Acer, the world's third largest computer systems maker, is expected to launch a new series of computer systems for the upcoming year, at least one of which is meant to expand the company's line of ultra-portable, Internet-capable PCs. The upcoming system will be part of Acer's netbook range of products, which is currently represented by the highly successful Aspire One, an 8.9-inch netbook that is based on Intel's Atom platform. In addition, Acer is also said to be planning the release of an all-in-one desktop PC, which will place the company among Apple's main competitors.

 

The upcoming netbook system is expected to provide users with a form factor previously unavailable in Acer's product range. It will be built as a 10.2-inch netbook that will likely compete with other 10.2-inch systems released by netbook makers such as ASUS or MSI. However, Acer officials, who have recently confirmed the 10.2-inch form factor, claim that the upcoming netbook will bring a different design, when compared with similar devices currently available on the market. It is expected that the netbook will come with Windows Vista pre-installed, and will provide a storage capacity of up to 320GB. The system is expected to be listed in the $500 range, about $100-$150 higher than the current Aspire One.

 

The 10-inch form factor is now said to represent the ideal choice for such a device, as it can provide a horizontal screen resolution of 1024 pixels. The netbook will debut as the company's first N-series, according to sources cited in a recent article on TgDaily. This might create some confusion for customers, as ASUS has already introduced an N-series of its own, which features a 10-inch portable system that combines the performance of an Intel Atom processor with discrete graphics from NVIDIA.

 

Acer is also said to be planning a low-cost all-in-one desktop, probably build on an Intel Atom platform, which will be meant to compete with the recently introduced ASUS Eee Top. Also, said system could potentially compete with some low-end iMac systems.