Acer Looks for Revival With New Tablets, Hybrids, Notebooks, and Ultrabooks

From DailyTech: The struggles of Taiwanese computer and gadgetmaker Acer, Inc. (TPE:2353) have been well documented.

CEO and chairman J.T. Wang in Dec. 2011 summarized the mess his company was in remarking that Acer products were "cheap" and "unprofitable". The company has fantasized about being more like Apple, Inc. (AAPL) and even issued bold threats to Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) over the decision to launch the Surface tablet. However, Acer appears far from Apple-like performance earning little profit; and its tablets have failed to compete in the market, giving little reason to take its Surface comments seriously.

But Acer is looking to breathe some life into its struggling line with a broad refresh announced today.

The refresh brings new notebook computers -- the Aspire V5 and V7 -- a new hybrid Windows 8 laptop, the Aspire R7; a new ultrabook, the Aspire P3, and a pair of budget Android Iconia tablets.

The Aspire V5 and V7 line refresh brings NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) GT7xxM Kepler graphics. The V5 and V7 are available with five kinds of screens -- a 15.6-inch 1080p (1920x1080 pixel) screen, a 15.6-inch "standard definition" (1366x768 pixel) screen, a 14-inch 1080p display, a 14-inch std. def. display, and a multi-touch-enabled 11.6-inch (1366x768 pixel) display. The larger form factors feature four speakers with Dolby audio, while the smaller 11.6-inch model boasts a 3 lb. weight. The V7 is essentially Acer's low end Ultrabooks and are identical to the V5 other than adding some new ports, SSD support, and a "silky touch" bottom finish.

The P3 Ultrabooks is 0.77-in. (19.55 mm) -- significantly thicker than the 3 to 17 mm thickness of Apple's latest MacBook Air. It weighs 3.03 lb (about 27 percent heavier than the air), and packs the same 11.6-inch touch display as the V5/V7. It comes with 60 or 120 GB SSD options; a 720p front-facing webcam; a 5MP rear camera; and Intel Corp. (INTC) Core i3 or i5 procesosrs. Starting price for the i3-equipped, 60 GB SSD model is $799.99 USD.

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