memory, with optional features that include pre-installed Windows XP Home, 3G HSDPA, and Bluetooth 2.0 support. It comes in three colours: red, black and white.

NVIDIA is seems to be recycling a broader range of existing GPUs with new branding that merely some mainstream GPUs such as the G92. According to a set of advertisements by a channel vendor, of Acer and Packard Bell PCs, they feature the GeForce G 100, GeForce GT 120 and GeForce GT 130. These graphics cards feature 512 MB, 1 GB and 1.5 GB of memory respectively and fill the entry-level graphics cards lineup.

From the information TechConnect Magazine gathered about these, they are rebranded variants of GeForce 9400, GeForce 9500 GT and GeForce 9600 GSO (aka GeForce 8800 GS). This new naming scheme will be operationalised by the end of this month, towards February, around the same time when another portion of graphics cards based on the G92 GPU get rebranded to the GeForce GTS series.

Acer America, part of the world's third largest PC company, today introduced the Aspire 8930G-7665 notebook PC, utilizing the new Intel Core 2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000. The new quad-core processors allow for extreme mobile performance and speed for gaming on the go. Designed for multimedia and gaming enthusiasts, the Aspire 8930G-7665 combines superior computing power, innovative technology and productivity features, with stylish PC design.

DisplayLink and Acer today announced the availability of a new Windows Vista Aero-compatible USB computer monitor, with integrated DisplayLink technology. The 22-inch B223 screen, part of Acer's ergonomic B series family of monitors, is now shipping in Europe. With 1680x1050 widescreen resolution, Acer's new display has integrated USB ports to facilitate multiple displays easily. Using DisplayLink's DL-160 network display chip, up to six Acer B223 monitors can be connected to a single PC or laptop, via a standard USB 2.0 connection.

Acer's Taiwan president Scott Lin confirmed today that Acer plans to launch 10-inch Aspire One netbooks in February or March next year. Despite the bigger screen and most likely the bigger keyboard, the 10-inch Aspire One will probably have the same specifications as the 8.9-inch One on the market today, including the Intel Atom processor and Microsoft Windows XP Home OS. Unfortunately, all this information has to be confirmed.

Acer plans to launch 10-inch Aspire One netbooks in February or March next year, according to Scott Lin, Acer Taiwan president. As for its 8.9-inch netbooks currently available, the 3.5G module-based Aspire One netbooks being bundled with Taiwan Mobile (TWM) services is expected to reach a shipment volume of 9,000 units in the Taiwan market in the fourth quarter this year, Lin said. Acer currently sells 10,000-20,000 Aspire Ones and 7,000-8,000 consumer notebooks monthly in Taiwan, he added. Lin also pointed out in Taiwan, notebook average selling prices (ASPs) are expected to continue dropping through the end of this year, with an average decline of 10%. High-end and lowest-cost models will feel less price pressure, while models within the range of NT$30,000-40,000 (US$900-1200) will see the largest price drops, he said. The company will also launch a 14.1-inch LED-based notebook priced below NT$40,000 during the upcoming IT Month-a local promotional sales event-and is preparing to launch 12.1-inch, 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch LED-based notebooks in 2009. Acer will also start selling a 13.3-inch notebook and all-in-one PCs based on its sub-brand Gateway during the show and the company expects the 13.3-inch notebook will fill up the gap in Acer's product range.

The Intel Atom processor saw the company create a new niche, that of netbooks (sub-notebooks) and nettops. It has become the de-facto choice of OEM builders who are themselves teething in this new market. Intel Atom finds direct competition in VIA Nano, which offers the same x86 embedded options, at nearly the same thermal footprints, although AMD has some catching up to do in this segment.

Industry observer, DigiTimes, notes that Acer could be eying non-Atom options for its upcoming nettop SKUs. These products could feature VIA Nano, or AMD Athlon low-power processors. The company is basing it on the issue, that it plans to sell around 12~13 million nettop units, and given the situation, sourcing all the processors from Intel doesn't seem feasible. The silicon giant is already dealing with massive back-orders, backlog and stock shortages for the amount of demand the Atom has created. Acer also has three OEM sources in mind to make the nettop: Quanta Computer, Wistron and Micro-Star International (MSI). The company is expected to reach a decision in December.

NVIDIA seems to be striking gold with its newest platform core logic, the MCP7A, MCP79 chipsets, with the mobile version of MCP79 especially taking the limelight. This is the chipset that Apple uses in its updates to the Macbook Pro. Several PC industry majors such as Acer, ASUS, HP, and Dell, are planning to launch several notebook models based on the MCP79. Some players even project the chipset to grab a 20% share among Intel CPU-based notebook platforms.

ASUS is planning to launch the F50GX notebook using the said chipset with a 16-inch 16:9 aspect ratio panel, and GeForce 9600M discrete graphics card, targeting the gamer market. The company is also planning to launch more MCP79-based notebooks by the end of this year or beginning of next year, according to Tony Chen, general manager of notebook business in ASUS. The general manager of GeForce products at NVIDIA, Ujesh Desai, pointed out that over 10 models of notebooks from global first-tier notebook vendors, will be launched by the end of the year.

Acer America, part of the world's third largest PC company, today unveiled its first WiMAX-enabled notebooks - Aspire 4930-6862 and Aspire 6930-6771 - in support of the nation's first U.S. WiMAX wireless broadband network launched by XOHM in Baltimore. Demonstrating the company's focus on delivering innovative technology solutions, the Aspire 4930-6862 and Aspire 6930-6771 are WiMAX-enabled Intel Centrino 2-based notebooks with the first-ever combined WiMAX/Wi-Fi module, previously codenamed "Echo Peak," part of the Intel WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5050 Series.

PC major Acer made additions to its notebook lineup, with the introduction of four new Aspire Gemstone series notebooks. It includes Aspire Gemstone 8930-6448, an 18.4" model, along with a 16" Aspire Gemstone 6930-6809, the 15.6" 5735-4624 and the 14.1" 4730-4374. The Aspire Gemstone 8930-6448 is the flagship model, it comes with a CrystalBrite TFT LCD display, with a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. At the heart of it, is a Core 2 Duo T9400 processor, clocked at 2.53 GHz. It includes 4 GB of memory, a 320 GB hard drive, and NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT graphics with 512 MB of memory. The laptop also boasts a DVD writer, a 6-in-1 card reader, a webcam, is pre-loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate and costs about US $1700.

The rest are downscale models of essentially the same design, albeit come of them not featuring a full-sized keyboard and those special media control feather-touch buttons. The 16" Gemstone 6930-6809 comes with a native screen resolution of 1366x760 pixels. It is powered by a Core 2 Duo T5800 at 2.00 GHz, with 3GB of RAM, a 320GB 5400 RPM HDD, DVD writer and Intel GMA 4500HD integrated graphics. It is priced at $700, and comes with Vista Home Premium installed. The 5735-4624 offers the same screen resolution as the 6930-6809. It features the 2 GHz T3200 processor, 2GB of RAM, 160GB 5400 RPM hard drive and integrated graphics. Windows Vista Home Premium is bundled. It sells for $550. At the very same price point, the 14.1" Gemstone 4730-4374 sports a native resolution of 1280x800 pixels, it is powered by a T3200 CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 120GB SATA hard drive.

Acer introduces the world's first LCD monitor, the G24, that supports up to 50000:1 in contrast ratio. Designed to entice PC gamers, the G24 is dressed-to-thrill in an extreme contrast of orange-black colors and sleek contours, and supports high-definition (HD) graphics for intense gaming entertainment.

The eye-catching exterior of the G24 with solid angled surfaces makes an immediate impression, while satisfying PC gamers' needs and imagination. For a complete gaming package, the G24 and the Aspire Predator desktop PC are both painted with uncompromising metallic copper and feature deeply carved line design elements. Blue rays of light emanate from the power button of the LCD and desktop to exude a polished, powerful look.

We already have some major high-end enthusiast gaming system players in the eyes of Dell and Alienware, but who said we can't have one more. Acer is joining the party today with the release of Aspire Predator, a new line of gaming desktops. Despite the fact that Predator comes with an uniqe orange and black case that has a big front Lamborghini style door, the specs of the system are quite common for a system designed to run today's popular games. Predator, utilizes the latest Core 2 Extreme or Core 2 Quad processors, two GeForce 8800 GT 512MB video cards in SLI, an NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI mainboard and up to 8GB of memory. Extra features include Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum, dual optical drives, with one either supporting Blu-ray only or both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, and even an optional watercooling setup for the CPU. Acer hasn't set pricing or release dates but plans to launch the Predator line in the US and will split the series into four models that include the Sniper, Trooper, Crusher, and Eliminator. You can find out more about the Predator over at the Acer Predator official website here.

Acer, the third largest vendor in the global PC market, today announced the Aspire Gemstone Blue notebook PC series is now available via Acer authorized resellers and select retailers in North America. Unveiled in March 2008, the Aspire Gemstone Blue range features the PC market's first 18.4- and 16-inch notebook form factors with true HD cinematic capabilities.

It looks like reports that Acer is planning to make its own games console are wrong and simply the result of misinterpreted quotes. A UK spokesperson said:

That was a major misunderstanding as JT [James T Wong, Acer's senior vice president] was wrongly interpreted. Acer is not going to release any game console but the idea is to develop a high-end PC (so not a console) targeted at the serious gamer.

The original story claimed that Acer was working on an open console format to compete with the proprietary systems from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.

Supposedly, a senior official at Acer (the Taiwan-based company that specializes in PC notebooks) told BetaNews they are thinking about producing a "PC-based game machine." Furthermore, according to Acer's senior vice president, James T. Wong, this game machine would operate off an "open standard" philosophy, in contrast to the "closed" systems (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii).

Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are the three big names in the console market at the moment, but if a story from German site Gamestar is to be believed, Acer could soon be set to join in the action. Apparently the company's senior vice president, James Wong, cited the proprietary nature of current consoles as the firm's inspiration for creating an open-standard, PC-based "games machine". Unfortunately that's pretty much all Acer has revealed at the moment, and the story remains a rumour, but this could certainly spice-up future console wars a little bit if it's true.

Acer, the third largest vendor in the global PC market, today presented the Aspire 6920 line, a brand new notebook PC series designed to bring the enjoyment of High Definition (HD) anywhere you go.

Acer plans to start offering Blu-Ray equipped laptops in the spring of this year, the company's Taiwan head explained on Monday. The executive confirmed that the computer firm will have two notebooks available with the world's first 16- and 18.4-inch widescreen notebook LCDs, capable of playing Blu-Ray movies in full HD (1920x1080) resolution. Other specifications of the portables have not been revealed, though the Blu-ray feature will likely dictate dedicated AMD or NVIDIA graphics as well as a minimum 2GB of memory. Prices should range between $1,900 and $2,240 depending on the screen sizes and configurations.

Taiwan's Acer Inc, the world's No. 3 computer vendor, influenced by Eee PC and its great success among the low-cost laptop PCs, will try to accomplish the same results by introducing its own tablet. Acer, which previously said it had not planned to sell cheap notebook computers, has changed course to develop PCs to target a new customer base, the Chinese-language Commercial Times quoted company Chairman J.T. Wang as saying. The company plans to launch low-cost laptop PCs in the second or third quarter of this year, according to an unknown report. The report also notes that Acer was still developing the new model, which could be 7-9 inches wide, and could cost around $470. Acer of course declined to comment on the report, since there haven't been written proof of something final.

Whilst HP may be the top global computer brand, Dell has retained its crown in the US market, accounting for 29.6% of sales. Dell managed to ship 5.5 million units, which represented a 15.2% year-on-year increase, with HP in second place selling 4.5 million units, a figure which gives it a 24.3% market share. Acer took third spot following its acquisitions of Packard Bell and Gateway last year, with sales of 1.5 million units - up 294.2%. Apple was fourth in the US with 1.06 million units, ahead of Toshiba in fifth. Global sales saw HP commanding a market share of 23.3%, with Dell on 14.6%. Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba came in third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Taiwan-based notebook vendors Acer and ASUSTeK Computer have both advanced one rank to become the second and eighth largest notebook vendors in the world, respectively, according to a recent IDC report. Among the top-ten worldwide vendors, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Acer and ASUSTeK were the only vendors who saw on-year growth of over 60% in the second and third quarters of this year. Acer had notebook shipments of 4.15 million units in the third quarter, surpassing Dell's 4.01 million, while ASUSTeK shipped 1.22 million notebooks. Acer adopted a new strategy in the third quarter, separating its product lines into consumer and enterprise segments. The move brought its notebook market share up to 14.2%, noted IDC. Sony dropped to ninth position in the third quarter this year while Apple and Fujitsu both strengthened their performance in the high-end market. Sony saw large losses in the high-end market and turned to push its mainstream CE series notebooks to maintain sales performance.

Acer, which has been focusing on the consumer market and fighting for space in retail stores, is turning its attention back to the North American small- and midsized-business market. On Dec. 20, the Taiwan PC vendor announced that it would begin selling its low-cost Extensa 4620 notebook into the North American market for the first time. The 14.1-inch laptops come equipped with either an Intel Core 2 Duo or a Pentium dual-core processor. Acer, which has its U.S. headquarters in San Jose, Calif., is also keeping its prices down for the Extensa notebooks. The Pentium-based laptop starts at $699 and the Core 2 Duo machine starts at $799, according to Acer. The aggressive pricing of these SMB notebooks should allow Acer to continue competing against the bigger names in the market-in particular, Hewlett-Packard and Dell-as well as against other Asian-based PC vendors, such as Toshiba.

Influenced by ASUS and Eee PC, Acer has begun to change its attitude toward the low-price PC market and the company recently formed a team to begin working on projects for the sector, according to Scott Lin, president of Acer Taiwan. However, Lin highlighted that the company has not yet budgeted any R&D funds for the low-end PC project and Acer will still focus on its typical notebook product lineup in 2008. To launch a low-cost PC or not is a matter of economic scale, indicated Lin, adding Acer expects global notebook shipments to reach 120 million units in 2008 with ASUSTeK Computer's Eee PC only accounting for 2-3% of the overall market. The actual market for low-cost PCs is still uncertain, Lin pointed out, and this is the major reason that the company is still considering whether to launch products. Lin also stated that the technological barriers towards developing a low-cost PC are not high and so Acer should be able to launch suitable products once the company completes its feasibility evaluations.

In a battle between two of the largest PC manufacturers in the world, Acer is again suing Hewlett-Packard over alleged patent violations. The suit, filed on October 30, 2007 in a District Court in Wisconsin and the United States International Trade Commission, accuses HP of violating seven patents related to PCs, servers and peripheral devices.

With or without a legal proceeding, Acer persists to take all necessary steps to protect and enforce its patented technologies.

, the company said. Further details regarding the latest suit has not been made public by Acer.

Acer plans to unveil two new ultra-portable notebooks, the Aspire 2920 and the Ferrari 1110. Looking at the Aspire 2920, it's the first 12.1-inch notebook to use Acer's new Gemstone design theme. The 12,1-inch widescreen (1280x800) 2920 model features Santa Rosa Core 2 Duo, up to 2GB 667MHz DRR2 RAM, Intel GMA X310 graphics (up to 358MB), 250GB hard drive, Gigabit LAN and wireless connectivity. Again with 12.1-inch widescreen display, but this time with white LED backlighting and lots of carbon fiber, comes the Ferrari 1100. This good looking laptop will offer users the AMD M690T chipset with AMD Turion X2 CPUs (from the 1.60GHz TL-58 to the 2.3GHz TL-66 model), 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM (upgradeable to 4GB), ATI Radeon X1250 with up to 960MB of HyperMemory and Draft N Wi-Fi. Both laptops come with a legal copy of Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic or Home Premium. There's no word on pricing, and availability.

Acer has become a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), giving Blu-ray a lead among the world's largest PC manufacturers.

We're delighted to welcome Acer to the Blu-ray Disc Association,

The addition of Acer provides one more sign of the growing momentum behind Blu-ray Disc and, more importantly, is a significant advantage for consumers, as it further expands the already broad options available to consumers in the personal computer space.

said Victor Matsuda, chairman of the BDA's Global Promotions Committee, in a prepared statement. The company also makes laptops equipped with HD DVD drives. Acer Inc. is currently one of the top five PC brands in the world, and the number one notebook brand in Europe.