The new machine will start shipping this month and is lightweight enough to be toted around the house according to PB. The machine has second-generation Core processors from Intel. It will come in versions with NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel graphics. There is a 21.5-inch screen version and a 23-inch screen version of the AIO.

The features are the same aside from the screen size. Both displays have a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Audio is 5.1 capable using Creative THX TruStudio Pc sound and the machine has two 2.5W stereo speakers. It has four USB 2.0 ports, and two USB 3.0 ports. The 21.5-inch version will sell for £599 with the 23-inch version for £699.

There’s also an HDMI port, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD card slot. It will be available in “cherry red” and “pearl white” when it lands in Europe come June 2011.

If it’s all looking and sounding familiar, there’s a good reason. Acer also offers the Iconia Tab A500, its own Honeycomb slate which we played with at MWC 2011 a couple of months back. From a casual glance it seems that both slates at the same model, only Packard Bell has gone a whole lot glossier with its casing.

[via Android Community]

According to the FCC listing, the notebook will be branded not only as a Gateway and an Acer but – as some of the photos show – as a Packard Bell.  The company’s various brands are sold in different regions, so it’s unlikely that all three will appear on the same shelves at the same time.

Ports include HDMI, VGA, three USB 2.0, audio in/out and power, and the tablet is believed to boast up to 8hrs of battery life.  A large port on the bottom gives easy access [pdf link] to the hard-drive, RAM slots and wireless card; no word on when they’ll go on sale.

[via New Netbook Reviews]

Hardware specs for the special edition aren’t confirmed, but we’re assuming it has the same sort of components as the dot m/u netbook.  That packs an 11.6-inch display, 1.3GHz Celeron M processor, 3GB of RAM and a 250GB hard-drive, along with GMA 4500MHD graphics, WiFi b/g/n and gigabit ethernet.

Also unknown is pricing and specific availability, but we’re guessing it’ll come in a little more expensive than the roughly £399 ($650) dot m/u and arrive sometime in the new year.  Expect the usual bevy of wallpapers by artist Aldo Druids.

[via Netbook Italia]

There’s also discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics with an HDMI output, and the whole thing weighs a slightly tubby 1.8kg with up to 8hrs battery life promised.  The Packard Bell Butterfly S FC will land in Europe over the next couple of days, priced at around €650 ($923).

Other specs include an Intel Ultra Low Voltage processor, a multitouch trackpad and ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 graphics. Optional features include 3G and a choice between a standard hard drive or a solid-state drive.

With eight-hours of battery life, this notebook is set to be quite a useful little portable. We don’t know when it will be released just yet or how much it will cost, but we do know Europe will likely be the only market for the Packard Bell EasyNote Butterfly.

[via Tech Gadgets]

“The DOT is going end of life and will be replaced by new model” Packard Bell spokesperson

Speaking to Pocket-lint, the spokesperson also indicated that there will soon be “some changes made to the brand”; it’s unclear whether this refers to the Packard Bell brand as a whole, or just the company’s netbook efforts.  The original “dot” was based on the Acer Aspire One, with that model’s 8.9-inch 1024 x 600 display, Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor and a 160GB hard-drive.

It’s possible that Packard Bell have decided that the market has moved on from those specifications, and are looking to bypass the “dot” and release a more current netbook.  The “dot” was planned to hit the budget £299 ($414) price-point in the UK.

Graphics are courtesy of NVIDIA’s GeForce 9800 GX2 video card, which gives you a choice of HDMI or DVI outputs, plus there’s a Blu-ray drive for those moments when you’d rather eat popcorn than shoot people.  The three 120mm cooling fans are apparently silent, and there’s plenty of space in the bulging case to fit more drives; you also get 7.1 HD audio and a boggling 21-in-1 card reader.

Basic entry to the iPower X2.0 club starts at £999 ($1,486, but we’re talking about rip-off Britain prices here, remember) but the top-end monster described above will come in at an unspecified figure far higher than that.  UK gamers can keep an eye out for it hitting stores come January 2009, though entry-level models should be on shelves by the end of this month.

[via electricpig]

Arguably the biggest news of the week, however, has been T-Mobile’s G1 – the first Android-based handset to be officially announced.  Our sister-site AndroidCommunity.com ran a Live Blog of the whole event (and gave away a G1 to one lucky forum member), and we’ve got the photo galleries and hands-on video to show for it.

In components, Intel started shipping the dual-core Atom 330 CPU and Toshiba announced a 256GB SSD that’s just 3mm thick.   Hitachi took the wraps off a prototype display 58-percent thinner than their existing range, and SanDisk showed new 16GB microSDHC and Memory Stick Micro cards (the former of which should please would-be G1 owners who were getting annoyed by taunts of “the iPhone 3G can hold more media”).

Speaking of the iPhone 3G, Apple partially gave in to requests for online ordering with a supposed queue-busting system that allows you to buy your cellphone, and fill in the accompanying paperwork, online.  Then all you need do is queue up in the nearest Apple store to collect it.  Far more interesting are the latest round of Apple MacBook rumors; what is “the brick” and will we find out on October 14th?

Personally, a new MacBook might be nice but I’m feeling a lot more lustful toward Sony’s new VAIO TT ultraportables.  With Blu-ray, a 256GB RAID array and 3G WWAN in an 11.1-inch package, I know what I’ll be asking Santa for this year.

The week also saw Sling Media’s Slingbox PRO-HD hit shelves and reviewers (not literally, of course, as that would hurt), leaving good impressions if not some frustration that most broadband upstream speeds simply aren’t good enough to funnel high-definition content through smoothly.  Here at SlashGear, we also took a look at the Motorola Z9 on AT&T; it might look like a mundane slider, but with 3G, GPS and on-device streaming media, it has the guts to match the appearance.  Check out the review here.

There’s also a built-in webcam, 6-cell battery, the typical clutch of three USB 2.0, one VGA, microphone and headphone ports, and a 5-in-1 multicard reader.  In fact it looks very similar to the Acer Aspire One, unsurprisingly considering Acer owns a 75-percent chunk of Packard Bell.

Available in Europe come November, the dot will be priced at around €399 ($584) with Windows XP Home.  A 3G module is apparently on the cards too, but no pricing details have been given.

[via Eeepc.net]

The RS65 uses an Intel Centrino 2 processor, and includes a dedicated video card that can be turned off if necessary to save battery. It has both DVI and HDMI outputs and a slot-load optical drive. Curiously, the circular touchpad has a light-up ring around it, and Packard Bell have thrown plenty of chrome and color accents over the chassis.

The SL81, meanwhile, uses AMD’s recently announced Puma platform, including a Radeon graphics card with PowerXpress Hybrid CrossfireX that, like in the RS65, can be switched off to save power. A 17-inch screen and digital TV tuner share space with eSATA, Firewire and DVI ports, together with dual hard-drives and a subwoofer. The specs are pretty much shared by the 15.4-inch ML series.

On the MT and ST (15.4 and 17-inches respectively), Packard Bell are back to Intel with the new Centrino 2 Montevina platform. Switchable graphics are again in-vogue, and the company claim a 20-percent performance increase when flipping to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 with dedicated 512MB memory from the integrated Intel GMA X4500 chipset GM45. Both have HDMI outputs and rather embellished casings.

Finally, the EasyNote TN65 is aimed at younger or first-time users. It has a 15.6-inch widescreen display and uses the Intel Centrino 2 platform. Like all the new notebooks, Packard Bell have fitted the TN65 with a dedicated switch that disables the touchpad for when you’re typing and/or using an external mouse.

It’s unclear which notebooks will make it out of Europe and what the pricing will be.

[via Notebook Italia]

All of this adds up to some great news for fans and investors of Acer. All of these companies that were mediocre at best before they were bought by Acer and then Acer comes along and whips them into shape while all along upping their own offerings.

I can’t wait to see what they come up with now that they have all of these new acquisitions. Even Eten can chime in, I’m sure, on some of the new hardware and software development, the hardware Acer is announcing today is building up to be pretty amazing.