No new netbooks from Asustek or Acer in 2H 2009
Asustek Computer and Acer will not offer any new netbooks in the second half of 2009, as Intel plans to push the launch of its entry-level products including the Pine Trail-M platform to the first quarter of 2010, according to industry sources. The vendors will instead focus on ultra-thin notebooks during the second half of the year. Asustek currently still has the touchscreen-based Eee PC T91 and T101, as well as an Android-based netbook set to launch for the second half. The T101 is expected to appear after the launch Windows 7, while its Android-based netbook will not show up before the end of October.
For the ultra-thin notebook market, Asustek currently has 12-, 13.3- and 15-inch models ready, with the 13.3-inch model expected to be the major sales driver. The company will also launch 12- and 14-inch ultra-thin notebooks, that do not feature an optical drive in August. Meanwhile, Acer continues to reduce its budgets for netbook marketing and R&D and will continue to let its current 10-inch Aspire One serve the netbook market in the second half, the sources noted. Although Acer had originally announced plans to launch a dual-OS netbook with both Windows XP and Android in August, further evaluation has found demand for an Android netbook is not strong enough, and it has therefore decided to postpone the launch of the model.
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