Acer on track to launch Android netbook in third quarter

Acer denied rumors of not releasing anymore netbooks in 2009

Taiwan-based World’s second largest computer manufacturer Acer Inc, on Wednesday any rumors that said the firm will not launch any new netbooks in the second half of this year and upheld these launches till first half of 2010. Acer said the firm did not have any reasons to change its plan of launching a new version of its Aspire One netbook in the third quarter, which will run Google's Android mobile operating system.

The upcoming Android-based Aspire One should be equipped with an Intel Atom CPU and a 10” display panel. Acer showcased a dual-OS netbook model running both Windows XP and Android in Computex Taipei last month, which should be out next month. That might just make Acer the first major computer maker to bring a dual-boot netbook having Android as one of the Operating systems. However, these both systems seem to be two different models as the firm's executives said the Android-based Aspire One netbook would not have Windows XP installed.

Probably to combat it, Asus also has plans of an Android-based netbooks in H2 2009, and it is estimated that the products will not be available until the end of October.

Point here is whether a person, who has been so used to using Windows, will switch on Android or not when he has a Windows installed. Android being free and lighter might help a bit. It is true that Android has been getting good reviews overall, and companies are going for it. Only recently Intel and Google teamed up for a series of Android-powered MIDs. There is a growing interest of using it in netbooks also of late. Reports of other major brands like Dell, MSI and HP opting for Android are doing rounds.

Acer is likely to finalize its first-round notebook outsourcing orders for 2010 in a day or two – as reported by Digitimes. The company is expected to release orders for 7-10 notebooks in the first round shared between Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics, Wistron and Inventec.

The Taiwan-based PC giant has been experiencing a steady rise in sales especially after the introduction of the Aspire One series of netbooks. Acer's third-quarter global shipments is expected to increase at least 15-20% on quarter with demand for notebooks in Western Europe significantly improving since the beginning of July, and the shipment growth may even reach 20-30% if Acer is not too affected by tight component supply.