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Several reports indicate that Acer is planning to release laptops specifically targeted at the low cost market. The upcoming Aspire and Slim Gemstone Aspire are sized at 8.9-inch and 12.1-inch respectively and are expected to be released in May or June. The 12.1-inch model seems to be of particular interest to me as it has a bigger screen compared to the Asus Eee PC 900. If pricing and other features of the Slim Gemstone Aspire are the same or better then Acer will definitely offer some competition against Asus.

These new notebooks will both be sporting the new Intel Atom processor, which is also going to be implemented in Eee PC’s, which are expected to launch this June. The operating system used will be either Linux or Windows XP. Customers will also have the option to select either a standard hard drive or SSD storage. Pricing is expected to be between $300 and $450, whereas the Eee PC 900 is expected to retail for around $600.

Via [electronista]

While Samsung remains happy enough with its 5.9mm Samsung U100 cellphone, a little known device called the Modu stole the world record for the lightest cellphone in the world. It stands at 2.8 inches x 1.4 inches x 0.3 inch and weighs just 1.5 ounces. Obviously, there’s isn’t much technology you can pack in a cellphone as small as that, but the Modu isn’t a cellphone in itself anyway, and instead is only a modular cell phone. To use it, you place it inside some kind of “jacket” (a separate housing) which then increases the overall size and makes the Modu work like a typical handset.

The Modu features a small display, a mini USB port, a charger jack and a few navigational controls. It’s as small as, no, actually smaller than a credit card and yet it works just as well as most ordinary cellphones. I have to admit it’s a pretty tight phone. But I wonder, who would want one? I know I don’t.

Via [Crave]

As a huge Mac fan I actually really like to see PC manufacturers making strides away from the old grey box image of the PC and the Lluon from Korean based TG is a very attractive looking ultra slim PC.

As well as boasting a great design and an amazing 6.61 pounds, this Mac mini competitor also has some impressive power inside it:

• Measures 1.78-inches x 10.9-inches x 9.61-inches
• Built around a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo processor
• 1GB RAM, a 320GB hard drive and a 256MB GeForce 8400 GS for around $1275.00
• A $1487 version which includes a 2.00GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, a 500GB hard drive, the same 256MB GeForce 8400 GS and built in Wi-Fi

We can only hope that they release it outside of Korea sometime soon as it would make a powerful and attractive center to your home media set up.

Via [Pocket Lint]

You know what they say...slim is in.  Well, I don’t know if anybody really says that, but apparently that’s Sony Ericsson’s new motto.  According to Reuters, Sony Ericsson is ready to launch its first slim candybar phone, dubbed “Ai”.  Ai is apparently just 9.4 mm thick - which beats out the SLVR, and is similar thickness to some of Samsung’s offerings.  Other features include a 2 megapixel camera, Memory Stick Micro (M2) slot, and walkman software allowing for over-the-air downloads.  Ai will come in silver and black, and is expected to be unveiled in March 2007.  More details as they come.

Read [Reuters] Via [PhoneScoop]