ACER BETS ON ULTRABOOKS TO TACKLE APPLE

Acer will cut its product line by 66% in 2012 and focus on simplifying its portfolio, company chairman JT Wang recently said according to reports. Wang expects the narrowed focus to be fine-tuned over the next two to three years, DigiTimes reports, but the sharper vision will have an immediate impact on sales — Acer thinks revenue will climb 10% in 2012 as Acer attacks the ultrabook market while shifting away from low-margin netbooks. The Acer boss also sees another upside to the advent of ultrabooks: the rise of slim Windows and Intel-powered notebook computers will weaken Apple’s growth over the next two years. As ultrabook prices begin to fall to the $699-range in 2012, their rapid adoption will slow sales of more expensive Mac laptops.

GAMESTOP STARTS SELLING ANDROID TABLETS PRE-LOADED WITH 7 GAMES

GameStop recently began carrying several Android Honeycomb tablets pre-loaded with seven free games. It was originally rumored that the game retailer would begin selling its own custom Honeycomb tablet, although it appears that is no longer the case. GameStop currently lists the Acer Iconia, Acer Iconia Tab A500, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, Motorola XOOM, ViewSonic VPAD7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in stock with prices starting at $300. The seven free games include Dead Space, Madden NFL, Monster Madness, Sonic CD, Re-Load, Riptide GP and Cordy. GameStop is also bundling a special tablet-friendly own-brand Bluetooth controller with its slates for an additional $39. The devices are currently only available in 200 of GameStop’s stores, although you can also purchase one directly from the company’s website.

SKYPE INSTALLING CRAPWARE ALONG WITH PROGRAM

It seems that Skype is automatically installing crapware called EasyBits Go without informing or asking users for installation permission.

Easybit produces a number of game apps and is supported by many major brands including HP, Dell, Acer and Skype among others. When installing Skype, the installation also installs the Easybit Go application without the users permission or any notification.

Skype responded to the accusations:

It has come to our attention that concerns have been expressed from Skype users over the update delivered to Skype Extras for Windows by Easybits software.

The software is provided by our partner EasyBits, and is part of the Skype Extras Manager. The Extras Manager has been included in Windows releases of our software since 2006. This latest update from EasyBits included elements of their desktop games organizer in error, but it neither installs nor un-installs correctly. This update has been disabled while we work with them to correct the problems and user experience.

Skype works closely with its partners to ensure that our users receive the best possible Skype experience and is working with EasyBits to ensure this issue does not happen again.

Users are reporting it is a bit of a issue removing the offending software. To remove the software:

• Disable and remove 3rd party access to the easybitgo.exe file in Skype via Options > Advanced > Advanced Settings > Manage other programs’ access to Skype
• Remove the Easybits Go program via the Install/Uninstall panel under your system’s control panel
• Exit Skype and make sure the Skype.exe is not running in the list of running processes (via Task Manager). Also temporarily disable Skype from starting automatically when Windows starts.
• Then restart your computer since the program will still be is use by the system.
• Once restarted, go to [Drive Letter]:\ProgramData or [Drive Letter]:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data and permanently delete theEasybits GO folder.
• Remove whatever shortcuts it may have placed in the start menu and desktop.
• If you are confident enough to dig around in your registry, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software and delete the entire EasyBits folder (thanks Christopher)
• Go to the Windows\Prefetch directory and look for the file EASYBITSGO.EXE-364DAFD6.pf and delete it. Also do a search for ezPMUtils.dll and delete them all.
• If you are on Windows 7, delete the go folder in this directory - Users > [YOUR USERNAME] >AppData > Roaming (thanks Lesa)

WINDOWS PHONE 7.1, 'MANGO', COMING THIS FALL

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled its forthcoming major update to its Windows Phone platform — Windows Phone 7.1 “Mango.” We gave you live coverage of the event as well a hands-on look at the update, and now that the dust has cleared we can finally sit down and collect ourselves. In short, Mango looks awesome. We’ve seen plenty of promise in the Windows Phone platform right from the start, but we also thought Microsoft rushed the OS to market — understandably — and a lot of key features and functionality were missing as a result. Mango goes a very, very long way in bringing the emerging platform up to date, and Microsoft has named HTC, LG, Samsung, Dell, Acer, Fujitsu Limited, ZTE Corporation and of course Nokia as partners moving forward. Windows Phone 7.1 will be the launch platform for upcoming Windows Phones from Nokia, by the way, and Microsoft confirmed that Nokia has already built devices running Windows Phone 7.1 that are currently being tested in its labs. Mango will add more robust multitasking support, messaging threads, deeper social integration, a unified email inbox, voice-to-text and text-to-voice support, and about 500 other enhancements to the Windows Phone platform when it launches this fall.

ACER CHANGES LOGO

Over in Acer HQ, it's out with the old and in with the new. Having bid ciao to former CEO Gianfranco Lanci, the Taiwanese company is now slapping a fresh coat of paint and a softer typeface upon its corporate identity. The new Acer green is lighter and brighter and the more rounded new shape looks a lot safer for kids to play around with, should the occasion ever arise. We doubt this will make a big difference in the company's push to be "more like Apple," but hey, at least we now have a visual marker to distinguish the products that came before this shift in strategy from those that come after.

ACER CEO RESIGNS

It appears as though Acer founder Stan Shih will get his wish, as news of CEO Gianfranco Lanci’s resignation could mark the start of a much needed overhaul. Shih, who retired from the company in 2004, said on Tuesday that Acer is in need of an overhaul and a shift in focus from being a leader in the PC market to increasing profit margins.

On Thursday, Acer announced that Lanci is resigning effective immediately, and company chairman J. T. Wang will step in as interim CEO until the company finds a suitable replacement. “The personal computer remains the core of our business,” said Wang in a statement. “We have built up a strong foundation and will continue to expand within, especially in the commercial PC segment. In addition, we are stepping into the new mobile device market, where we will invest cautiously and aim to become one of the leading players.” Wang continued, “In this new ICT industry, Acer needs a period of time for adjustment. With the spirit of entrepreneurship, we will face new challenges and look to the future with confidence.”

US PC SALES DOWN, TABLET SALES UP

The last time we got an IDC report on US PC sales it showed generally rosy figures, with everyone other than Dell growing and Apple making a huge jump. This time we have numbers from both IDC and Gartner, and while they don't agree on everything, it's clear things are rather less positive. Overall growth in this quarter is negative (6.6 percent decline for Gartner, 4.8 for IDC) and Apple is now in position number five, dropping from number three, with the other top four comprised of HP, Dell, Toshiba, and Acer -- though Toshiba and Acer swap places as you move from IDC to Gartner. Both reports cite tablet sales (i.e. the iPad) as being at least partly responsible for the decline in traditional computer sales, a trend that's predicted to continue in 2011.

RUMOR: GOOGLE'S HONEYCOMB ANDROID TABLET SLATED FOR MARCH

According to DigiTimes from a spontaneous remark about MSI preparing to sell its Tegra-2 based tablets in April or May "after Google releases Android 3.0 in March." Of course, a March release seems almost definite what with Acer hoping to ship its tablets with Honeycomb in April as well. [DigiTimes]

ACER UNVEILS 3D LAPTOP

Wondering when computer makers would follow the lead of television manufacturers and get around to making an affordable 3D computer? Acer has just announced just such a laptop, the Acer AS5745DG-A54E/L (great name Acer, everyone will remember that one....NOT!)

The 3D notebook will feature a 15.6-inch screen, an NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M GPU with NVIDIA’s 3D VISION at 120Hz, a 2.53GHz Intel Core i5-460M processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, HDMI, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi b/g/n and a 1.3-megapixel webcam. It also ships with 3D VISION glasses, of course. Pricing hasn’t yet been announced, though Acer did say the AS5745DG-A54E/L will be available in Japan on December 3rd for “less than” 100,000 yen, which is roughly $1,200 US. Acer has not yet addressed availability outside of Japan. [BGR]

RUMOR: GOOGLE BRANDED CHROME OS NOTEBOOK LAUNCHING SOON

DigiTimes, the Taiwanese rumor rag, has cited sources claiming Google will be releasing a self-branded notebook computer running their Chrome OS operating system at the end of the month.  Supposedly, Google will be going the same way as they did with the Nexus One smartphone and will not be selling them via "normal" retail channels.  The notebook will be manufactured by Inventec and is expected to ship a very low 60,000 - 70,000 units.

Acer and HP are rumored to be launching their Chrome OS tablets in early December, while ASUS is holding out to gauge market reaction. [Engadget]

APPLE BREAKS 10% OF US MARKET

Apple continues go gain ground in the latest PC market share report by Gartner and IDC.  Apple's 3Q 2010 standings were at 10.5%, this is a 1.5% increase over 3Q 2009.  HP took the number one spot from Dell, both sliding a bit from their 3Q 2009 numbers.

Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa attributed the drop for Dell and Acer to a softening consumer market. "The third quarter historically is a strong consumer quarter, led by back-to-school sales," Kitagawa said in a statement. "Consumer mobile PC demand, driven by low-priced notebooks, including mini-notebooks, slowed after very strong growth the past two years." [Ars Technica]

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