The netbook is the sole bright point in computer industry with the current economic crisis worldwide. The netbook is selling like hot cakes thanks to the lower upfront cost and small dimensions for the service.

DisplaySearch has released its rankings for the netbook market and surprisingly Asus with its massive line of Eee netbooks isn’t in the top spot. The top spot in the rankings went to Acer with its Aspire One netbook. Some of its sales success is no doubt linked to the fact that it is the only netbook I have seen in Walmart locations.

If you go down to your local AT&T store to buy a new phone or mobile broadband modem you expect AT&T to subsidize the price of the device in exchange for signing away two years of mobile carrier freedom.

According to a source at Engadget, Radio Shack of all places may be the first company to offer a subsidized 3G enabled netbook. The netbook in question is the Acer Aspire One, already the best selling netbook around right now.

Acer, in conjunction with DisplayLink, announced the availability of a new USB computer LCD monitor which still supports Windows Vista’s Aero Glass interface as well as other 3D functions. Acer’s latest B223 USB LCD monitor comes with the following features.

22″ LCD display, 1,680 x 1,050 resolution, DisplayLink DL-160 network display chip, USB 2.0 connectivity, 5ms response time, 32-bit, true-color graphics. The B223’s height, rotation and swivel angles can be adjusted for your optimal viewing comfort. It’s already available in Europe, retailing for about $430.

Acer has confirmed that it will release its first Acer-branded smartphone in Q1 2009. The handset will be co-developed by Acer’s original smartphone R&D team as well as their counterparts from E-Ten, the company acquired by Acer in September. E-Ten will focus on real-time stock tracking devices while Acer will take the lead in smartphone development.

No specifications, pricing or geographical availability details have been released by the company, but Acer did confirm that the device would be Windows based. We take that to mean it will be using Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS. The first devices may be launched in Western Europe and Russia.

Computer manufacturers are gearing up for the holiday season with new products being announced all the time. One of the biggest sellers over the holidays is usually computer systems. While many want notebooks for Christmas, several manufacturers are announcing small form factor desktops for users wanting larger screens and keyboards who don’t need portability.

Yesterday eMachines announced its own new SFF systems and today Acer is announcing a new SFF of its own. The Acer system is called the Aspire X3200 and it measures 10.4-inches H x 4-inches W x 14.4-inches L. Inside the compact case is a Phenom X3 processor, Blu-ray drive, 4GB of RAM and 640GB of storage. Pricing for the system is $679.99.

I picked up an Acer Gemstone 6920 awhile back and it’s an awesome and powerful laptop. Those who are wanting to get in on the Gemstone action and haven’t yet now have four new models to look at. The high-end Aspire 8930 sports a 18.4-inch HD CineCrystal display, 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo T9400 CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA’s GeForce 9700M GT, optional Blu-ray drive, WiFi, 320GB 7,200RPM SATA drive and starts at $1,699.99.

The 6930 features a 16-inch WXGA LCD and as you might expect, less few less options for $699.99. Then there’s the 5735 with a Pentium T3200, 15.6-inch WXGA display, and 2GB of RAM for $549.99. Last but not least is the 14.1-inch 4730, which also starts at $549.99. All are available now.

Netbooks are an interesting fad that was kicked off by the Asus Eee. The little systems are small, compact, and tend to be low cost. You can end up spending as much on a netbook as you could get a full-fledged notebook for though — if you are not careful. Back in July, Acer launched its netbook computer called the Aspire One.

Acer has now announced that the price of its Aspire One netbook has been dropped just in time for back to school. The Aspire One with Windows XP Home, 1GB of RAM, 120GB HDD, and a 3-cell battery will now retail for $349.99. A system with the same features running Linpus Linux will retail for $329.

The migration form the desktop PC to the notebook PC has been very noticeable to PC makers. Notebook computers commonly outsell their desktop brethren, but that doesn’t mean there is no place for the desktop PC today.

Acer is looking to lure businesses who need small form factor computers, but don’t want or need to go to typically more expensive notebook systems with its new Veriton S461. The S461 is a small system measuring in at 4” W x 16.3” D x 13.6” high. Acer also packs the computer with features that are appealing to businesses.

The netbook category is relatively new and is already getting crowded with lots of competition. The first netbook to show up was the ASUS Eee and it has spawned a wealth of competitors looking for a piece of the low cost netbook market.

Back in June Acer unveiled its Acer Aspire One netbook and Acer has now announced that the Aspire One is available for purchase in the America. Acer says prices for the machine starts at only $379. For that amount of cash you get a 2.17 pound netbook that measures 9.8” x 6.7” x 1.14”. The CPU is an Atom N270 and it features 512MB of RAM, 8GB SSD, 8.9” LCD, webcam, 802.11 b/g and a 3 cell battery.

Acer America is out today with news of a new small form desktop designed to serve as an entertainment PC. It is known as the Acer Aspire X1200 and you’ll find it with a starting price of around $450.

The Acer Aspire X1200 is available in three pre-configured options. The PCs in general feature AMD dual-core processors, NVIDIA GeForce 8200 on-board graphics and PCI Express 2.0. The X1200s measure 10.6- x 4- x 14.4-inches, making them easier to integrate into a home entertainment setup.

I really do get the appeal of small notebooks that are really cheap. I can see having one for toting around town and sing at the coffee shop for surfing the net. I could even see using one for business if your work revolves around light data entry. To that end the Asus Eee looks pretty interesting and it’s cool to see more competition in the low cost, small notebook market.

One of the new competitors in that market is Acer and it has officially unveiled its Acer Aspire One at Computex. The little computer comes with 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and future version could come with integrated WiMAX as well. Battery life is promised to me 3 hours with standard 3-cell battery and 6 hours with the optional 6-cell battery. The LED backlit LCD is 8.9-inches and sports a 1024 x 600 resolution.

Acer recently added two new LCD display families for professionals. These are known as the Business Series (B-Series) and Value Series (V-Series) and you’ll find them pricing between around $185 and $400.

These two new Acer display line ups will range in screen size from 17- to 24-inches and make use of “Acer eColor Management, a technology which adapts the performance of the panel to different environments, lighting conditions and viewing preferences.” You get can full details of these new displays via the company press release after the jump.

Acer was a little cryptic until this afternoon regarding some new cutting edge laptops it was planning to announce. We now have some information on these - the Aspire 6920 and Aspire 8920 - and the so called “High Definition” experience Acer promises these laptops will bring.

Acer has built these laptops on the backbone of its Gemstone series of designer laptops and are known by the company as Gemstone Blue. With these new models the company has definitely thrown a lot of technology and thought into them. The Aspire 8920, for example, is described as “first to market with a 18.4-inch Full HD CineCrystal LCD panel with 1920×1080 pixel resolution, 8ms response time and native 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.”