Yikes, looks like Acer’s recently-released 11.6-inch Aspire One A0751h netbook might either be on its way out or headed for the bargain bin already.
You’ll recall that the machine was made available on May 18th, then pulled from shelves for about a week due to a labelling mix-up, and now DigiTimes is reporting that Acer’s planning an 11.6-inch machine in its Timeline series that’ll either replace the A0751h or bring about a price drop “to establish a clear boundary between the two product lines.”
Sales of the A0751h haven’t been all that stellar. I’d assume that’s in large part due to the fact that the nice HD-resolution screen can’t actually play HD videos smoothly thanks to the underwhelming 1.2 GHz Atom Z520 CPU. The Timeline version would likely contain one of Intel’s newer CULV (consumer ultra low voltage) CPUs and perhaps a more potent GPU than the Intel GMA 950 found in the current 11.6-inch offering.
That’s bad news for people who had been looking forward to (or have already purchased) the A0751h but give credit to Acer for going quickly back to the drawing board in order to get a suitable replacement to market. Fail quickly, as they say.
UPDATE: Looks like Acer won’t be replacing the A0751h with the Timeline version, although the company’s PR rep didn’t come right out and say it directly. Here’s what she sent:
“The Aspire one is a lightweight, mobile internet device, ideal for taking advantage of online applications such as email, social networking, listening to online music, making online VoIP calls and web surfing. The Timeline Series is a notebook PC that offers enough power for not only online applications but also movies and productivity applications, such as spreadsheets, Word documents and presentations. It also offers 8 plus hours of battery life with a standard battery configuration.
The 11.6-inch Aspire one is available at Walmart now. It will also be sold at Amazon, Target.com, Shopko and Office Max on June 14, Radio Shack on June 15, J&R and PC Richard on June 21 and Staples on June 28.”
Looks like two separate and distinct offerings then — not a replacement or possible “phasing out” as the source article from DigiTimes mentioned.