The Digital Home

A report surfaced on Monday claiming that the new Acer Aspire One Netbook featuring Android will start shipping in August. The price of the Netbook is still unknown.

The computer reportedly will have the Google mobile operating system installed but will be configured as a dual-boot system, also shipping with Microsoft's Windows XP.

In June, just a few days after Acer announced that an Android-based Netbook would hit store shelves, the company told Digitimes that deploying a dual-OS strategy was in its best interest.

"(Acer Chairman) Wang pointed out that the dual-OS strategy is much safer for Acer, since consumer acceptance of the Android platform is unclear for the time being," DigiTimes reported. "Acer will be able to promote Android as a value-added feature, similar to Asustek Computer's Express Gate, to account for any price premium."

It's an interesting decision. To hedge its bets, Acer has decided that consumers wouldn't want an Android-only Netbook. So if you're looking to buy one of these computers, you'll have two operating systems from which to choose. Which OS would you pick?

The PC business is in trouble, but that's OK!

(Credit: HP)

2009 is shaping up to be a tough year for the PC industry. According to a forecast update to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, PC shipments are expected to decline sharply over the first two quarters this year.

I consider this period, one marked with declining profit margins and plummeting sales, which would be a death knell for some industries, an opportunity for this one. It is just what PC manufacturers need to get them to jump-start their research and development divisions, to find new ways to sell computers.

Perhaps this isn't the end, but rather the beginning of a new era in the PC business, where manufacturers pay more attention to consumer desire and provide them with more of the things they actually want. I hope so, anyway. And if it comes to pass, here's what I'm looking for:

HP may need to downsize Voodoo, Alienware is a shadow of its former self, and the PC business is consolidating. I think it all sucks.

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Is it just me or was Dell on top of the world a few years ago? Not only was it pummeling just about every other PC manufacturer in the industry, its online business was buzzing and its business integration was better than ever. And then it all came crashing down.

Last year, Dell announced that it was cutting 8,800 jobs from its payroll and Thursday the company said that it has already laid off 5,550 employees in an attempt to cut costs and make the company more financially sound.

"We are not satisfied with the current state of affairs and are on a mission to fix it," Reuters quoted Dell saying. "Every area of the company is being pursued" for cost cuts.

To make matters worse, last week Dell announced that it was closing one of its desktop manufacturing facilities as part of its layoff program and indicated that it wants to reduce expenses by as much as $3 billion per year over the next three years.

And while many would say that Dell is moving in the right direction, I'm not so quick to agree. How can a company that sat atop the entire computing industry for so long become a shadow of its former self in just two years? Is it that Dell has had a string of bad luck or did Hewlett-Packard, Acer and the rest finally find a way to take the company down?

Sadly, it looks like the latter.

From bad to worse

(Credit: CNET Networks)

A new study out from DisplaySearch detailing how well (or poorly) notebook manufacturers performed over the past quarter has hit the Net and the results don't look too promising for Dell.

According to the study, the global notebook market grew by about 24 percent quarter over quarter and a whopping 42 percent year over year. Amazingly, 29 million notebook units were sold in the last quarter alone and HP--the de facto leader in computing right now--commands 21.4 percent of that total, representing 72 percent growth over the same period last year.

But perhaps most startling, Dell has not only lost ground to HP in the notebook market (its share of the market fell 0.2 percent to 13.8 percent), but Acer is hot on Dell's heels and commands 12.8 percent of the total notebook market.

It gets worse: if we were to combine the total share of all Acer properties--Acer, Packard Bell and Gateway--the company's new market share is a whopping 16.2 percent, which not only puts it into second place in the worldwide notebook market, it leaves Dell far behind the pack.

Who could have thought just a few short years ago that Dell would be in such a position? Not only is the company slipping further behind, Acer--a company that had heretofore been an also-ran--has developed into a powerhouse in this industry.

But is there anything Dell can do to turn its business around? Unfortunately, the solution may not be immediately available, and it may need to change its historically successful market strategy in order to do it. If it doesn't, look for Dell to become the industry's also-ran.

HP Pavilion dv2600

(Credit: HP)

With HP's decision to release a slew of new laptops that offer a slick design and nice specs, it had me thinking: is this the new face of the notebook market? Are notebooks becoming commodities that can be differentiated only by design?

And if all of that is true, what will happen to brand loyalty? Is it another victim of this vicious battle?

I think it is.