HP

With Acer grabbing market share from Hewlett-Packard (HP) in the notebook market in the third quarter this year, HP has decided it will offer its 13-inch notebook models below US$800 in the first half of 2009 in order to regain its position in the market, according to market sources.

HP was not available for comment at the time of publishing.

The company recently released its first 13-inch notebook, which is reportedly being marketed in the US for US$999. HP is trying make the 13-inch notebook segment the mainstream in 2009 and is pushing sales of a 16:9 aspect ratio for the segment, the market sources noted.

According to previous reports, the cost of 13-inch 16:9 aspect ratio panels will be lower than that for 14.0-inch panels because the 13-inch panels can be produced more economically at 5G TFT LCD plants.

Acer, for its parts, continues to aggressively market its netbook products, with the company currently in contact with over 20 telecommunication service providers to bundles its devices, the market sources added.