Acer unveils ultrabooks, cloud, and little else

From CNET News.com: Acer informally kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show's wave of press conferences today with the unveiling of the Timeline Ultra and Aspire S5, along with a look at its cloud services.

Missing were any concrete details of its tablet, as well as any information on its planned Windows 8 products.

With its laptop announcements, Acer is doubling down on the ultrabook segment. The products underscore the company's need to find a hot new category to spark revenue, particularly with its key Netbook business cratering. The trouble is, the company is one of many looking to push the ultrabook segment, making for an already crowded, yet nascent, sector.

The company is also trying to compete in the tablet business, which hasn't fared so great for companies not named Apple. Acer only briefly teased a tablet boasting a super-high resolution screen, although the teaser video was frustratingly short. The Iconia Tab will be powered by a quad-core processor (it didn't say which chip it would be using), and will run at a resolution of 1,280 by 800. Other tablets with these specs are expected to trickle out during the show.

Acer showed off the Timeline Ultra, the second ultrabook in its lineup after the company took an early stab in September. Unusual for an ultrabook, the device comes packed with a CD drive. The device will ship in the first quarter.

It also unveiled the Aspire S5, which the company boasted was the world's thinnest ultrabook. It's unclear how long Acer will keep that claim given the intense pressure for companies to shave off millimeters from their devices.

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