Acer remembers netbooks were supposed to be cheap, drops price on Aspire One
By Darren Murph 
posted Aug 22nd 2008 8:30AM
posted Aug 22nd 2008 8:30AM
Acer Drives Outstanding Value in the Netbook Category with Price Reductions
on its Popular Aspire one
Ideal for Students, an Acer Aspire one Ultra-Lightweight Mobile Internet
Device Featuring Windows XP is Now Available for Just $349
SAN JOSE, Calif., August 22, 2008 – Acer America, the third largest vendor
in the global PC market (source: Gartner data, 2Q 2008), today announced it
has lowered the price of the popular Aspire one ultra-lightweight mobile
Internet device in the U.S. retail channel. In a move that will provide
affordability and value just in time for back-to-school, the Aspire one
featuring Windows XP Home® will now retail for $349.
Compact and smart, the Aspire one provides continuous access to the
Internet in an easy-to-use, stylish and ultra-mobile platform. Light
enough to tote in a backpack at just 2.17 pounds, the Aspire one is
designed to be an affordable, entry-level, "first PC" solution for
students, as well as a secondary computing device for on-the-go tech savvy
enthusiasts and professionals.
The Aspire one is ideal for everyday tasks such as Web browsing, checking
email, listening to music, instant messaging, viewing photos, VOIP calls
and streaming video. Equipped with Intel® Atom™ processor, Windows XP®
Home, 1GB of RAM memory installed, 120 GB internal hard drive, and a
three-cell battery, the Aspire one AOA150-1570 is now priced at $349. The
Aspire one AOA110-1722 with Linpus™ Linux Lite is now priced at $329.
"The Aspire one is a breakthrough product that meets the connectivity needs
of both students and mobile professionals," said Kristin Markworth, senior
manager of notebook product marketing for Acer America. "By increasing the
value of our mobile Internet device lineup, Acer is opening the Aspire one
experience to a whole new base of users."
Also introduced for business and education customers, the Aspire one
AOA150-1447 offers a professional solution for those who require added
performance. Featuring a six-cell battery, 160GB internal hard drive and
Windows XP Home, the Aspire one is perfect for on-the-go business
travellers and environments which require long-lasting battery power. The
Aspire one AOA150-1447 is now available via Acer authorized resellers with
prices beginning at $399.
Pricing and Availability
The Acer Aspire one netbook is available now via Acer's authorized
resellers and at major retailers nationwide. All models come with a
one-year limited warranty.
Would have been much nicer if it's $299 :)
But still, that's a great price for a netbook.
+1 Acer...
That's the price a Netbook should be =)
P.S. Let the price war begins
Staples Canada will be going down to 279 in 3 weeks.
@MemphisNET
Oh how I long for the days when that would've meant we Americans could jump the border for a shopping spree.
@ MemphisNET:
Where did you see that ? Because I would buy one for school at that price, beats hauling around a 17" MBP all day.
u think that price is still too high?
here in australia.. the best price i can get on an aspire one is $497 with linux, 8gb ssd and 512mb ram... and i think that might be after a $99 cash back lol.
I'm waiting for close to Christmas when I can get a Windows XP netbook for that price. It'll be great for carrying around campus.
call your local Best Buy..i just picked up a 120GB XP version today. The advertised price is going on this weekends ad. I paid $499.99 retail price, and i will get the difference refunded this Sunday when the ad hits streets. BTW Advertised national price for 120GB XP version will be $349.99 just as staded!!
The price is great - But I've never seen a good review of acer products. From their customer service to the longevity of their machines - Acer is just ... cheap.
But, i guess you get what you pay for, right?
Cant wait to see the dell netbook.
Laptop Mag's Review just went up and is pretty positive, though they are forgiving of the small trackpad and buttons because of the price...
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/acer-aspire-one-windows-xp.aspx
Just bought one of these yesterday, went to buy it for £249 - PCWORLD check on the system - £199!! Snatched mine up super fast :D
Bankai!!!
the only thing that's keeping from buying this is the mousepad.
just checked amazon and xp version is still over 400
But man, IT HAS A MATTE SCREEN (from the looks of it)!
Finally, some COMMON SENSE.
That's a big drop, and the XP version has only been available for a week or so. Leaving the early adopters rather miffed.
Having just bought my One, I can give you confirmation direct from the source.
Yes, I am miffed.
Oh god! 50 bucks is a lot of money.
Many reputable retailers will refund you the difference if there is a price drop within the duration of their return period.
So, if you bought it at Circuit City last week, and it's $50 cheap now, they'll give you the $50 back. If you bought one from somewhere else, they may have a similar policy.
ASUS - are you paying attention?
MSI as well, still selling a 3-cell model for $550.
We need a linux MSI wind with 12GB SSD for $350
Oh little Dell... where aret thou and how much are ye?
Come on, bring the 6-cell version to the UK for a nicer price too!
I payed $350 for my Linux one. So youre saying for the same price I could have gotten Windows, uninstalled it and still put Ubuntu on there? Damn, I really missed out.
No, it means that you could've still get the Linux version, and spend the 20$ you saved on not getting the XP version for couple beers to help you figure out why you like buying Windows version just that you can uninstall it.
CDW.com is still showing the older, higher prices.
http://www.cdw.com/shop/search/results.aspx?key=aspire&searchscope=All&sr=1&Find+it.x=0&Find+it.y=0
And a six-cell Linux version as well, please. It's nice that the prices have been dropped across the board, but there's a hole in the range without a six-cell Linux version.
The mouse pad is not as bad as I imagined. The keys aren't even really that bad. I am going to call Microcenter after they show the price drop and get them to price match the one I just bought.
You better bring show them the press release from Acer's official site, and note the one from Engadget. Retailers are major dicks about honouring price-matches.
Circuit City still showing the inflated price.
Do want the six-cell battery flavour!!!
Meh, this so doesn't concern me, the 3-cell/xp version retails for 380€ in my little European country, this little price drop will be ignored by the local distributors. I guess we'll never ever have that amazing price that 4g EEE had ($399 translated to 299€)...
So, only a pricedrop for the american market or do we europeans (germans in particular) get a little love too?
Nobody loves the Germans.
I have my eyes on an unreleased model: 1GB RAM, 80 GB HDD, 3-cell battery, windows XP flavour at futureshop for $399 .. any chance they got a memo on this ?
Folks. Just because a manufacturer is dropping the price doesn't mean the retailer is going to immediately follow suite. The manufacturer would need to comp the retailer for the "loss of value" of the merchandise and loss of margin. I'm sure the next wave of stock that the retailers receive from Acer will have those fantastic prices.
Or, the webmaster hasn't hit the update button. You choose.
I picked one of these up a few days ago. And, yes... I weighed all the options between the wind and the eee 901.
I freaking love this little machine. It has an excellent form factor and performs smoothly. Much of my day is spent designing and programming, (and wasn't really considering "working" on the machine) but flash and photoshop are actually functional on it as well. The battery life needs improvement, but the wifi picks up perfectly and playing wow in a local bar on someone's open network is quite satisfying. If anything, picking one up for practicing starcraft is worth the ca$h..,,
I bet you meet some real cool people when you're playing WoW while bellied up to the bar!
That's good to hear, I had been wanting pick one up for Photoshop/Coding. I'm not much into Flash, but I'm glad to hear that it works. Tried any 3D modeling? (Maya, Blender, etc) Did you upgrade the RAM?
It appears to have the same specs as the Wind, just the Wind has a bigger screen, so I would imagine it would have the same performance as the Aspire One.
What good is it to drop the price on vapor-ware made with Unobtanium 2 CPU's. Engadget should back up press releases with vendors that can deliver the hardware.
Isn't it obvious why they are doing this? The Dell is suppose to come out today, and they are trying to push as many units as they can before that Atom Core 2 comes out in a couple of months. They can cash in now with back to school and have version 2 ready to go by Christmas.
no price drop here yet (europe).
btw: does anyone know when the 6cell variant will show up in europe?
waiting for the European price drop myself. Not sure if it will happen though. We always end up paying more than the folks in the US :-(
If this price drops in Europe, this will be the netbook for me.
With so many netbooks when are some site going to offer a bit of customization of them.
I know there are some feature I want but have little need of the others features included in the upgraded models.
I look forward to a dual boot (Windows XP - Linux) factory offering.
Finally someone gets it. Acer just pulled into the lead as far as I'm concerned. Here's hoping Dell follows suit.
Was playing around with one of these at MicroCenter. Seems pretty nice overall; the only thing I really had trouble with was the mousebuttons on the sides of the trackpad (my same complaint with the HP Mini-Note). Otherwise seemed like a solid machine.
Woot! I went to Microcenter to try one of these out the other day...had a really great feel to it. I've been cautiously watching the Lenovo S10 debut, but now that this has a 6 cell battery for the price I wanted, as well as a bigger HDD, I'm sold!
nice news .. but i wont buy this ..
i will pay few more and buy the cheapest thinkpad .. thats more better ..
Thanks for informing the rest of us.
Make sure your Thinkpad has Grammar Check on mkay?
Make sure you talk about it with someone that works for IBM, there is a 100% chance that they will offer their IBM Employee Discount, my Dad saved me about $2000 on my T61, only paid $1280 plus $40 for 2GB of RAM from Newegg.
I just bought the $399.00 XP unit, I was very happy. Now I feel I got kicked in the teeth as an early adopter.
Thanks, Acer
I just picked up at the $399 model (before the price drop) at Microcenter on Monday. I wish Acer had announced this sooner, but regardless, I'm returning this and ordering the new model (for the same price) as soon as it's available. It's a wonderful notebook and it completes my goal of realizing an 'ultra mobile' lifestyle (iPhone 3G + Acer One).
awsome! i'm waiting for a uk drop now! :D and a 6cell version!
Is there a link to an official Acer announcement on their site ?
I bought the Linux version Aspire One at Circuit City 2 weeks ago, so I'm hoping they will have a 30 day price guarantee. They do on TVs, but I don't know on computers. They still advertise for $379.99. Overall I'm really satisfied with the Aspire One - it's perfect for travel. I wish the charger was more like the original EEE that folds. It would be nice to get $50 back as an early buyer. It's only been a few weeks.
I agree with the previous comment on the savings taking time to trickle down to the retailers. What I wonder is where can one actually buy the 6-cell battery version? I have yet to see it "in the wild" available at any price.
I'm still skeptical about this market, for the price of two and a half of these I got a used X61. I don't mind paying a bit extra for ruggedness and a more powerful machine. For a netbook I'd still say that 300 or so would be worth it.
i agree - ive said this before - but if youre willing to get a used machine from a few years back, you can often find better specs at a better price.
Thank you for contacting Acer America. I apologize for the inconvenience that you have experienced. This email form can provide technical support only, therefore unfortunately we are unable to assist with your request or make recommendations as to whether you should return the computer. For complaints or comments regarding the pricing of our products, you will need to refer back to your reseller from where you made your purchase. I'm sorry we are unable to assist with this issue. Respectfully,Acer America Online Technical Support
Typical response! Deal with your vendor! Like it's my vendors fault that they decided to drop the price. No way to contact Acer corporate.
Just like Apple with the i-phone, Asus with the 701 batteries, they will need to step up!
Let the Price War begin!
I feel so ripped off on the Eee pc 1000H , i should of got the msi wind 6 cell or this Acer. grrr.
purchased the 6CELL version from NCIX yesterday.
sapphire blue 399 + about $25 shipping (from canada to florida) very excited to get my new toy
You did see that this one comes with the bilingual English/French keyboard when you get it from them right?
The extra keys look like they suck big time.
You realize that it has a bilingual (French-English) keyboard if ordered from Canada? It has 2 extra keys added to it that do, well, something...
Here's a link to a video that demonstrates it: http://www.ncixus.com/products/31428/LU.S050B.002/Acer/
yeah i did see that but i figured DOUBLE the battery life would be worth having a slightly funky key layout
Highly recommend the ncixus video! Compares the Acer Aspire, the Asus Eee 8.9 incher, the MSI Wind (only available in pink at the moment apparently) and the HP MiniNote. Shows boot times, keyboards, profiles, sizes, etc in some detail. Extremely well done. Required viewing for anybody researching this category.
Unfortunately it looks like you DON'T want to buy the version they're selling, since the extra keys that add the bilingual English/French accent characters make the shift and enter keys harder to reach, which is probably not the right choice for a US user...
Wow. Sure glad I picked one up right away. Slow SSD and I got screwed on the price. Thanks Acer.
lol... figures I bought a blue AAO at Circuit City for the old price 2 weeks ago....sigh...
Among all the netbooks which one is the best to buy right now.
I am looking between MSI Wind and an Acer One. I am also interested to hear more about the Dell netbook coming out.
So what do you guys say about this decision?
For me it would be the Acer. Even though they screwed me on the price. Dell was supposed to announce there's today, now they are not releasing until September. MSI is nice, so Acer or MSI. The Dell is vaporware until they pull their head out.
I was leaning towards the Acer but the 8.9" screen is a concern, compared to the 10" MSI Wind.
To ask you another couple questions:
How is the touchpad?
How is the keyboard?
How is the 9" screen?
Thanks
Touchpad is a little small, the screen is great!, keyboard is very usable unlike my eee 701. The Lenovo S10 looks very promising too. Very similar specs to the MSI 10" screen etc. but 365.00 with discount code on their website. Unfortunately it does not ship until the end of September.
BTW the screen resolution is the same as the MSI 1024 X 600 just an inch smaller on the Acer.
Jesus, early adopters always moan. Why don't they learn? Wait for a couple of months and then buy it, it's cheaper, some bugs have most likely been ironed out and normally you can read more reviews to see how people have managed with them.
Anyway, this is cool. Acer is definately the one for me now. Just hoping that maybe in U.K. we get some cool deal on it then I'm sold. Well, I was going to buy one anyway, irrelevant of price, so now, it's just even cooler!
You're right I should be happy I have one at all. I was on the waiting list for 2 weeks.
where's the best places to buy these in the UK curry.co.uk/offers/ have them for 199.99 though wondering if there are better deals than highstreet :) would love one of these :)
It will be great if the 6 cell battery should be $60 instead of $110?
Got my 120GB/512MB Linux Aspire one for $319 yesterday.
I'm in a need for a netbook, but I have no idea where to start. Anyone know a site that has current reviews that compare the models?
Laptop Magazine's website has reviews of all the current models:
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/advsearch.aspx?pcid=1624&spcid=2143
And you really should watch the video that bugbot42 linked above (scroll down a bit) which compares an Acer Aspire One, an ASUS Eee 8.9", an MSI Wind and an HP MiniNote.
http://www.ncixus.com/products/31428/LU.S050B.002/Acer/
Then again, the Dell and IBM's have yet to come out, so waiting isn't the worst thing to do...
Argh!! I'm so confused!
Ok, why is the 120GB HDD only $20 bucks more than an 8GB SSD? Am I missing something? I'd rather go with the linux one, but I'm not sure why there's such a difference in storage.
Please help!
mwave.com has already lowered their price.
Test - Sorry
Microcenter has dropped their prices too...anyone see the 6 cell on sale in the US yet?
The Aspire One seemed cool for the first 24 hours, then the wifi stopped working, wouldnot recognize nearby, open networks of any kind. Acer tech support offered, well, effectively nothing. This is not just my problem, it is common. See:
http://www.theacerguy.com/2008/08/09/wireless-problems-with-the-aspire-one/
http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=509&st=0&sk=t&sd=a