Asustek might have been the first company to produce a so called Netbook but Acer are now going all out to become the more superior company in the Netbook and Nettop industry.
Netbooks are basically low cost computers that are ultraportable and which provide access to the Internet for web browsing and emails and Nettops are mini desktop computers.
Up until now, Asus have been a major player in this field but the latest announcements by rival company Acer might push them further down the slide.
Acer has just revealed details of a total of 24 new products which include thinner Netbooks than the previous Aspire ones, a Nettop for multimedia entertainment and gaming which makes use of NVIDIAs ION processors allowing for a better gaming experience and High Definition viewing, and an all in one touch 24” PC.
In fact, Acer is the first company to use ION processors. Asus doesn’t, well not yet anyway.
According to Acer’s president and CE Gianfranco Lanci, Acer is set on being the world leader in “mobile solutions”. Acer also thinks it can increase their Netbook shipments by as much as 40% over the next quarter alone and 100% during 2009, which is in line with what industry analysts predict.
According to reports, Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD Group believes that although many of Acer’s products are similar to what Asus offers, Acer can still shake up the market. “Acer wasn’t the first manufacturer to come out with a netbook, but it was the first major one, and look at the success it’s had,” said Rubin.
Yes, Acer’s Aspire line of netbooks pushed Asus’s Eee line off the top perch. And it’s true; some of Acer’s products are similar to the range offered by Asus, for example, the Nettop and all in one PC.
So far Asus have been able to offer a long battery life with some of their products which is a definite plus as research has shown that consumers value a longer battery life over other features, but Acer is planning to have that in the bag too with a new line of laptops capable of running for more than 8 hours on a single charge.
Yep, Asus is bound to be at least a little worried.
