ACER AC700 CHROMEBOOK TO SHIP THIS MONTH

Acer has announced that its first Chrome OS laptop will start shipping during this month itself. The WiFi-only model will cost $349.99. A 3g-capable model will be available later this summer. The Acer AC700 Chromebook was supposed to start shipping on June 15th. Acer missed that target date but sent out a press release yesterday announcing the imminent launch of the device.
The Acer AC700 Chromebook has an 11.6 inch display. It runs the Google Chrome operating system and is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N570 dual core processor. The laptop has 2GB of DDR3 memory and 16GB solid state disk for storage. Other specifications include 2 USB ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and a 6-cell battery. The Acer AC700 weighs 2.95 pounds.

The Acer Chromebook is cheaper than the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook which starts at $429.99.

ACER LAUNCHES ASPIRE ONE AOD257 FOR $250

Acer is known for pricing its laptops aggressively. The company has launched several netbooks that undercut its competitors on pricing over the past few years. But now by launching the Aspire One AOD257 for $250 Acer has lent a new meaning to aggressive pricing.

The Aspire One AOD257 has a list price of $270, but it is available from Amazon for $249. At that price it is the cheapest 10 inch netbook available in the US with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N570 dual core processor.

The $249 model has Windows 7 Starter OS, 1GB of DDR3 memory, a 250GB hard drive, Intel integrated graphics 3150, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Ethernet, Multi-in-One Media card reader, built-in 0.3 Megapixel webcam, 3 USB 2.0 ports, two built-in speakers and a 3-cell battery which will reportedly get up to 3 hours of battery life. If you need more battery life, you should consider buying the $300 model which has a 6-cell battery.

ACER TO LAUNCH A NVIDIA TEGRA NETBOOK

Digitimes report that Acer will launch a NVIDIA Tegra 2 netbook in the coming months. There will also be an Intel powered Ultrabook and tablets running Google Android 3.2 operating system.

Of course, the most unusual among these is the Tegra 2 powered netbook. While Tegra processors are quite common in tablets, there aren't many laptops with that processor. Although it is highly power efficient it can't run Windows or OS X operating systems at the moment. But this could change when MicroSoft launches Windows 8 which will be compatible with ARM-based processors. And when that happens we should see plenty of companies launching laptops with ARM-based processors.

But Digitimes report that the Acer Tegra netbook will launch in July. If that is indeed true, then it is likely to ship with Google Android. And we can't help but wonder if there is really demand for a laptop that can't run a desktop operating system.

AMD LLANO LAPTOPS NOW SHIPPING

The AMD Llano based laptops from Acer, Gateway and Lenovo have started shipping. The Acer offering is the Aspire AS5560G-SB485. It has an AMD Quad-core A8-3500M APU with Radeon HD 6470M integrated graphics. This model also has 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 500GB hard drive and a DVD burner. Newegg is taking orders for this laptop for $700.


Gateway, which is owned by Acer, also has launched an AMD Llano notebook. The Gateway NV55S03u has a 1.9GHz A4-3300M dual core processor, Radeon HD 6480M graphics, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive and DVD burner. Amazon is taking orders for this laptop for $480.

Another AMD Llano laptop to hit the streets is the Lenovo IdeaPad Z575. This laptop is available in two versions. While the first version has the same basic specifications as the Gateway NV55S03U, the second version sports an AMD A6-3400M quad core processor and Radeon HD 6520G. All the three notebooks have 15.6 inch displays with 1366 x 768 pixels.

ACER ICONIA TAB A100 COULD LAUNCH SOON; ULTRABOOK COMING LATER THIS YEAR

Acer may soon launch its 7 inch Android tablet called Acer Iconia Tab A100. Digitimes report that the Taiwanese PC maker has asked Compal Electronics to deliver 30,000 units of the tablet this month.


Digitimes also report that Acer's first ultrabook will launch in the fourth quarter of this year. An Ultrabook is a new kind of ultrathin laptops sporting Intel's latest processors. According to Digitimes, Acer's Ultrabook will boot in under 6 seconds. It will reportedly also connect to the internet in just 2.5 seconds. It is not exactly clear whether Digitimes is talking about Chromebooks or Ultrabooks. The former has pretty fast boot speeds, thanks to its light weight operating system.

Ultrabooks, on the other hand, have Windows OS which isn't light by any standard. If Intel and Acer manage to build a Windows laptop that boots in under 6 seconds, it will be quite an achievement.

ASPIRE 3951 COULD BE ACER'S FIRST ULTRABOOK

Acer's first ultrabook may be called Aspire 3951. According to leaked information, the laptop will have a 13.3 inch display and an aluminum case. It will weigh just about 3 pounds. The notebook will have an island style keyboard and a touchpad sans physical buttons.


There is no word on processor at the moment, but chances are it will be one of those latest Intel processors. After all, by Intel's own definition Ultrabooks are ultra thin and light laptops featuring latest Intel CPUs.

The Aspire 3951 will reportedly be available with a choice of HDDs and SSDs. While introducing the Ultrabook concept Intel had said that those laptops will have SSDs instead of HDDs in order to offer faster performance. But it looks like the SSD is optional to Aspire 3951.

The Aspire 3951 is expected to get around 6 hours of battery life. It will reportedly cost under $1000. No word on availability at the moment.

CLOSER LOOK AT THE ACER ASPIRE 3951 ULTRABOOK

Intel was the first to introduce the term, and now several top-of-the-line PC makers have announced plans to launch Ultrabooks. The Ultrabook is a new category of ultrathin notebooks sporting Intel's latest processors. The notebook has a 13. It will reportedly have a starting price of $799. 3 inch display. It will be available with a choice of 250GB or 500GB hard drive space. It is neither heavier nor lighter than the MacBook Air, but it is almost $500 cheaper Acer will unveil the notebook at IFA 2011 in Berlin. Alternatively you can configure the laptop with a 128GB of SSD. CLOSER LOOK AT THE ACER ASPIRE 3951 ULTRABOOK

Hands-on photos of the Acer Aspire 3951 Ultrabook have surfaced. Several processor options are available including the Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge processors. Acer claims that the notebook will get up to 6 hours of battery life. The Aspire 3951 weighs about three pounds. The Aspire 3951 will be the first ultrabook from Acer.