Oh boy, I can’t wait for May and/or June. That’s when we’ll see a whole slew of new tiny notebooks, including two low-cost notebook PCs from Acer — one with an 8.9-inch screen and one with a 12.1-inch screen. The price, according to Digitimes, will top out at $450. Yum. An ultraportable notebook PC with an Intel Atom chipset and a (relatively) big screen for under $500? Yes, please. Hooray for economies of scale.
Acer is apparently gearing up to ship more than six million 8.9-inch Aspire and 12.1-inch Slim Gemstone Aspire units this year. According to Digitimes’ sources, Acer placed an order for a million 12.1-inch entry-level panels from AU Optoelectronics last month. It’s believed that the 8.9-inch models will make up the other five million-plus units that Acer’s planning to ship. Asustek is believed to be considering the 12.1-inch panels from AU Optoelectronics as well, so we may see a 12-inch Eee on the horizon.