NetbookTech

Details of the 10 inch Acer Aspire One netbook are finally emerging on the net – this time thanks to macles*. Here’s what we know thus far (none of which are confirmed by Acer mind you). Acer appears to be dropping Linux configurations with the new netbook – instead offering Windows and hard drive configurations. Other specs include a 10.1 inch display, a new multi-card reader replacing the Storage Expansion slot, a single DIMM slot with support for a max of 2GB of memory, and optional Bluetooth/3G networking.

One thankful change to the 10 inch Aspire One is the placement of the touch-pad buttons. They’ve been moved from the sides of the touch-pad to the bottom of the touch-pad. Expect the new Aspire One to be available in white, black, and red.

[Check it out via CrunchGear]

First off, Happy New Year to all of you. I sincerely hope all of our readers had a wonderful holiday season. Ours was fairly uneventful (which is of course, a good thing).  In any case, let’s start the new year off by looking at how netbooks fared in Japan in 2008. The folks at Akihabara News were kind enough to republish a list of the top 10 netbooks in terms of sales volume for 2008 (originally compiled by the folks at BNC Japan). Without further ado, here’s the list:

• ASUS Eee PC – 4GB SSD model had 20.9 percent
• Acer Aspire One – 120GB model had 19.5 percent
• ASUS Eee PC 901-X – 12GB SSD model had 16.8 percent
• Acer Aspire One – 160GB model had 5.1 percent
• ASUS Eee PC 1000H – 160GB model had 4.7 percent
• Konjinsa SA5KX08AL – 80GB model had 2.6 percent
• ASUS Eee PC S101-X – 16GB SSD model had 1.9 percent
• Onkyo C101-4 – 120GB model had 1.8 percent
• ASUS Eee PC 701-SD-007X – 8GB SSD model had 1.8 percent
• HP FR082PA – 160GB HDD model had 1.6 percent

Congrats to all.

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Who says netbooks are making a different in the PC industry? According to iSuppli, netbook sales have helped propel Acer to within less than 2 percentage points of Dell for total PC market share. On a sequential basis, Acer grew its unit shipment market share by 45 percent while on a year over year basis, it grew by 79 percent. The company shipped nearly 3 million more notebooks during Q3 than in the previous quarter – the majority of which were netbook systems.

“Clearly, the company’s netbook strategy is paying dividends”

Overall, iSuppli reached the same conclusions as IDC – that notebook sales have surpassed desktop PCs for the first time ever on a quarterly basis.

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Now here’s something interesting. Radio Shack, of all retailers, will be offering a combination netbook/mobile broadband deal involving the Acer Aspire One and AT&T Wireless. Running from December 12th till the 20th, the deal works as follows. Sign up for a new two year AT&T AirCard agreement on rate plans $60 dollars a month or more and get the Acer Aspire One netbook for a mere $99.99. The Aspire One’s specs include the Intel Atom processor, Windows XP Home OS, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, a built-in webcam, 802.11 b/g Wi-fi, and built-in 3G of course.

If you’ve been waiting for mobile broadband/netbook deals, this surely is one to watch out for. Expect more to come in the future.

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Here are the latest netbook reviews from around the web.

Top Tech News reviews the Acer Aspire One A110 netbook and finds:

“Overall, the A110 will meet the needs of users who want a quick Internet access device. It is not really meant to be your primary workstation, but if you need to use the A110 extensively for more than one hour, it would be good to install Windows XP.”

About.com has a review of the HP Mini 1035 NR netbook which is HP’s second generation netbook featuring a 10.2 inch display. Here’s what they thought of the netbook:

“The biggest problem with the HP Mini 1000 netbooks though is the ports. It is limited to just two USB ports and an SD slot. This puts it well behind offerings from other companies. Even the VGA port requires an adapter to use.”

Legit Reviews publishes a review of the ASUS Eee PC 1000HA here on their website. Here’s their verdict:

“The ASUS EEE 1000HA is a very capable netbook.  If you are looking for something with all the features and abilities of a notebook in a small and easy to use package, then this is the netbook for you. “

Get ready for the 10 inch Acer Aspire One. According to DigiTimes, Acer Taiwan President - Scott Lin – has stated that the 10 inch netbook will become available sometime in February or March of 2009.

In other Acer related netbook news, the company also announced that it has reached a shipment volume of 9000 3.5G module-based Aspire One netbooks (bundled with Taiwan Mobile services) in the Taiwan market for the fourth quarter. No word on when the 3.5G version of the Aspire One will make it to the U.S.

Finally, the company stated that it sells between 10,000 to 20,000 Aspire One units a month in Taiwan. That’s a wide range in numbers don’t you think? Yet – it’s also a lot of netbook units. Nice.

[Check it out via Wired]

As the popularity of netbooks increase, it’s no surprise that we’re seeing more and more netbook reviews appearing on the web. Case in point – NetworkWorld.com has published two new netbook reviews - one for the Acer Aspire One and the other for the Lenovo IdeaPad S10. Unfortunately the reviews are not exactly comprehensive (forget about performance numbers etc) as NetworkWorld gives very brief overviews of the systems. Guess you can’t have it all eh?

In any case, the first review is of the Acer Aspire One netbook which is certainly one of the best deals out there. It’s arguably the best bang for the buck when you consider what you get for around $350 dollars – an Intel Atom processor, a 8.9 inch display, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB HDD, and Windows XP Home. Unfortunately the Aspire One suffers from a nutty touchpad design and a somewhat loud internal cooling fan. Although the NetworkWorld review is a bit lacking in content, the site does give the Aspire One four stars and has this to say:

“The device is really meant for basic computing and Web functions – for heavy duty usage and applications I’d probably want a better, faster and slightly larger notebook. But this could be a very useful notebook to keep powered up and running in living areas in the house, for those times when you need to check a quick e-mail, sports score or other such Internet-enabled activity.”

When it comes to the Lenovo IdeaPad S10, the review is just slightly longer with NetworkWorld having this to say about the system.

“Honestly, I like this computer. Screen size aside, it’s a capable little machine, and it was fun to use. If you can deal with a small screen, and aren’t interested in playing too many extreme games, this is definitely worth a look.”

The tested system had your Atom processor, a 10 inch display, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, and Windows XP Home.

Just an FYI for anyone interested. While I was at the Best Buy website, I also noticed that they had begun offering the Acer Aspire One netbook in a copper color configuration. The price is also at $349.99 which will get you a system with:

• Intel Atom processor
• 1 GB RAM
• 8.9 inch TFT LCD widescreen display
• 120GB SATA HDD
• Intel GMA 950 graphics
• 0.3 megapixel webcam
• Digital media reader
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi
• Ethernet
• Windows XP Home Edition

Not sure about how all of you feel but the copper color is certainly appealing. Wish I could trade my blue Aspire One in for this one!
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PC Magazine has updated their review of the Acer Aspire One netbook here on their site. Their first look at the Aspire One was more of a preview than a full on review. Acer has since sent them a production unit which had specs such as a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 512MB of RAM, an 8.9 inch display, and 8GB of storage space. The reviewed system also ran Linpus Linux Lite. Major complaints from PC Mag include the cramped keyboard experience and of course the annoying mouse button placements. They also pointed out that the 3 cell battery will probably be lacking but at least you have the option to get a 6 cell battery for the Wind. Ultimately PC Magazine gave the Aspire One four of five stars and said the following:

“Since it first debuted, the One has added several options like a 10-inch screen, numerous hard drive choices, and a 6-cell battery, while keeping its price competitive with the rest of the field.”

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If you thought ASUS was the leading netbook vendor out there, well think again. Acer announced shipments of their Aspire One netbook could reach 6 million units this year – surpassing ASUS’s estimated 5 million Eee PC netbooks for  2008. In addition, Acer shipped approximately 2.4 million units of the Aspire One during the third quarter alone. Compare that number to ASUS’s 1.6 to 1.8 million Eee PC units and you can see why Acer is edging past ASUS.

Looking ahead, Acer expects fourth quarter shipments to exceed the amount in the third quarter and the company is aiming to capture 50% of the netbook market (compared to ASUS’s planned 30% capture).

Acer’s president, Gianfranco Lanci,estimates that the overall netbook market for 2009 will be 30 to 35 million units.

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