PHILIPPINES--Taiwanese PC maker Acer has unveiled a series of new desktop and laptop products for the Philippine market, including its first ultra low-cost notebook offering, dubbed Acer Aspire One.
In a briefing Tuesday, Acer officials confirmed the company will now formally take on current market leaders in the low-cost laptop segment, including fellow Taiwanese company Asus with its Eee PC product line.
According to Asus, demand for the low-cost subnotebook in the Philippines has been so strong that supplies are short.
However, Manuel Wong, head of Acer Philippines, said Aspire One will have a distinct advantage over other competing products, as it is powered by Intel's Atom processor.
First unveiled in March, Atom is being touted as the processor to power a new generation of Internet-enabled, ultra-portable laptops designed to consumer less power.
According to Wong, Acer will be the first to roll out an Atom-powered laptop ahead of competitors that have also announced plans to release Atom-based machines later this year.
Asus will officially launch is Atom-based Eee PC in Singapore this weekend.
Acer's Aspire One will be available in store shelves in "a week's time", Wong said, adding that the company is now working out shipping and distribution details before the product will be released in the market.
"Our inventory for the Aspire One is already here. We just need to distribute the products before our channels can offer them to customer," he explained.
Wong added that, like its competitors, Acer's low-cost laptop will bank heavily on first-time computer users and "special" segments, including the academic and public sectors, which may need specialized machines that offer basic applications such as Internet connectivity.
The Aspire One sports an 8.9-inch screen, and comes with a standard 1 gigabyte memory and 8 gigabyte of storage capacity.
The Acer notebook runs on the Linpus Linux OS, developed by Taiwan-based Linpus Technologies, which is funded by a group of companies including Acer IP Fund One and MiTAC.
Wong did not disclose reasons for Acer's decision to launch with the Linpus platform, but did say that a Windows variant--most likely Win XP--of Aspire One will be released this year.
"But I cannot disclose exactly when Acer will release this model," he said.
Acer Philippines, meanwhile, also unveiled its latest Aspire desktop PCs, including its specialized games PC, Aspire Predator.
Joel D. Pinaroc is a freelance IT writer based in the Philippines.
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