No new ASUS, Acer netbooks in 2009?
updated 01:55 pm EDT, Tue July 28, 2009
ASUS, Acer netbooks delay
PC makers ASUS and Acer are reportedly no longer poised to release any new, as-yet unnannounced netbook PCs during the balance of 2009, because Intel has delayed the launch of its entry-level chips, including its Pine Trail M platform, until the start of 2010. According to industry sources cited by DigiTimes, Acer will specifically delay its Android-powered netbook until a later, unspecified date. Originally planned for an August release, the netbook was delayed as the market demand for such a device was deemed not to high enough.
Instead of netbooks, Acer and ASUS will concentrate on building ultra-thin notebooks during the rest of 2009. That said, ASUS' previously announced touchscreen Eee PC T91 has just been released, while the delayed T101 will still make its debut this year, after the launch of Windows 7. The fate of only partially confirmed netbooks is unknown; ASUS' Android-powered netbook was rumored to ship sometime in October, whlie 12- and 14-inch ultra-thin netbooks without optical drives were due in August.
Acer is believed to have reduced its netbook budget, with its 10-inch Aspire One being its sole netbook offering for the remainder of 2009. It offers three ultra-thin notebooks, with plans to launch models with discrete graphics cards and optical drives at an unspecified date.
