Acer, the leading vendor in the notebook sector for EMEA – Europe, Middle East and Africa (source: Gartner data, 4Q 2005), today presents the new Aspire 9800, a new notebook series with a spectacular 20-inch LCD screen, delivering enough power, functionality, flexibility and presence to rival the very best desktop PCs.

Powered by Intel Centrino Mobile Technology Duo platform and featuring Acer’s exclusive Empowering Technology together with Acer Arcade entertainment suite, the Aspire 9800 is a highly-versatile system that delivers a truly extraordinary audio-visual experience, offering digital PC Television through the Integrated analogue and digital TV Tuner and cutting-edge Video and Voice over IP communication thanks to the built-in Acer Orbicam.

Immersive audio-visual experience
Equipped with the largest screen size currently available in a notebook an Acer 20.1" CrystalBrite colour TFT LCD display (WSXGA+ resolution of 1680 x 1050) featuring Acer CrystalBrite technology for maximum screen brightness in all lightning conditions and powered by the high-end NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics card with up to 256MB dedicated video memory, the Aspire 9800 guarantees an altogether immersive multimedia experience. In addition, the DVI-D* connectivity provides faster and higher-quality images for high-definition entertainment on external monitors.

For a realistic and engaging sound reproduction the Aspire 9800 integrates 3-Watt speakers and a 4-Watt subwoofer and Dolby Digital Live which allows the notebook to be hooked up via a single digital connection to a Dolby Digital-equipped audio/video receiver or digital speaker system, eliminating multiple cables and ensuring the integrity and quality of the audio signal.

All multimedia functions can be controlled with the Acer Media keys, seven mirror-coated keys with LEDs: Acer Arcade, volume up/down, previous, next, play/pause, and stop, offering convenient, one-button control over all your multimedia entertainment.

Storage-wise, a generous HDD of up to 240GB** meets the needs of multimedia file collectors. For the optical drive you can choose between the excellent slot-loading DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive or an HD-DVD drive***. In addition, for easy and speedy data transfer, the Aspire 9800 sports a comfortable 5-in-1 card reader that supports the most common card formats

Digital television
The Aspire 9800 provides a simple way to capture the interactive world of terrestrial digital television. By, integrating a hybrid TV Tuner for both analog and digital broadcasts, it lets you tune in to analog and digital TV transmissions simply by connecting a cable to the specific notebook port. Acer’s multimedia software suite, Aspire Arcade, helps users view and switch between channels with a clear and easy-to-use interface as well as selecting the best video mode with Acer CinemaVision and Acer ClearVision video technologies.

Cutting-edge Video and Voice over IP communication
On selected models, the Aspire 9800 comes bundled with a handy VoIP Bluetooth phone. When used in the PC Card slot, the Acer VoIP Bluetooth automatically recharges itself, but it can also be used as a normal cell phone connected to the Notebook through Bluetooth connections. What’s more, it can be placed on any desk or surface and used as a speaker phone, letting you communicate freely while continuing to work on your PC. For real-time face-to-face video conferencing, Acer has equipped the Aspire 9800 with the Acer OrbiCam, a 1.3 megapixel camera mounted at the top of the LCD panel.

Complete communication and empowering tools To stay connected everywhere, the Aspire 9800 comes complete with full wired and wireless connectivity options: WLAN (with Acer InviLink 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIED solution, supporting Acer SignalUp wireless technology), WPAN with built-in Bluetooth 2.0 module, LAN connection with Gigabit Ethernet cards and standard connectivity through the integrated 56K ITU V.92 modem. All notebook functions can be efficiently managed with Acer Empowering technology, an intuitive interface that gives users easy control over their notebook’s security, performance, settings and communication with a single touch of the Empowering Key

The Aspire 9800 series comes with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition preinstalled. Additional installed software includes Adobe Reader, Norton AntiVirus and CyberLink PowerDVD or CyberLink Power Producer, Acer GridVista and Acer Arcade Software Suite.

All Acer notebooks come with a standard 1 year Carry In (International travellers warranty - ITW) which can be extended to 3 years cover with the AcerAdvantage NewEdition service that also covers accidental damage to the notebook.

* Includes HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), an encryption method for copyrighted material protection
** Up to 240GB SATA HDD with 2nd HDD and Raid 0 support
*** When available