Filed under: Wireless

It’s not the first carrier to hop on the netbook bandwagon, but India’s Reliance Communications looks like it could be about to boost those global netbook sales numbers even further, with it announcing that it plans to offer free mobile broadband-equipped netbooks to anyone willing to sign a two-year, $30-a-month contract for its NetConnect service. What’s more, while the complete specifics are still a bit light, Reliance has apparently partnered with Intel, Acer, Asus, HCL and Lenovo for the deal, which seems to suggest that you’ll be able to get the Atom-based netbook of your choice, or at least choose from a decent enough selection.

[Via GigaOM]

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Filed under: Desktops, Displays, Media PCs

Acer believes you’re seeking a PC with a Blu-ray drive and formidable storage space so you can watch hours and hours of high definition video. That’s why it’s introducing the AX3200 desktop (suggested retail: $679.99) and the P244W 24-inch 1080p LCD display ($399) — to fill that consumer electronics-shaped hole that you didn’t even know existed within you. The compact desktop sports an AMD Phenom X3 8450 triple-core processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and NVIDIA’s GeForce 8200 integrated graphics chip. The graphics solution won’t rev up the frames in modern computer games — especially not at the P244W’s 1920 x 1080 resolution — but it’ll do fine for watching movies, and there are tons of great Blu-ray releases out there by now, right? Right?

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals, Wireless

Yesterday was a pretty big day for Sprint (along with a number of laptop manufacturers), as America’s had its first major glimpse at widespread WiMAX. A few other tidbits lingering from the mayhem were the obligatory speed tests — which were decidedly average — and what’s believed to be a prototype Aspire One with inbuilt WiMAX capabilities. Said netbook was residing within an Intel-branded van, and while it wasn’t made clear if Acer had any plans of bringing such a beast to the commercial realm, the folks at Laptop found the WiMAX surfing to be respectable, but not mind-blowing, as the New York Times homepage took around 15 seconds to load completely. Mr. Dave Zatz was able to pull down around 4,600kbps (and 1,519kbps up) in an impromptu speed test, while Kevin over at jkOnTheRun only managed 3,435kbps down / 1,555kbps up. As always, YMMV.

Read - Hands-on with WiMAX-enabled Aspire One
Read - XOHM Speed Test I
Read - XOHM Speed Test II

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Filed under: Wireless

Hot on the heels of Lenovo comes Acer, which is somehow claiming “first!11one!” in the US market with WiMAX-enabled laptops. Introduced today in Baltimore in conjunction with the formal unveiling of Sprint’s XOHM network, the Aspire 4930-6862 and Aspire 6930-6771 both include the innate ability to hop on a WiMAX network and surf at 4G speeds. As for specs, the former packs a 14.1-inch WXGA panel, 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7350 CPU, 3GB of RAM, WiFi / WiMAX capability, integrated graphics, a dual-layer DVD writer, 320GB SATA HDD, 5-in-1 card reader, built-in webcam, Windows Vista Premium and an $899.99 sticker. The larger 6930 differs only in the 16-inch 1,366 x 768 resolution panel, as everything else (price included) remains the same. Charm City residents can snatch ‘em up right now at NewEgg and TigerDirect.

[Via DigitalTrends]

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Filed under: Laptops

If you’ve been looking for a Gemstone, Acer’s got four new ones that your eyes should really see. The top-end Aspire 8930 gets things going with a borderline ridiculous 18.4-inch HD CineCrystal display, a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo T9400 CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA’s GeForce 9700M GT, an optional (but completely necessary) Blu-ray drive, WiFi, 320GB 7,200RPM SATA drive and a starting price of just $1,699.99. The 6930 sports a 16-inch WXGA LCD and a few less niceties, though the $699.99 is entirely more appealing. As for the consumer-friendly 5735, it boasts a Pentium T3200, 15.6-inch WXGA display, 2GB of RAM and a $549.99 sticker. Picking up the rear is the 14.1-inch 4730, which coincidentally starts at the same price point as the aforesaid 5735. The whole happy family is available right now.

[Via PC Launches]

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Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

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Filed under: Laptops

When every company out there is cranking out the same 10-inch 1.6GHz Atom netbook, there aren’t many ways to make your product stand out: the obvious trick is to go low on price, but ASUS isn’t messing with its profit margins. Instead, it’s apparently going negative in the most adorable way possible — check this hit piece on the Acer Aspire One. If all these frowny faces are to be believed, using the Aspire One will basically be awkward and unergonomic for a short while, at which point you’ll burst into flames. Not only that, but ASUS can’t even bring itself to spell out “Aspire,” instead starring it out like someone might catch them saying it out loud. Very mature. Still, if anything can revive our flagging enthusiasm for the entire netbook category, it would be one of these WINNER crowns packed in with every Eee — now that’s a real differentiating factor, ASUS. Full image in the gallery.

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Filed under: Desktops

Acer’s wild Aspire Predator gaming rig and matching 24-inch G24 monitor were announced back in May and July, but it’s taken them forever to ship Stateside — we’re guessing the delay was due to Acer’s insistence that the case look as much like a ski binding as physically possible. Specs are basically the same as the preview systems we’ve seen: the low-end $1,649 config has a liquid-cooled 2.5GHz Q9300 Core 2 Quad, GeForce 9600GT graphics, 4GB RAM and dual 640GB drives, while the $2,199 edition bumps things up to a 2.83GHz Q9550 Core 2 Quad, GeForce 9800GTX graphics, and three 640GB drives. Nothing’s changed with the $399 G24, either — it’s still a 2ms 1920 x 1200 LCD with a 160-degree viewing angle, a 50,000:1 contrast ratio, and a bright orange bezel. It’s all available now — check a sneak peek of the next version after the break.

Continue reading Acer Aspire Predator and matching G24 LCD hit the States

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Filed under: Desktops

Packard Bell, what a wild ride it’s been… you’ve gone to Europe, you’ve been bought out by Acer,and you’ve hit back stateside with some truly gnarly gaming PCs. But this latest scheme of yours is really a stretch: you intend to reposition yourself as a “lifestyle brand.” Long gone, you say, are the days of bizarre case designs, with their peripherals jutting out of the machine at odd angles. You will have new designs — designs that exemplify the elegance and “alchemy” of your company. And alchemy, you say, is “a mixture of science and magic, to generate emotion.” We expect great things.

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Filed under: Laptops

No bull whatsoever — we’re really digging this so-called MC Series that Gateway’s busy showing off in Budapest. According to Laptop Mag, who was on hand for the event, the family is designed to go after those mildly spectacular HDX rigs from HP and Sony’s FW crew. The model on display was packing a 16-inch widescreen LCD, color customizable lid with a leather strip running down its center, a backlit keyboard and a brushed metal palm rest. Also of note, editors spotted both AMD and Intel-powered versions, and while no pricing information was available, we’re told to keep an eye out for a November release. Head south to the read link for more pictures and a hands-on vid.

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Filed under: Laptops

Judging by the amount of mods already available for Acer’s contribution to the netbook world, we’d say there’s a fair amount of things folks would like changed on the Aspire One. Of course, that’s not to say the machine isn’t worthy of praise as-is, but there’s nothing wrong with a little dreaming. Would you have preferred a 6-cell battery right out of the box? Is that touchpad a touch too small for your chubby fingertips? Would you rather it run a little less like Zune Guy and more like Usain Bolt? With the sudden surge in competition in this sector, there’s really no excuse for a poor showing — let Acer know exactly what you really wanted from the tiniest Aspire.

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Filed under: Laptops

$119 for a battery to beef up a $380 computer? No thanks, Acer, but how about we nab ourselves a $400 Aspire One with the 6-cell already onboard? Yeah, we like the sound of that. Now we’ve got ASUS, MSI and Acer posing with 6-cells, when are you going to get on board with sexy, Dell?

[Thanks, Jeremy B.]

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Filed under: Laptops

Not sure if you noticed (though you probably did), but these so-called netbooks never actually ended up being nearly as inexpensive as we were all led to believe. Matter of fact, some manufacturers even took the liberty of charging more than basic 15-inchers as they pimped the whole “pay a premium for portability” aspect. Nevertheless, we’re glad to see the stickers declining on at least one subset, as Acer has announced price drops today on its Aspire One. The Windows XP unit will fall to $349 (from $399), while the Linpus Linux Lite model will sink to $329 (from $379). Best of all, the longevous six-cell battery-packin’ flavor is now $399. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Acer remembers netbooks were supposed to be cheap, drops price on Aspire One

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Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Oh sure, you’re pretty 1337 if you can say you’ve got an SSD within your laptop, but if you’ve a need to store more than, say, 8GB of files, a bit more room may be desired. tnkgrl’s Aspire One mods began earlier this week with the addition of Bluetooth and extra RAM, and today she’s showing the world how to swap the built-in SSD with a 1.8-inch 60GB PATA drive. As expected, this one’s remarkably easy to complete once you’ve torn the thing open, but she also explains how to best put it all back together once you’re done. But you’re not, because she’ll be producing a how-to for adding internal 3G in the coming days / weeks.

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Filed under: Laptops

Netbooks have come a long way since the Eee PC 701 hit the scene. Gone are the square miles of emptiness surrounding the screens and keyboards as manufacturers start to put every inch to good use, but that seems to have little impact on folks bent on hacking these mini laptops to pieces — with the Acer Aspire One the latest subject of such work. Tnkgrl has stuffed a miniscule USB Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR adapter under the palm rest and upgraded the RAM while she was in there. Next up is a hard drive upgrade and then the all-important “how to put the computer back together again.” No real show stoppers, but if you’ve been waiting for reports from the other side before you put your own Aspire One under knife, here they are.

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Filed under: Laptops

Given that Acer’s contribution to the netbook craze was reviewed over a fortnight ago, it follows logic that the thing finally be available for purchase. Apparently the Aspire One is already on shelves in at least one Circuit City location, so chances are you can run out and grab one for yourself today as well. But what if you’re not totally convinced it’s the mini laptop for you? If you’re 100% okay with subjecting yourself to a 26-minute “geek session” (their words, not ours) that unboxes it and gives a few brief impressions, jump on past the break and hit play. We’re warning you though, don’t venture down there unless you’ve got your coke bottle glasses on. We’re serious.

Read - Acer Aspire One first look
Read - Acer Aspire One impressions

Continue reading Acer’s Aspire One now available: unboxing and impressions

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

We fully understand that time is money, but damn. With quite a few folks up in arms over the $50 to $100 price hike on the 6-cell MSI Wind over the standard 3-cell version, we can only imagine the outcries that will come after seeing this. CDW has a product page up that describes an Acer Li-ion 6-cell 5,200mAh battery that’s designed to fit snugly within the $379.99 Acer Aspire One netbook. Let’s see here — a $119.99 battery for a $379.99 computer. Is that the absurdity alarm sounding, or are our ears still ringing from all the weekend revelry?

[Via TrustedReviews]

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Gateway, long known for its (once) very active direct sales model, is continuing to morph as it attempts to revitalize itself. The most recent strategic change is pretty remarkable — the outfit is completely and thoroughly ditching the aforesaid direct sales model. From here on out, prospective customers will only be able to snag a Gateway PC from retailers, e-tailers and other channel partners. According to the official verbiage, the change will deliver “significant cost savings, ultimately resulting in an improved value proposition for consumers.” This all seems to have quite a bit to do with the recent Acer acquisition, with Mark Hill, Acer Group US General Manager, stating that Gateway is “shifting its distribution method to better align with Acer’s successful global strategy, which was built upon an indirect model.” At this point, we suppose it can’t hurt to give it a whirl.

[Via Electronista, image courtesy of The New York Times]

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Filed under: Laptops

At this point, it’s pretty hard to figure out which netbook is better than another, but if you’ve been keyed in on Acer’s version for whatever reason, Laptop has a review sure to pique your interest. The Aspire One was praised just as soon as it left the box for its classy styling and super portable design. After getting down to business, however, reviewers felt that the typing experience was only “decent” and the touchpad was “cramped” — two things we actually would expect from a device of this stature. Nevertheless, the port selection was tolerable, the performance was passable and the battery life left a bit to be desired. As you can tell, this one seemed perfectly average on the whole, though it was deemed a “pretty good bargain” at $379. Huzzah?

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Filed under: Laptops

Acer played it safe early last month by telling Americans to expect its Aspire One “later this year,” but just a month and change after UKers had the privilege of toying with one on video, here she comes. So far, we’re seeing a couple of variations for sale here in the US, two of which include the $399.99 A110-1295 (8GB SSD) and the $422.99 A150-1006 (120GB HDD). We’re also hearing that select e-tailers are already slapping those shipping labels on there and moving ‘em out to anxious consumers, so be sure and chime in when your confirmation arrives. Wait, what? You already own six netbooks? Ah well, what’s another one amongst family?

[Via AspireOne, thanks Tony and Timothy]

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