The third Europe-only notebook introduced by Acer this week is the Acer Aspire 3660. Specs-wise, it is highly similar to its TravelMate sibling, the TM2450, i.e. 1.46GHz Celeron M processor, 15″ or 15.4″ widescreen, and ATI Radeon Xpress 200M integrated graphics.

One of the only real distinctions between the two notebooks (which BTW were announced in the same press release) is that the Aspire 3660 is meant to be the less mobile, and more home entertainment-ish laptop (hence the Aspire, rather than TravelMate product line).

Of course, since more detailed attributes of the 3660 have yet to be revealed, we cannot be sure whether other factors like weight and dimensions have been adjusted in line with this distinction. We do know, however, that the Aspire 3660 will come equipped with the Acer OrbiCam and Acer Arcade software (while the TM2450 will not).

In any case, just like the TravelMate 2450, the Aspire 3660 seems like just another budget-class notebook churned out out from the Acer factory. Whether or not there will be a market for these two laptops will surely depend on their prices - which were not officially released by Acer.

(Source: Acer UK)

Besides the all-white Acer TravelMate 3020, two other Europe-only notebooks were recently introduced. The first being the subject of this post, the TravelMate 2450.

The TM2450 is unmistakably for the budget-conscious given that it’s powered by an Intel Celeron M 1.46GHz processor. But other than that, you’re looking at quite a well-rounded notebook. With a minimum of 512MB DDR2 RAM, a 60GB 5400RPM HDD, and integrated ATI Radeon X200M graphics, you can rest assured that MS Word won’t take minutes to load.

Uniquely, the 2450 comes with a choice between two screen sizes, either 15″ or 15.4″ - with a natural resolution of 1024×768 for the former and 1280 x 800 for the latter. I’m not sure why such choice was necessary, but if Acer felt like going the “extra mile”, who are we to complain?

(Source: TrustedReviews)

I hope you guys still remember the all-white Acer TravelMate 3020 that was previewed two to three months back because that very notebook has finally been launched officially in Europe.

For those who have forgotten, some of the key features of this model include its light weight (at only 1.5kg), small dimensions (i.e. “A4 sheet”), Acer GraviSense technology (anti-shock technology) and 12.1″ WXGA LCD screen. Acer also managed to squeeze in its 1.3 megapixel Acer OrbiCam as well, and you have the option of equipping the model with a Bluetooth VOIP phone to round up the 3020’s strong connectivity (tri-mode Wi-Fi, i.e. a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0).

Weirdly, Acer didn’t provide pricing details in its latest press release - even though prior rumors put the TM3020 at US$1770. And to think that price will probably be the main reason why most tech-savvy consumers would want to purchase Acer’s all-white ultraportable (remember the MacBook…).

CRN has just published a review of a few media center notebooks from the industry’s bigger players, not unlike PC Magazine’s own review roundup a while back. However, while PC Magazine’s review didn’t include a single Acer notebook, CRN’s own features the award-winning Acer TravelMate 8200.

A overall conclusion or ranking isn’t included, but based on what was said about the 8200, it’s clear that it was as impressive as it has been with all its prior reviewers.

Just a short excerpt:

One feature that stood out with the Acer unit is that it performs extremely fast no matter the task. CRN engineers were surprised to see how responsive it was when simultaneously using many of the preinstalled multimedia applications.

Of course, now that humungo-sized HD-DVD-enabled notebooks are out in the open, you might very well prefer the 17″ Aspire 9510.

(Source: TrustedReviews)

Here’s yet another Acer Aspire 9504WSMi review, but this time, it’s by PC World Canada.

The 9504WSMi’s strong points were its brilliant screen, wide variety of features, good battery life and excellent performance. But no review is ever complete without the product’s drawbacks, and this review of the 9504WSMi is no exception. The cramped keyboard (due to the addition of a dedicated numeric keypad) and sub-par speakers were identified as the notebook’s minus points.

So, with this review, we’ve probably seen everything we need to know about the Aspire 9504WSMi. From limited tech support hours and a relatively low screen resolution, to a cramped keyboard and sucky sound, all the drawbacks a prospective buyer needs to know should already be available. Of course, the same goes for the upsides of this machine.

After Acer’s hard work in surpassing Toshiba to take the No. 3 spot in February this year (based on last year’s shipments), it seems such a shame that Acer has failed to retain that title due to their sub-par performance in the first quarter of this year.

According to recent data, Toshiba has narrowly reclaimed its title as the 3rd largest notebook vendor in the world (with 2.24 million laptops shipped in the Q1 2006 against Acer’s 1.95 million units), even though Acer aimed to inch closer towards the top two laptop suppliers instead.

This means that the current Top 4 laptop vendors are as follows: Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Acer.

[News via Digitimes]

I’m not sure why I’m even posting about this since a cash back offer is just a discount with a funny name. But since I’ve already started, might as well follow this through.

Acer India has just launched a cash back program for its notebooks, where customers will be returned anywhere from Rs 1000 to Rs 3000 for each notebook they purchase. Customers can choose to claim this amount either as a conventional discount, or as a cash back.

This offer, coupled with Acer’s existing joint offer with Reliance India Mobile - where you get a LG Color speaker phone worth Rs 4499, plus 3 months of RConnect Internet usage for purchasing an Acer notebook - means that Indian consumers get one heck of a deal.

Of course, I’m pretty sure you wish you could trade in the LG Color speaker phone for even more discounts…

[News via Computer Reseller News]

(Source: Acer)

And the last of four new digital still cameras unveiled by Acer this week is the Acer CE-5430 - the smaller bro of the 6 megapixel CE-6430.

Other than the optical resolution, there’s really little difference between the CE-6430 and CE-5430 as the 5430 also comes with a 2.36″ LCD display, 3x optical and 4x digital zoom, as well as 8MB internal storage. In fact, even its dimensions (88.5 x 60 x 28mm) and weight (130g) are the same.

So, that’s it. Four new digital still cameras in one week - all destined for the European market (based on what we know so far).