Acer launching Tegra 2 powered laptop next week?

Various reports indicate that Acer is planning to release a “notebook” built with Nvidia's dual-core Tegra 2 processor clocked at 1 GHz. The company also intends to release an ultrabook packed with an Intel processor and tablets sporting Google's Android 3.2 “Honeycomb” OS.

The news arrives by way of company chairman and CEO J.T. Wang as he addressed concerns about the company dropping from the second world's largest PC manufacturer to the fourth largest during the second quarter of 2011. He said that to regain its lost market share, the company plans to adopt a new strategy to create “more value instead of pursuing volume growth.”

Wang said that the Tegra 2 notebook - which is more likely a netbook or a tablet-netbook hybrid similar to the Asus Eee Pad Transformer - will actually launch within the month. The Intel-based ultrabook is scheduled to hit the market in December. Currently there's no word on when the Honeycomb tablets will arrive.

In addition to revealing the devices, the Acer chairman stated that the company will return to profitability in Q3 2011 and should perform even better in the fourth, indicating that Acer may actually generate a profitable 2011 despite the disastrous second quarter.

Earlier this year, Acer's CEO Gianfranco Lanci stepped down from his position at the end of the first quarter. The resignation was followed by a $150 million charge against the company earnings to write-off a “high channel inventory and disputed accounts receivable in EMEA” due to “abnormalities in terms of channel inventory stored in freight forwarders' warehouses.”

Wang has reportedly declined a salary for his role as director and even waved off a 2010 bonus to help compensate for the $150 million expense. “With Acer's substantial loss in write-off, Wang deeply feels regretful of the current situation and will dedicate his efforts fully to investigating the reasons behind the loss and to improving internal management,” the company announced in June.

If Acer does indeed plan to release a Tegra 2 “laptop” during July, the company has just one week to do so. That said, we're eager to see what Acer will bring to the table next week.
source: 2DayBlog.com

HP reportedly launching 7-inch tablet

Hewlett-Packard will reportedly unveil a 7-inch tablet in August following the July 1 debut of its 9.7-inch TouchPad.

HP has ordered 400,000 to 450,000 TouchPad tablets per month from supplier Inventec, says a story in Friday's Taiwan Economic News. Inventec will supply HP with the upcoming 9.7-inch TouchPad as well as the new 7-inch tablet.

An industry insider cited by Taiwan Economic News says that HP will order around 3 million tablets from Inventec this year.

Beyond the August kickoff date, no details were revealed about the 7-inch tablet. A request to HP for comment on the prospective tablet was not immediately returned.

HP will launch its 9.7-inch TouchPad in the U.S. this coming Friday. Priced at $499.99 for the 16GB and $599.99 for the 32GB model, the tablet will be sold through a variety of retailers, including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Staples.

Running HP's WebOS and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz dual-CPU, the HP TouchPad will offer a 1024x768 display and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam, along with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Cnet

Rumor: New "iPhone 4S" Launching on T-Mobile and Sprint, Too?

Apple rumormongering: Go! A new research note from Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek suggests that Apple isn't going to be performing a significant upgrade to the connection capabilities of its new, to-be-released iPhone—namely, no 4G LTE support.

Whenever the next version of Apple's smartphone hits the market—we're already nearing the one-year anniversary of the iPhone 4's launch with no hint of a new product in sight—Misek suggests that the device will only have incremental upgrades compared to the iPhone 4's specifications. Heck, it's practically keeping the same name.

"We believe the likelihood of the iPhone 5 launch in September including LTE [Long-Term Evolution] is now remote," wrote Misek in a research note on May 13. "According to our industry checks, the device should be called iPhone 4S and include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ [EvolvedHigh-Speed Packet Access] support."

The bigger news on Apple's side is Misek's suggestion that the company will be pursuing an expanded carrier lineup for its iPhones. His "industry checks" indicate that Apple will be launching the iPhone on both Sprint and T-Mobile in time for the holidays—remember, although the latter is in the process of being purchased by AT&T, T-Mobile currently remains a separate company from the larger carrier. In other words, no iPhone… yet.

As for when the new iPhone is expected to actually hit the market—looking cosmetically similar to the iPhone 4, as indicated by current rumors—that's anyone's guess. While anonymous sources speaking to Reuters in an April 2011 article suggest that the iPhone 5 (or iPhone 4S) is expected to drop in September of this year, other rumors peg the next version of Apple's smartphone to ship just in time for the holidays.

So why new carriers, but not LTE support for the new iPhone-whatever? In actuality, Apple was allegedly planning to support full-fledged LTE in the iPhone via a Qualcomm chipset, but Misek says that chip yields just haven't been strong enough for Apple to be able bring LTE support into the picture just yet. While not explicitly stated by Misek, the iPhone 4S seems like it was Apple's "backup plan" in case a full LTE-enhanced iPhone couldn't come to pass.

PCmag