Acer officially announces 11.6-inch netbook

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Acer has officially acknowledged the rumored 11.6-inch Aspire One netbook and has added some pretty nice specs to boot. This upcoming version will contain the previously-mentioned 11.6-inch 1366×768 backlit LED screen, a 160GB hard drive, and will be only one inch thick.

It’ll also feature a “soft-touch” keyboard, Dolby Pro Logic sound, and it’ll weigh in at just over 2.2 pounds with a six-cell battery that Acer claims will last up to eight hours. It looks like the machine will take on a wedge-shaped design, as “the VGA and LAN doors were placed in the back angle of casing for comfortable access to cable management” and to make the overall design thinner and more portable.

Finally, the touchpad will be “multi-gesture” and will allow users to “leaf through pages in the same manner as of a newspaper,” along with quick and easy zooming when working with photos and documents.

It’ll be very interesting to see how this is priced. Acer’s known to come out swinging and if this computer settles in at under $500, it’ll probably sell like hotcakes. Like Acer’s other recently-announced products, the 11.6-inch Aspire One should turn up sometime in June.

Full press release:

A New Way to Say Netbook
Acer to announce the new Aspire One 11,6”

2009-04-08 – New York

Born as a niche phenomenon, the netbook has been dispersed throughout the world, and with Gartner reviews estimating an increase in sales for 2009 that will mean 21 million units distributed sold at a global level (with a more cautious prediction 8 millions made 6 months ago).

Netbooks represent a fully strategic category of products that complete Acer’s mobility products, which have always been the core of the business.
Acer has taken care of every detail, from winning design to personalized interface and diversification of connection options. All these combined elements have allowed the Aspire One to be the most sold netbook on the market.

Being always-connected anywhere represents a diffused trend in the habits of the end-user. Younger generations seek a tool that allows them to communicate with instant messaging or to always be connected to their social networks. Professionals want a device that unites connectivity with mobility, a second or third computer to always carry with them be able to enjoy multimedia contents, internet or e-mail in every instant.

Today, Acer is taking on different dimensions: A new extended family, custom made for all. Where a variety of people in different stages of their life can gain satisfaction in the way they choose to communicate. Acer’s strategy winning is to enrich it’s product proposition to multiply affinity between user and their product.

Design therefore becomes a fundamental element for transmitting this world of ideas and meanings that it is connected to.
Today, Acer extends this family with an all-new the new 11.6” format.

Besides offering full connectivity, the new line is characterized for its defined style. Available in four glossy colors – white, dark blue, red and black – its design aspects do not go unobserved. Thin and aerodynamics, the new Acer netbooks evoke speed and mobility, underlining the ability to surpass the boundaries of space and time and to experience connectivity anywhere in full freedom.

The 11.6” Aspire One is equipped with an Intel® Atom™ processor and Mobile Intel® US15W Express Chipset. Notwithstanding the small size, the 11.6” Aspire One features a large 160 GB internal hard drive and a multi-in-one card reader.

Thickness reduced to one inch (only 2.5 cm), it’s made for portability. The integration of WiFi 802.11b/g and Acer Signal Up technology allows easy access to available wireless networks, while Bluetooth connectivity and 3G guarantees even greater freedom: connection at 360 degrees, full control of the online experience, without limits on time and space.

This way, there are no limits to social interaction online, if not for those of the imagination. Acer developed the Aspire One 11,6 inch following a very clear point: by observing the daily life and the formal procedures of end users, and to combine them into special experience.
Elegant details, like the hinges of the screen and the aerodynamic metal shape with a drop of color inside or the activation switch on immersed in color that contrast with the surface texture, capture attention.

In the 11.6 inch versions, the attention to detail is extreme: the keyboard is ‘soft-touch’, to increase typing conform and give a pleasant feeling while chatting on-line with the friends. Dolby Pro Logic® sound and high-definition WXGA screen WXGA back-lit LED screen simulate the most advanced multimedia entertainment station; the extreme slimness, reduced to 2.5 cm of thickness, weighing just a little more than one kilo and with an 8 hours based on 6 cell 5200 mAh battery make the Aspire One easy to take with you, always.

Furthermore, there is a digital microphone and Acer Crystal Eye a webcam built into the frame: a small window to the world, to maintain the contacts by means of real-time video streaming, video chat and conference calling.

To make these netbooks thinner and to improve portability, the VGA and LAN doors were placed in the back angles of casing for comfortable access to cable management. Portal icons were printed on the borders to identify them more easily and to make them visible even when the cover is closed. One last practical detail: the touchpad is ‘multi-gesture’, allowing you to leaf through pages in the same manner as of a newspaper and allowing you to zoom with just a touch.