Acer Launches Aspire V5 Starting At Rs 34,550

Notebooks with touch, a feature that adds much value to the new Windows 8 operating system, are finally becoming cheaper. Acer's new Aspire V5, with prices starting from Rs 34,550, which is the cheapest windows 8 touch laptop available in the market. 

Till now Asus had the cheapest touch laptop in the Vivobook F202E, which costs Rs 39,990. However, this is a 11.6-inch device in comparison to the Aspire V5 which is available in 14- and 15.6-inch sizes. At the entry level, the V5 series will have Pentium Dual Core processors. There will also be models with the newer Intel Core i3 and i5 processors. At less than 20mm thin and weighing slightly over 2 kg, the elegant V5 series is 30 percent slimmer and 10 percent lighter than a traditional notebook, said a release. 

Chief Marketing Officer S Rajendran said touch technology will allow users to integrate with both the virtual and physical environment. "With consumers on the lookout for products that offer ease of use and enhanced user experience, we are confident that consumers will seamlessly adapt to touch technology in their day to day use as touch is a natural instinct to mankind. To address this emerging demand we have launched a series of notebooks on the latest Windows OS."

The devices will come with a 16:9 aspect ratio ideal for movies and games on a power-saving LED backlit screen. They will also feature Dolby Advanced Audio technology.

The Acer Aspire V5 series touch enabled devices are priced between Rs 34,550 and Rs 47,500 according to their specifications. 

Acer Iconia B1 finally makes it’s way to India for Rs.7,999

Acer’s budget Android tablet, the Iconia B1, which was showcased during CES this month, has finally made it’s way to stores in India at a price of Rs.7,999 becoming the first budget Android tablet to come from the stables of an international manufacturer in the segment, which was till now dominated by the Indian manufacturers.

The Iconia B1 was initially touted as a Google Nexus 7 rival, but considering it’s price and specifications, it sits a segment lower than the Nexus 7. The Acer Iconia B1 is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core MediaTek processor coupled 512MB DDR3 RAM. The tablet runs on Android Jelly Bean out of the box, which is a big plus, as you you won’t find it on many tablets at this price segment.

Quick Specifications of Acer Iconia B11.2GHz dual-core processor, 512MB DDR3 RAM

• -7-inch display with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution
• -8GB internal storage, micro-SD card slot
• -Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• -Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4, USB 2.0
• -front-facing VGA camera
• -2,710 mAh battery

The Acer Iconia B1 sports a 7-inch display with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution (182 ppi) and has 8GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by another 32GB using a micro-SD card. The tablets comes with all the standard connectivity features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 2.0. The camera on the Iconia B1 is a bit of a disappointment, as the device comes only with a VGA front camera and no rear camera. The tablet also houses a 2,170 mAh battery and is available via all the major retailers across India.  

Acer’s budget Android tablet, the Iconia B1 might launch at the end of this january.

Remember our report about rumors of Acer preparing a budget Android tablet to rival Google’s rumored ultra-cheap, $99 Nexus tablet? Well, if the latest report by NDTV is anything to go by, the tablet might hit shelves in India by the end of this month at a price of Rs.7,999. Though the report does not confirm any specifications, but suggests that the tablet will be running on Android Jelly Bean at launch.

Back in the day, WSJ was the first to come out with a report suggesting that Acer was working to build a $99 Android tablet, which would be pitted directly against Google’s rumored ultra-cheap Nexus 7 tablet and would sport a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1024×600 pixels. Some of the specifications of the tablet were somewhat confirmed after it’s application arrived at the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which revealed others specifications of the Iconica B1 which include a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, 8GB of internal storage along with a micr0-SD card slot for storage expansion, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi.  

If the latest report regarding the price of the upcoming Acer tablet is indeed true, it would bring a smile to faces of Indian buyers, who were disappointed to say the least with the Nexus 7′s ridiculous pricing in India, considering that the base model of the Nexus 7 retails for $199 in the US.

Though, many Indian manufacturers already offer similar or even better-specd tablets at this price point, but considering that Acer will the first global brand to foray into the budget Android tablet space in India, we can surely expect a better fit and finish on the Iconica B1 as opposed to it’s Indian competitors.

If the launch date of January is considered, it makes complete sense for Acer to showcase the Iconica B1 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which is scheduled to take place next week in Las Vegas.