This month, Taiwanese firm Acer unveiled their new Aspire 5600u. An all-in-one PC system, it boasts top-of-the-range hardware and an aesthetically pleasing design. However, realistically, how much of a challenge can it pose to Apple; who hold a relatively unchallenged dominance over the all-in-one computer market?
The Aspire consists of, among other things, 23-inch, 35mm screen, with a resolution of 1920×1080. The machine itself comes with both a sturdy base-mount, with a recline of up to 60 degrees, and a wall-mounting kit. If we were to look at more closely, we would also find that the HDTV screen also features a 10-point touch system, and can, therefore, be used in-absence of a mouse or keyboard, should the need arise. In terms of specifications, the 5600u contains an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor, up to 8GB of RAM and an Nvidia Geforce GT630M graphics card. Optional add-ons include a 20GB Solid-State Drive, and other hard-drives of up to 1TB.
But the real question everyone seems to be asking here is “can it break-into the market?”
Acer’s last all-in-one push, the so-called ‘Z-Series’ was a very good setup, but failed to generate a huge amount of market-interest. It certainly failed to nudge Apple aside as dominant ‘all-in-one’ computer-builders. In some ways, the Z5801 surpasses the 5600u: offering 1.5TB hard drives, and a 24-inch monitor. If such a machine could not challenge the iMac, then how do Acer intend to succeed this time, with a relatively equal machine.
One possible answer is pricing. Acer have not yet announced a price for the 5600u, but the Z-Series price was around £900 to £1000, model depending. The latest model of iMac usually costs a similar amount. When challenging the market domineer, Acer’s product was right, but the price was wrong: it is difficult to ‘tempt-away’ customers from Apple to an identically-priced PC machine. I will not get into the whole ‘Mac vs PC’ debate, but it is undeniable that one of the most common arguments posed by PC users is that their computer-of-choice costs a smaller amount of money.
The all-in-one market is just not varied enough to justify such a decision. If, however, the 5600u proves a little more affordable than its predecessor, then we might just see a shift in that area. Regardless, it is pointless postulating as to the success of Acer’s latest venture when they have yet to reveal either pricing or a release-date. For now, the status-quo prevails.
