May 07

Acer says US smartphones won’t arrive until 2010

Posted in: Android, delay, smartphone, Today's Chili

Acer has been busy showing off one smartphone after the other over the past few months, and making promises about at least one Android-based device, but it now looks like folks in the US will have to wait a bit longer than expected to actually get their hands on ’em. While complete details are a bit light, according to Gearlog, the phones are being held up as a result of some snags with US carriers, and the first phones now likely won’t make their debut until some unspecified point in 2010. Presumably, that means the phones are still on track for a release overseas this year, and there’s no doubt at least a slight chance that the situation could change over here before the year is out.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Update: That “slight chance” just got a little greater. Acer has told SlashGear that a fourth-quarter 2009 release isn’t out of the question; we’re figuring it probably depends more on how carrier relationships work out than anything else.

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Acer says US smartphones won’t arrive until 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 May 2009 18:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 07

Acer: No US Smartphones Till 2010 (Retracted)

Posted in: Smart Devices, Today's Chili, Windows Mobile
Updated, 5/8/09. Acer emailed us to say they “misspoke” and that they may still be able to launch their smart phone line in 2009. See our new post.

Original post. Acer got off to an enthusiastic start in the smart phone market back in February, but it looks like their plans for freebie Windows Mobile phones are being held up by the usual carrier-related traumas in the US.

Acer’s been having a lot of press events for their laptop and notebook lines here in New York, but they haven’t said much about their smart phones. So we asked. According to Acer’s laptop PR folks, Acer now isn’t planning any US smart phones until 2010.

That’s disappointing, as they’ve already started to roll out products overseas and the head of their smart phone division, Aymar de Lencquesaing, has years of experience in the USA. When I spoke to him in February, he said there was some hope that they’d get phones out before Christmas of this year.

Acer’s first-half devices are pretty run-of-the-mill Windows Mobile stuff, but they have more interesting products in their pipeline. The company’s $500 H2 model, for instance, uses Qualcomm’s state-of-the-art 1-GHz Snapdragon chipset and has a 3.8-inch, 800-by-480 touch screen, and they’ve also said they’re experimenting with Google Android phones.

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May 04

Screen Grabs: Lil’ Kim “Download” video features sampling of Acer products, samples Zapp

Posted in: Apple, download, iPhone, Today's Chili

Oop, looks like whoever was in charge of product placement coordination at Acer forgot to double-check Lil’ Kim’s new video for “Download” — is that iChat and an iPhone sneaking in there? Regardless, most of the primary action between Kimmy, T-Pain and Charlie Wilson seems to be going down on an Acer Aspire One, and there’s a prominent shot of the Acer M900 smartphone at the beginning. Oh, and the entire song is built around a sample of Zapp’s “Computer Love,” so we’ll forgive the lyrics. Both videos after the break.

[Thanks, Anthony R]

Continue reading Screen Grabs: Lil’ Kim “Download” video features sampling of Acer products, samples Zapp

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Screen Grabs: Lil’ Kim “Download” video features sampling of Acer products, samples Zapp originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 03

Acer’s Aspire One 751 netbook gets officially pictured

Posted in: netbook, pics, pictures, Today's Chili

This one’s been in the oven for some time, but at long last, we’re finally able to see official images of the 11.6-inch Aspire One netbook that we first heard about in early March. Obviously aimed at the likes of Dell’s Mini 12, this larger-than-usual netbook still packs the all-too-familiar suite of “netbook internals,” but that doesn’t mean it can’t look pretty being average. The relocated VGA port is sure to become this unit’s signature (or… something), right beside the sleek overall appearance and nicely spaced keyboard. If we didn’t know any better, we’d say we see a little X-Slim in here — right? One more look after the break, or you can opt for a boatload down in the read link.

Continue reading Acer’s Aspire One 751 netbook gets officially pictured

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Acer’s Aspire One 751 netbook gets officially pictured originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 00:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 01

Acer’s 11.6-inch Aspire One gets a spec list, release date

Posted in: netbook, Today's Chili

We’ve already gotten a good look at Acer’s new 11.6-inch Aspire One netbook, and even gotten word of some of the specs, but it looks like Acer has now removed any last bit of mystery on its German website, where it has finally let loose a complete spec list. Now officially dubbed the Aspire One 751, the netbook packs an Atom Z520 processor (as opposed to the Z530 that was initially rumored), along with up to 2GB of RAM, built-in Bluetooth, your choice of three or six-cell batteries, optional 3G, and a 1366×768 resolution on that 11.6-inch display — not to mention your choice of XP or Vista. Still no official word on a release ’round here, unfortunately, but it looks like it’ll be hitting at least some parts of Europe later this month for just over $500.

[Via Electronista]

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Acer’s 11.6-inch Aspire One gets a spec list, release date originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 May 2009 14:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 30

Acer: Windows 7 coming October 23rd pre-loaded on Z5600 AIO

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili, Windows, windows 7, Windows7

If all this talk of Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 has thoroughly piqued your interests, here’s something to tickle your fancy even more. Acer UK marketing director Bobby Waltkins has told Pocket-Init that the Z5600 all-in-one PC is due out October 23rd along with — and here’s the kicker — a genuine copy of Windows 7 pre-loaded on the device. That jibes with what Compal’s president said back in late February, but it’s hard to say for certain from the wording of his response whether he’s referring to the OS’s wide release or just his company’s 7-equipped desktop, although his talk of a 30-day upgrade free upgrade period might be suggesting the former. Until the boys in Redmond call it official, we’re just gonna mark our calendars very lightly with a pencil.

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Acer: Windows 7 coming October 23rd pre-loaded on Z5600 AIO originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 29

Acer already working on “several Android devices,” smartphone included

Posted in: Android, Google, netbook, open source, opensource, smartphone, Today's Chili

Okay, now we get it — the flood of Android phones we were expecting at MWC and CTIA this year are actually arriving a month or two late. Nice. Anywho, with Samsung just recently dishing out official dirt on its Google-fied I7500 and HTC pushing out its Magic overseas, Acer is making darn sure it’s not left out as the bandwagon cruises by. During the firm’s Q1 investor’s conference today, Gianfranco Lanci (President and CEO) noted that “the entire industry is looking at Android,” and that his company “is testing Android on a lot of different solutions.” Specifically, he stated that it was “working on an Android solution for the smartphone, but it’s too early to say if [Acer] is going to [put the OS] on a netbook in the near future.” ‘Course, he could be spitting out positive vibes to just make sure we don’t forget about ’em, but here’s hoping Mr. Lanci takes him own quotes seriously. We’ll be watching — like Rockwell, minus the catchy chorus.

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Acer already working on “several Android devices,” smartphone included originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 28

Acer AspireRevo review

Posted in: hands-on, nettop, NVIDIA, review, Today's Chili

We’ve been thrilling to the ride of Acer’s Ion-powered AspireRevo for a couple of weeks now, and despite its diminutive size and price tag, there’s plenty to talk about. The model we tested included an Atom 230 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 250GB 2.5-inch HDD for what we’ve heard will carry a suggested retail price of $299. Check out our full impressions after the break.

Continue reading Acer AspireRevo review

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Acer AspireRevo review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 26

Zen-filled Aspire One netbook makes VAIO P look cheap

Posted in: expensive, Japan, luxury, netbook, Today's Chili

Oh, right — we forgot that Sony’s not actually considering the VAIO P a “netbook,” but for all intents and purposes, it is. That being said, this highly decorated Aspire One easily blows the pants off of the aforesaid Sony, ringing up at $3,000 (minimum) on eBay. Why so pricey, you ask? No, there’s no liquid nitrogen-cooled Core 2 Quad within, nor will you find a CrossFireX graphics setup. What you will see, however, is hours upon hours of TLC poured into this one-of-a-kind machine by Japan’s own UFO-Hayashi. Still, for three large this better come bundled with peace, love and happiness for as long as the owner draws breath — something we’re definitely not seeing in the video after the break.

Continue reading Zen-filled Aspire One netbook makes VAIO P look cheap

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Zen-filled Aspire One netbook makes VAIO P look cheap originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 24

First Ion-based netbooks reportedly on track for June debut

Posted in: netbook, NVIDIA, nvidia ion, NvidiaIon, Today's Chili

Nothing is completely official just yet, but Pocket-lint is reporting that its inside source at NVIDIA has “confirmed” that the initial batch of Ion-based netbooks will be announced at the big Computex trade show at the beginning of June, and that the first few netbooks could start shipping “as early as July.” Of course, there’s no word on any specific companies involved just yet, with the source only going so far as to say that the announcements will come from some “key players.” Acer would seem to be about as close to a sure thing as there is, however, considering that it just recently launched the first Ion-based nettop, the AspireRevo, and that it’s never passed up an opportunity to roll out yet another new nettbook in the past.

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First Ion-based netbooks reportedly on track for June debut originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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