Hewlett-Packard may be spinning off its PC business, but that doesn’t mean the PC is dead: competition among Ultrabook manufacturers Acer and Asus is alive and well. Acer is reportedly pushing to release its upcoming ultrathin and lightweight Acer Aspire 3951 in September, a month before expected, to directly compete with the Asus UX21 Ultrabook.
It remains to be seen whether Intel’s new class of ultraportable laptops can save falling laptop sales (affected in large part by the iPad). Acer certainly hopes its Ultrabook will revive its laptop sales. The first Ultrabook to market, however, may have an advantage over the others.
The Asus UX21 was the first to be announced back in May and is expected to appear on retail shelves next month. Now Acer is planning on ramping up its development schedule for a September launch as well for its Aspire 3951 Ultrabook (according DigiTimes/CommercialTimes). The 13-inch Aspire 3951 has already had its internal design revised twice, however, and it has not yet entered mass production, sources say, so Acer definitely has their work cut out for them.
The good news is we should finally see these slim and light laptops start popping up in a few weeks—and hopefully at the sub-$1000 prices promised. Perhaps the increased competition will help make this so.
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