Over in the UK sales of PCs have slipped by twenty percent during the last quarter of 2011, and according to Techworld only Apple managed to increase sales. For the whole of 2011 sales in the country fell by 15.9 percent, which accounts for two million units. Consumers seemed to favor smartphones and tablets that are also often cheaper to buy.

The drop in sales accounts for both business and consumer users alike and Apple now sells almost one in ten of all PCs. Brands such as Acer lost 46 percent compared to the previous year, while HP lost almost 16 percent, and Dell losing 9 percent. The drop in sales is also being put down to the recession with public sector business seeing a big drop.

Netbook sales are in freefall after losing 50 percent during the last quarter of 2011, which previously held unit sales up ever since 2009. The decline has come as companies cut development and move away from the sector.

But with Intel’s Ultrabook soon to arrive and Windows 8 on the horizon things could well improve over the next year. It has to be noted that PC sales have seen plenty of ups and downs in the past, which have been driven by new technology and the release of new versions of Windows.

There will be many consumers who want to purchase a new laptop or PC but are holding fire until the release of Windows 8. PC sales are falling across Europe and can easily be put down to the tough economic climate that many people are experiencing at the moment.

Have you put off buying a new PC until Windows 8 is released?

More About: Acer, HP, microsoft, Windows 8

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The device has been officially revealed by the company as it joins the rest of the Iconia Tab range, and it is an upgraded version of the original A500. It’s not just a minor upgrade though as it will benefit from the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, which according to a report on the Android Community has four cores running at 1.3GHz each.

Other notable changes are the operating system that will be Android ICS straight from the box, but other than that it’s the same 10-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution. Acer has said that the device will be available in Europe during April and priced at 499 Euros.

There is also a 4G version of the device called the Iconia Tab A511, but Acer didn’t go into details about the availability of it or the price. Both models will be available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB flavors with a possible 100 Euro price difference between each of them.

Currently there are no details about a launch for the US region, but it is expected to arrive at some point. There is also the Iconia Tab A700 on its way with an impressive 1920 x 1200 screen. Would you consider a tablet from Acer?

More About: Acer, Acer Iconia Tab A510, Acer Iconia Tab A511, Nvidia Tegra 3

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The S5 is said to arrive in Q2 of this year, we don’t have a full spec listing or price information yet, but we do enough information to give you a pretty detailed product overview, also while we are here we will tell you what the guys over at SlashGear had to say about the S5 which they got their hands on a few days ago.

You can see Acer’s official press release here, this reveals that all S5 Ultrabooks will boast Intel Core processors (2nd-gen Core i3, i5 and i7 options we presume), this in turn means that there will be DDR3 RAM options. As for storage it looks like Acer are snubbing hard disk drive technology in favor of solid-state options, that said we wouldn’t be too surprised if some cheaper HDD options arise upon release. We don’t know a great deal about the display, but we can reveal that it has a 13.3-inch diagonal, we have also been promised professionally-tuned Dolby Home Theater v4 audio.

Other specs which we can confirm include 1x HDMI-out, 2 x USB 3.0 ports and 1 x 20 Gbps Thunderbolt, all of which are hidden by Acer’s unique MagicFlip I/O panel, this panel is activated by pressing a button located near the top-right corner of the keyboard it then expands and contracts to reveal/hide these ports. This neat feature not only looks cool but also allows the Ultrabook to be just 15mm thin at it’s thickest point – this undercuts the MacBook Air’s thickest point by 2mm, however at 3 pounds the S5 is a little heavier than the 13-inch MacBook Air. At the bottom of this post we have embedded a video which shows the MagicFlip I/O panel.

When SlashGear tested out the S5 they seemed very impressed by it’s solid build quality and desirable aesthetics, they weren’t amazed by the I/O panel or the keyboard, but ultimately they spotted nothing which put them off too much, however we have to remember that no pricing information has been disclosed just yet.

For more information about the S5 and the features it offers out-of-the-box check the link to Acer’s press release in this post’s third paragraph, do you like the MagicFlip I/O panel feature?

More About: Acer, Acer Aspire, CES 2012

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Earlier this year, the company also announced the Iconia Tab A200 but failed to raise any eyebrows when it came to what it was packing. However the impressive A700 device looks to be an improvement and may surprise a lot of skeptics who believe the iPad is untouchable.

For starters it comes equipped with a quad-core processor, a step up from the dual-core processor that the A200 is packing. It also has a head turning 10” Full 1080p HD resolution display and will be running Google’s latest tablet OS Android Ice Cream Sandwich, also an improvement from the A200 which will run an earlier version. As CNET explains this beast not only has the iPad in its sights but also is aiming to take on another genuine iPad contender, the ASUS Transformer Prime.

While little else was revealed in the brief teasing of the Acer Iconia Tab A700, reports are suggesting it will also be packing a NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip, similar to the one found in the Transformer Prime. Release details were also scarce although a second quarter launch period was indicated but unfortunately no word on availability or price is available. We will just have to wait and see what else is revealed during CES.

What do you think of the Acer Iconia Tab A700? Do you think there will be an iPad contender unveiled at this year’s CES?

More About: Acer, apple, CES 2012

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We don’t have all the details regarding the D270, but we have pretty much everything that’s important, here’s what we know: Firstly and most importantly it rocks one of Intel’s new 32nm Cedar Trail processors – apparently it will feature the Atom N2600, a dual-core chip which boasts two 1600MHz cores, Hyperthreading and a 400MHz embedded graphics core. What’s great about this new architecture is that you get better performance and lower power-consumption than second-gen and first-gen Intel Atom processors.

Other specs we know of include 1GB of RAM, a 320GB hard disk drive, a 10.1-inch display and the choice between a three-cell or six-cell battery. Based on its predecessor (the D260) we expect there to be WiFi b/g/n, a multi-cardreader and a built-in webcam all running on Windows 7 (Starter Edition we presume). Hopefully it will ship with Bluetooth connectivity, HDMI-out, a higher resolution display than last year’s 1024 x 600 output and perhaps the same dual-boot Android / Windows 7 configuration which other Aspire One models have featured.

As promised we also know how much of a dent these models will make in your pocket, the three-cell battery version is said to retail at €250, whilst the six-cell model will cost €269, this equates to roughly $324 and $348 USD respectively. As you would expect we strongly recommend the six-cell option as the price difference is minimal.

Once CES 2012 kicks off we should find out more about this intriguing new netbook, we wonder whether it will feature a refined physical design when compared to the D260, also it will be nice to compare benchmark results to see just how much of a punch the D270 and its Cedar Trail processor packs.

What puts you off the D270 specs? We would like to see an affordable upgrade to 2GB of RAM.

More About: Acer, Acer Aspire One

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There are claims that the company is set to launch an Ultrabook that will have a 15-inch screen size, which will make it the bigger than other Ultrabook models that are available. According to Digital Trends it may have a price tag of only $699 making much cheaper than the MacBook Air.

Recently Acer has stated it would be concentrating on lower end products, as well as top end super-thin Ultrabooks next year. Now sources are claiming that the company will launch the more affordable 15-inch Ultrabook. Currently there are no specifications of the rumored device, and nothing official has come from Acer themselves.

If such a device does become available it will appeal to many consumers who want a portable PC with a large screen size, and easier on the wallet. The only Ultrabook with a screen size that compares to the rumored Acer model is the Samsung Series 5 14-inch model. Trouble is this has yet to be launched outside of South Korea, and it is thought to cost $1300 when it finally reaches the US.

J.T. Wang, Acer’s CEO has already stated the company will be launching more Ultrabooks during 2012 to take on the MacBook Air. At next month’s CES show in Las Vegas companies are expected to announce around fifty new Ultrabook devices.

Does a $699 15-inch Ultrabook appeal to you?

More About: Acer, Apple MacBook Air, Ultrabook

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You can see a full press release over at Engadget, to sum things up you will be able to get the 16GB model for $480, however if you agree a two-year deal it will cost you just $330. Strangely the 16GB model has an MSRP of $499.99, whilst the 32GB version has an MSRP of $549.99 – we don’t know how much AT&T will charge you for the 32GB version, however based on the 16GB pricing we think they could charge $520 (contract free), or $390 as part of a two-year deal, we must stress that the 32GB pricing has not been confirmed and these are our rough calculations.

If you head over to the AT&T website you will see that the Acer Iconia Tab A501 is much cheaper than its competitors, we really think that this pricing will attract some attention from people who need / want a tablet but think that the iPad 2 is overpriced at $629 – obviously the iPad 2 pricing is different as it doesn’t require a two-year deal, but still we think the prospect of getting a 4G tablet on contract for $330 is still an offer which mustn’t be overlooked.

In terms of monthly costs it depends on how much data you plan on using, obviously WiFi usage doesn’t affect your monthly cap, so you may find that $15 per month for 250MB tariff may be enough for you (we doubt it), an extra $25 per month will raise the cap to 2GB, which is more realistic in our opinion.

For those of you who aren’t that clued up in terms of the Acer Iconia Tab A501′s tech specs you get a 10.1-inch display, NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 mobile 1GHz dual-core processor, a full size USB 2.0 port, a microUSB port, a microSD memory card slot, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth, built-in GPS, two 3260 mAh Li-polymer batteries, a 5 megapixel camera on the rear, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera and it will run Android 3.0 Honeycomb out of the box, as we previously mention it will connect to AT&T’s HSPA+ network and we can also confirm that it will boast full access to the Android Market.

The AT&T Acer Iconia Tab A501 is by no means thick and heavy, but that said when put side-by-side with the iPad 2, Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Toshiba AT200 it may look a little chunky, it apparently weighs1.69 pounds and measures in at 10.24 x 6.97 x 0.52 inches, we think you will agree that its size and weight wont be an issue.

More About: Acer, Acer Iconia Tab

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According to an article on Electronista the first batch of ultrabooks are set to be purposely kept low so companies can test the market. Units such as the Acer Aspire S3, Lenovo IdeaPad U300s and Toshiba Portege Z830 could have production runs of fewer than 50,000 for the first batch.

The companies want to see if there is a market for the ultra portable laptops outside of what Apple has to offer consumers. This follows their experiences they had with Consumer Ultra Low Voltage notebooks in 2010. They are looking to avoid a repeat performance that saw the likes of Acer with its TimelineX, which tried to bridge the gap between netbooks and full size notebooks.

These devices were often not much faster than netbooks as they were equipped with lack luster processors, but were still priced at a premium rate because of their chips and screen size. There is believed to be another ultrabook related meeting being held by Intel on the 14th of this month.

The meeting is thought to look at ways to overcome technical limits that Windows PC makers are facing, and to try and persuade more manufacturers to embrace the idea. Companies had previously complained they could not use cheaper components, and weren’t used to some of the design idea’s that Apple used.

These included the likes of solid state drives, metal bodies, and better battery techniques. There are some who believe the ultrabook is the final chance to push Windows notebook sales that have mainly struggled. The current financial climate around the world could affect Intel’s plans for ultrabooks by up to forty percent by the end of next year.

Analysts also point to the fact that many consumers are shunning notebooks for the likes of the iPad now, which further hits the ultrabook market. Do you think there is a market outside of the MacBook Air for ultra slim notebooks? Or do think that tablet PCs will take over?

More About: Acer, apple, lenovo, macbook air

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Acer are heavily promoting the 8481T and say that it offers “All Day Battery Life”, “Enterprise-Class Security and Manageability” and a 14-inch screen in an ultraportable 13-inch form factor – these are some bold claims, however having read the full press release over at Engadget it looks like these claims are backed up.

Let’s start by talking about the form factor claims, as mentioned before you get a 14-inch display (Acer ComfyView LCD LED backlit display to be precise), but on the outer edge of the display the bezel is a third smaller than usual. This ultimately means less plastic around the edges and more space for a display, we are not quite sure how they claim a 14-inch display fits into a 13.3-inch form factor, but what’s important is the fact that the design is smaller than most, if not all, 14-inch notebooks.

Now when a notebook manufacturer says that a device offers “all day batter life” don’t assume that you will get a 24 hours from a single charge, but what it means is the battery should last you an entire working day. Apparently depending on usage you will get 13 hours of battery life from a single charge, but that’s not all, the eight-cell lithium ion battery is said to be one of Acer’s PowerSmart long cycle batteries, this means that the capacity shouldn’t deteriorate as quickly as other batteries – in fact we are told that the battery maintains 80% capacity after 1000 cycles, that’s impressive.

Before talking about specs we must briefly mention its security and manageability claims, the 8481T comes with multi-level Acer ProShield Security with BioProtection Fingerprint solution, this means your data is secure as long as you use this means of security, unless perhaps you lose a finger!

Ok let’s give you the information you guys want to hear: specs and pricing. Now like any modern-day notebook there will be plenty of options to choose from, however we can confirm that as standard you get 4GB of RAM, WiFi, Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet, a high-def webcam, built-in microphone, Intel HD 3000 graphics with 128MB of dedicated system memory and a resolution of 1366×768. In terms of performance hardware there will be second-gen Intel Core i5 processors on offer and 7200rpm hard drive offerings which are protected by next-generation DASP (Disk Anti-Shock Protection. All this fits into a chassis which is just 0.87-inches thick and weighs just 3.7 pounds.

Prices will start at $999.99 and as mentioned before they will become available in the U.S. and Canada in early September, below we have embedded a photo of the notebook.

More About: Acer, Acer TravelMate

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Now we’ve received word that Acer has just launched its TravelMate Timeline notebook range in the US and Canada. According to an article over at marketwire.com, the new TravelMate Timeline notebooks come with everything a professional user would want from a device including extended battery life, great manageability and enhanced security.

The TravelMate Timeline notebook measures just one inch thin and come in a variety of LCD screen sizes including the 15.6-inch 6595 and 8573 models, and the 14-inch 6495 and 8473 models. The TravelMate Timeline notebooks all come with a second-generation Intel Core processor, ensuring that the device handles even the most demanding of tasks with ease.

In terms of graphics, the Acer TravelMate Timeline series come with Intel HD Graphics 3000, although customers do also have the option of equipping them with discrete graphics options including NVIDIA GPUs with Optimus Technology. The notebooks also come with Intel Wireless Display technology, enabling users to share videos or presentations on a HD display / TV.

The TravelMate Timeline 6495 and 6595 models also come with Intel vPro and Anti-theft Technology. All models can pack up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM and up to 750GB of storage space. However, customers do also have the option of a 120GB Solid State Drive. They also come with a USB 3.0 port, which provides users with a faster data transfer rate.

As for battery life, the TravelMate Timeline notebooks will provide users with up to eight hours usage. The notebooks come with a number of connectivity solutions including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet. All four models also come with a high-definition webcam and built-in microphone for high-quality video conferencing.

Other features include DustDefender technology, which is designed to prevent the build up of dust inside the system, a spill-resistant keyboard and the next generation Disk Anti-Shock Protection (DASP). As for pricing and availability, prices start at $799.99 US/Can for the 8573 and 8473, $999.99 US and $1049.99 Can for the 6595 and $999.99 US/Can for the 6495.

Are you thinking about buying a new laptop or notebook?

More About: Acer, Intel

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