Zone Gadget

Acer predicts that the sales boost of Blu-ray drives will first be seen in notebooks rather than stand-alone players and is planning to launch BD supporting notebooks in the second quarter, according to Scott Lin, president of Acer Taiwan.

Since most homes do not yet have Full HD (1080p) ready TVs, a notebook with a BD drive and Full HD panel will have more advantages over a stand-alone player, noted Lin.

Acer expects to launch two BD notebooks in the second quarter this year, one with an 18.4-inch panel and the other with a 16-inch panel. Both support Full HD quality images. Since the cost of Full HD panels has dropped sharply compared to two years ago, the two notebooks' maximum prices will be around NT$60,000-70,000 (US$1,900-2,240), said Lin.

Acer also expects to launch large-size BD notebooks in Asia Pacific markets including Taiwan in the first half of 2008. The company has abandoned these markets for a long time since most of consumers in Asia prefer small-size product lines.