Acer outs AZ3, AZ5, Veriton Z Series all-in-ones, starting at $650

Not wanting to be left behind by the AIO hordes, Acer has unveiled a trio of new options for your spick and span desktop. The higher-end AZ5 provides a 23-inch expanse of full HD, multi-touch glory, a minimum Core i3-2120 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 1TB HDD, all for the sum of $750. Next up is the AZ3, which saves you $100 by cutting the screen size to 21 inches, switching to an AMD dual-core A4 APU (along with a discreet Radeon HD6410) and slimming the HDD down to 500GB. Both models come with an adjustable stand, two side-mounted USB 3.0 ports (plus four USB 2.0 ports on the rear) and a built-in webcam and mic. Meanwhile, Acer's new Veriton all-in-ones target enterprise users who are prepared to sacrifice those high-def media credentials in favor of better performance and a smaller, more office-friendly footprint -- the 20-inch Z2620G, for instance, packs a Core i5-2400s quad-core processor and NVIDIA GeFore GT 520M GPU for $850. All the new models are available in densely populated areas as of right now, and you'll find more details in the PR after the break.

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Acer introduces AZ5 and AZ3 all-in-one PCs

This week Acer reveals two new all-in-one computers, the AZ5 Series with a 23-inch HD monitor and the AZ3 Series with a slightly smaller HD monitor at 21-inches, both computers featuring full touchscreen capabilities. Both series have several hardware options for processors, speakers, and storage, and contain a selection of software offered exclusively with Acer devices. You’ll notice that these AIOs look rather similar to one another – that’s because they’re meant to be part of a single release. Not that you’ll want both the 23 and the 21 inch machine, but know now that you’ll get essentially the same look either way.


Both series are made to center around the idea that the touch display is the place for the organization and exploration of sets of media like images and music as well as “browsing online recipes and viewing social networking sites,” as senior business manager of consumer desktops for Acer Irene Chan puts it. The “quick, finger-tip control” seems custom fit for the upcoming large-scale release of Windows 7, an operating system that relies heavily on the idea that it’ll be used on devices with touch-sensitive displays.
The Acer AZ5 is, again, a 23-inch multi-touch display having all-in-one desktop series that comes complete with two 2.5W built-in stereo speakers with Dolby Home Theater audio, 4GB DDR3 memory, and processor options that include no less than a Intel Core i3-2120 processor, topped off with a 1TB hard drive to store everything you hold dear in this digital world. For software this Acer machine offers clear.fi for media storage and management, this application automatically syncing will all of your other Acer devices with the same software, this including smartphones, notebooks, desktops, storage devices, and multimedia players.
The Acer AZ3 is the smaller of the two choices here at 21-inches with the same HD multitouch panel technology, this time backed up by some similar, but not the same, gear on the inside. There’s the same two 2.5W stereo speakers optimized by Dolby Home Theater audio, one 500GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive for plenty of storage of all your goodies, some utterly lovely AMD Radeon HD6410D Graphics to play all your media all night long, and a AMD Dual-Core A4-3400 Accelerated Processor (at 2.7GHz, 1MB total L2 cache) to run it all.
Each of the two models here has a 1.3-megapixel front-facing webcam plus microphone for video chat, two USB 3.0 ports on the side, and four USB 2.0 ports on the back. Both units have a multi-in-one digital media card reader, and both come with an adjustable back stand as well as 802.11b/g/n Wi-fi. Both also have a standard wireless keyboard and wireless mouse so you’re set to go right out of the box.
Both the AZ% and the AZ3 come with Windows Home Premium 64-bit, a one-year warranty, and the following prices: $749.99 for the AZ5 and $649.99 for the AZ3, both of these prices of course being MSRP – check your local retailer for the final true price.

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Lenovo C325 all-in-one PC packs multitouch

Lenovo has outed its latest all-in-one PC, the Lenovo C325, offering a 20-inch 1600 x 900 display, AMD E450 processor and multitouch support. Priced from $699, the C325 packs AMD Radeon HD 6320 graphics along with up to 8GB of DDR3 memory and up to 1TB of storage, along with a DVD burner and SDXC memory card slot.


There’s also WiFi b/g/n and both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 connectivity, along with a 6-in-1 memory card reader. A 0.3-megapixel webcam lives above the display, and there’s SRS stereo sound and even an audio input allowing you to pipe your MP3 player through the C325′s speakers. Other ports include HDMI for hooking up a second display or HDTV, and Lenovo offer an optional TV tuner too.
The C325′s metal stand can be tilted from -5 degrees to 25 degrees, and if you’re planning on putting the all-in-one in your childrens’ room then you might be pleased to know that Lenovo has loaded a viewing distance warning app. That uses the webcam to track how close you are to the screen and, as well as dynamically adjusting brightness, alerts you if you’re too close for comfort.
Lenovo will also offer a smaller version, the C225, with multitouch as an option. The C325 should be on sale imminently, priced from $699.

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Asus reveals the wafer-thin Zenbook UX21 and UX31

Asus’ newly revealed Zenbook is a staggering 3mm thick at its narrowest point and it’s no bubble-butt at the rear either, where it still only measures in at an impressive 9mm.
Compare this with the MacBook Air's 3mm-17mm dimensions and you begin to get an idea of just how skinny the Zenbook really is.
Both the 11in UX21 and 13in UX31 models will be available at launch with a choice of Intel i5 and i7 processors, up to 256GB of SSD storage and Bang & Olufsen designed speakers to boot.
Display-wise, the 11in UX21 will have a 1366x768 screen resolution while the slightly larger 13in UX31 will pack a 1600x900 resolution display.
Connectivity enthusiasts will appreciate the SD card reader on the 13in model, while both offerings will sport microHDMI, miniVGA and USB 3.0 ports.
No word on pricing or release details at the moment, but we cant wait to get our hands on this shiny slither of a notebook and see how it fairs in the size zero Ultrabook wars.

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Touch Revolution TRū 22 Projected Capacitive Multitouch Monitor

Touch Revolution announced the new 21.5-inch TRū 22 Projected Capacitive Multitouch Monitor that features four-finger touch capability. The new Tru monitor features 1920x1080p Full HD resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 270 nits of brightness and 5ms response time.
The new TRū 22 features an attractive bezel-free design that is easy to maintain and use in environments ranging from kiosks and digital signage to factory floors and health care. It comes with a sturdy, minimalist matte black stand and is also available with open frame. The monitor offers D-sub and DVI-D inputs.
The TRū 22 Projected Capacitive Multitouch Monitor is priced at $99. Touch Revolution also release the 15-inch TRū 15 and 19-inch TRū 19 multitouch monitors.

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