14 DAY TRIAL // Despite being one of the most successful netbook vendors last year, Acer is expected to announce that its target for 5 million netbook shipments in 2008 has not been reached. The company is likely to reveal estimated shipments of 4.5 – 4.8 million units, according to sources in the industry, cited by Digitimes. With the announcement, Acer will join its competitor, ASUSTeK, which is said to have recorded netbook shipments of only 4.9 million, also falling under the company's initial estimates.
Acer was one of the first PC makers to join ASUSTeK in providing the consumer market with an alternative to portable computer systems. The company's first netbook, dubbed Aspire One, provided an 8.9-inch form factor and was built on Intel's highly successful Atom platform, offering the performance required by Internet-capable devices such as netbooks or mobile Internet devices.
According to the sources cited by Digitimes, Acer's 2008 netbook shipments are expected to fall at approximately four million units, while those of the company's competitor, ASUS, are said to have recorded 4.5 million. However, Acer, which is yet to confirm the news about the netbook shipments, will be aggressively targeting the netbook market in 2009, being expected to launch a 10-inch model that will be manufactured by Compal Electronics.
Digitimes also reports on the upcoming Acer netbooks, claiming that the PC vendor has already placed orders to Compal for three models of Acer's 10.1-inch Aspire One netbook, while an additional model is expected to be manufactured by Quanta Computer. Sales of Acer's netbooks are said to boost Compal's revenues, as the company received orders for more than four million units of the aforementioned 10.1-inch netbooks.
In related news, it appears that pictures of Acer's highly anticipated 10-inch Aspire One have already been leaked on the Internet, accompanied by specifications. The netbook is expected to boast either an Intel Atom 1.6GHz N280 processor or the already famous N270. It will pack 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G, and SDHC card reader, 3 USB slots, webcam and a multi-touch touchpad, probably one of the netbook's best features. There's no word on a Windows Vista operating system, which means that the new 10-inch Aspire One will still be shipped with a Windows XP OS.
