The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has named Acer South Africa as the new official Information Technology Partner of the Springboks in a 2 year deal.

Under the terms of the agreement, Acer South Africa will provide the latest technology to Springbok coaches, players and administrators that will help them to keep in touch with the rugby-watching public during matches in South Africa and abroad.

In exchange, Acer will be associated with the national rugby team as its sole exclusive information technology partner for the duration of the contract.

The value of the contract has not been disclosed.

Says Graham Braum, country manager, Africa and Levant at Acer, “Acer South Africa has always been an enthusiastic supporter of South Africa’s national sports teams, so we are really excited to be getting involved with the Springboks as the technology sponsor, especially in the year of the Rugby World Cup.

“Acer strongly believes in the ability of sports to empower, to energise and inspire people to be the best they can be and break the barriers they face.

We see these values reflected in our national rugby team, which always does the nation proud when it represents us on and off the field in international matches and tournaments.”

On the international front, Acer is associated with prestigious sports events such as the Olympics, and with global brands like Ferrari and Ducati. The partnership with the Springboks is the company’s largest and most significant sporting sponsorship in South Africa to date.

”We’re pleased to welcome Acer to the Springbok family,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of the South African Rugby Union (SARU). “Technology is a fundamental part of any business nowadays and having an outstanding partner such as Acer is critical. We look forward to a successful partnership.”

“We believe that this partnership is an ideal opportunity to showcase how our technology empowers people and enriches their lives, helping them to be more productive, connected and efficient,” says Braum.

“It is an ideal way to showcase our brand to many new consumers as well as to consolidate it with people who already know and use Acer’s technology every day of their lives.”

Acer fields more than 25.000 devices and 350 technical resources

Acer and the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) are pleased to announce the signing of the Computing Equipment supply agreement which details the delivery of the core computing equipment infrastructure used to support the Games in 2012.

Acer and LOCOG will work to deliver this critical computing equipment infrastructure at an impressive scale:

• 11,000 desktops

• 10,500 monitors

• 1,500 laptops

• 1,500 touch-screens

• 900 servers

• 5 SANs (w/ 72 TB physical capacity)

• Multiple Accessories (notebook bags, keyboards, mice, tape libraries, memories)

Alongside the delivery of mission critical computing equipment, Acer is providing the team with over 350 highly skilled technical resources, working to ensure that equipment is deployed and running flawlessly at every one of LOCOG’s venues.

Walter Deppeler, Acer EMEA President and Chief Marketing Officer, explains “Making an important contribution to the smooth and efficient running of the London 2012 Olympic Games is a very exciting task for Acer as we continue to serve more and more business customers. We want to prove that as our equipment and engineers can support the biggest sporting event in the world and satisfy the diverse needs of our Olympic customers, there is no doubt that we can also support businesses of any size.”

Gerry Pennell, Chief Information Officer, LOCOG states that “In a highly pressurized project with an immovable deadline, we rely not only on our equipment to work flawlessly, we also rely on the service and expertise delivered by our partners. Acer’s role is crucial in ensuring that the computing equipment infrastructure supporting the Games works the first time, and every time.”

Sensational multimedia experiences

Eye-catching design, sleek style and all you need to enjoy an amazing entertainment experience on the go, including longer battery life. This is the new Aspire One 722 in a nutshell.

The Aspire One 722 was designed from scratch to skillfully combine a tasteful and stylish look with terrific performance enabling users enjoy a sensational visual experience for superb multimedia – movies, games, photos, videos – wherever they go. Equipped with AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), this netbook delivers a state-of-the-art user experience and amazing HD visuals anytime, anywhere.

With AMD APU Fusion technology, combining AMD C-50 processor and AMD Radeon™ HD 6250 graphics, supporting the latest graphic standards, real time image processing and edge sharpening, the Aspire One 722 accomplishes any task in a breeze. Now you can experience full high-definition video over the web, up to 3 times faster online video streaming and enjoy HD movies.

What’s more, the Aspire One 722 not only is ready to make the most of web browsing and to take advantage of today’s more visual digital universe, but it can efficiently perform everyday tasks, such as emailing, chatting, photo viewing, document editing and delivers multitasking capabilities, even with demanding applications. Support for fast DDR3 memory further helps tackling even more demanding tasks.

The Aspire One 722 definitely stands out and not only for performance. Available in two colour options, Aquamarine, Burgundy Red and Diamond Black, it flaunts a gorgeous glossy, glittery cover with a smoothly textured water wave design. The soft matte finish of the palm-rest matches the colour of the cover, for a more pleasant look, and prevents fingerprints and palm smudges. Thin (exactly 1 inch) and compact (only 1.35 kg with 6 cell battery) it easily fits into any handbag or backpack while providing a comfortable viewing thanks to the 11.6” screen.

Typing away on the full-size Acer FineTip keyboard is simply a pleasure and will make more enjoyable being productive on the go. Plus it is complemented by the multi-gesture touchpad, perfect for easy navigation without the need of a mouse: scrolling documents, rotating images, zooming and browsing, all with fingertip convenience.

The new netbook comes with a 29.5 cm (11.6”) high-brightness Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit display, with either HD resolution, and 16:9 aspect ratio making it ideal for both entertainment and productivity. And, to provide a seamless experience, it is equipped with an HDMI port to easily connect to HDTVs, widescreen monitors or video-projectors and share Hi-Def video content on a big screen at a larger 1080p resolution.

Multiple connection options, including Wi-Fi, LAN and optional 3G module or Bluetooth®, maximise your mobile experience and keep you in touch with all you care about. And, to chat face-to-face, capture photos or video-conference there is the Acer Crystal Eye webcam with Acer Video Conference Manager to enhance image quality and allow for photo, document and screen sharing on the spot!

The Aspire One 722 adopts eco-friendly solutions throughout all steps of the product life cycle: manufacturing, packaging and recycling. Compliancy with Energy Star® v5.0 standard as well as RoHS and WEEE EU directives is a guarantee of energy efficiency and proper use and disposal of hazardous substances. Having a LED backlit panel means the netbook is mercury free and ensures 22.2% power savings compared with standard netbook displays.

Acer’s multi-brand strategy is paying off, with enthusiastic adoption of its eMachines brand among consumers and resellers right across the world. The eMachines product range, one of the world’s fastest-growing PC brands, was acquired by Acer Group in October 2007. The product range is marketed under its own brand in Africa and the rest of the world, in line with the Acer Group’s decision to adopt a multi-brand strategy.

eMachines products are officially sold and supported in South Africa, where they have received a warm reception from the market. Acer plans to expand coverage of the eMachines brand in the rest of Africa over time, but the products are already available in some countries from certain resellers.

Says Paul Fitchet sales manager at Acer Africa: “The eMachines product range is positioned as a full-featured, reliable, value range of notebooks, desktops and LCD monitors. The eMachines range has enjoyed enormous success in the US, South Africa and other parts of the world, because many consumers today are looking for practical yet affordable products in many segments of the market.”

Fitchet says that Acer Group implemented a multi-brand strategy after acquiring the Packard-Bell, Gateway and eMachines brands to ensure that each brand has a personality and product range suited to the needs of its unique customer base. The Acer brand has entrenched itself as the brand of choice for small business users, consumers who want the latest technologies and corporate users that need powerful and reliable solutions for their workforces.

By contrast, eMachines is positioned in the budget and value segment of the market place with highly affordable pricing. It is aimed at the pragmatic end-user that makes computer purchasing decisions based on convenience, reliability and affordability. The eMachines product range has sold in excess of five million units and is a well-established brand across the world.

Fitchet notes that although eMachines has its own brand identity, it is backed by Acer Africa’s extensive support infrastructure. It carries a warranty supported by Acer Group Services and can be serviced by in-country Acer Group service centres.

Acer South Africa has released the new Aspire 5741G notebook, designed for busy people who need an affordable yet powerful computer for use at home, in the office and on the road.

Powered by a next-generation Intel Core i3-330M or i3-350M processor, the Aspire 5741G offers superb performance for all business and personal applications. With 4GB of DDR3 RAM, this machine is geared up for efficient multitasking.

A dedicated ATI Radeon HD5470 graphics card offers incredible visual performance for applications such as high-definition (HD) video and games. Full DirectX 11 support enables incredible gaming and stunning 3D visual effects with realistic lighting and lifelike imagery.

A 500GB hard disk drive provides generous storage for work and multimedia files. The Aspire 5741G features a full range of connectivity options, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Acer Video Conference, featuring the Acer Crystal Eye webcam, ensures quality video chats.

The 15.6″ HD CineCrystal LED backlit panel offers breathtaking visuals in HD for productive on-the-go multitasking and engaging entertainment. The Aspire 5741G’s widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio offers a large viewing area for all sorts of applications as well as cinematic media experiences.

A standard HDMI port connects to TVs and projectors in full HD for awesome big-screen entertainment. The notebook also features a Dolby-optimised surround sound system with two built-in stereo speakers.

The smart design of the Aspire 5741 offers a rugged yet stylish notebook. Available in black, the unique mesh-patterned exterior not only looks great, but also protects against smudges and scratches. Also featured is a full-size Acer FineTip keyboard with numeric keypad and large keys for comfortable typing, along with a multi-gesture touchpad that lets you easily scroll, pinch, rotate and flip through web pages, files and images.

 Says John Geypen, product manager at Acer South Africa: “Providing the perfect balance of performance, size and boundary-free wireless capability, this powerful, stylish and practical Aspire notebook is the right tool for efficient multitasking, smooth communication and immersive entertainment at home or on the move.”

Young people and sport: a natural and valuable relationship that Acer, TOP Partner of the Olympic Movement in the computer equipment product category, will celebrate by taking part at the first-ever Youth Olympic Games that will be held in Singapore from 14th to 26th of August 2010.

Balancing sport, culture and education, the inaugural edition of the Youth Olympic Games will inspire young people all over the world to embrace the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.

Acer strongly believes in values that Sport promotes, especially in the constant effort towards excellence as a result of passion and commitment. After having successfully partnered with the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in February 2010,  Acer will be now on the side of the 3.600 young athletes aged between 14 and 18 years that are going to compete in 26 sporting disciplines. Its deep commitment involves providing the computing equipment needed to build the core PC infrastructure and contributing to the CEP – Culture and Education Programme.

More than 2.000 PCs will be deployed in all competition venues and in the Digital Media Center (DMC) to help ensure that the Games can go live.

Acer also supports the International Olympic Committee programmes such as the Young Ambassadors and Young Reporters initiatives that will play an important role in the Youth Olympic Games Culture and Education Programme.

Thirty Young Ambassadors, aged between 18 and 28 and selected from the five continents, actively promote the YOG within their countries and communities. They also encourage athletes to participate in the cultural and educational activities that will be part of the Games.

The Young Reporters are students of journalism and young people aged between 18 and 24 years that will benefit from training by highly qualified media professionals.

Each of them received an Acer Aspire 1810T Special Edition for the Olympic Games, a notebook with a classy silver brushed metal finish and diamond cut Olympic logo that helps them to fulfill their mission.

Moreover, Acer is supplying the USB keys that IOC donates to all young athletes. The key includes exciting video films and a lot of useful information to encourage them to participate in the CEP.

At the heart of the Youth Olympic Village, in the Digital Media Center (DMC), Acer computers will make sure that young athletes enjoy educational and cultural multimedia programs and always stay connected with their families, friends and the whole world.  

“As sport overcomes barriers by acknowledging the value of difference and the strength of common objectives, Acer moves in the same direction – states Gianfranco Lanci, President and CEO, Acer Inc. – by facilitating communication among different populations through easy-to-use technological solutions shaped around real people and real needs“. 

Acer South Africa has announced the release of the 15.6″ Aspire 5334, an affordable notebook that is equally good at productivity tasks and multimedia entertainment.

Powered by one of the latest Intel Celeron Dual Core processors, built on the Mobile Intel GL40 Express Chipset, and boasting 2 GB of DDR2 667 MHz memory, this notebook is an essential partner for a mobile lifestyle on the road and an entertainment hub and excellent multitasker at home .

With a 320 GB hard drive, the Aspire 5334 allows users to download and store a wealth of content. This data can be easily shared using a multi-in-one card reader.

The Aspire 5334 also shines as a multimedia notebook, thanks to the HD screen that brings photos and movies to vivid life. The Mobile Intel GL40 Express Chipset with integrated 3D graphics features an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M  and supports Microsoft DirectX 10, providing great performance for video and 3D graphics.

The notebook is all about connectivity – it makes it easy for users to interact face to face with their favourite people wherever they go. They can connect to any wireless hotspot via built-in Wi-Fi or go the wired route using Fast Ethernet, and then use the Acer Crystal Eye webcam for video chats for a fun, personal way to stay in touch.

The full-size keyboard features large keys for enhanced typing, while media keys give users total control over their digital entertainment. A touchpad lock prevents accidental cursor movement, and a WLAN key instantly connects to available Wi-Fi hotspots.

Says John Geypen, product manager at Acer South Africa: “The Acer Aspire 5334 is an affordable notebook for anyone who needs a machine that offers great media performance, multitasking and easy connectivity on the road. With its combination of elegant design and the latest components, the Aspire 5334 is a versatile notebook for people with busy lives.”

Beijing, 27^th May 2010 – The best part of Acer clear.fi solution is that it can grow and change accordingly to your needs. Using the devices of the Revo family as building blocks you can add any of them and create the environment that best meet your own desires and requirements. The Acer Revo family includes Acer Revo multimedia center, Acer RevoView media player and Acer RevoCenter, a home storage appliance.

Acer Revo is an all-in-one multimedia center that gives the ultimate personal theater experience in your living room. Slim and elegant, it is graced by a contemporary design and finish with the added convenience of the innovative wireless remote control. The RevoPad allows effortless media control and seamless navigation through a double functionality: a touch-sensitive backlit QWERY keyboard, that turns into a multi-gesture touchpad simply with a click. Acer Revo comes equipped with Acer clear.fi console, the advanced Acer solution that delivers all you need to enjoy HD videos and movies, view your latest photos, play your favourite music or share your medias with your online communities.

Acer RevoView makes enjoying digital content on a high-definition TV easy and intuitive – no complex device settings, burning DVDs, or connecting a computer to the TV. This HD media player has a compact design with a matte black finish and a large power button emitting blue light for easy operation even in the dark. It can be connected directly to your TV, without need of complex set up, plus rear and side ports allow easy connection to surround sound speaker systems to enjoy an immersive entertainment. The handy remote control combined with the friendly UI to provide easy access, browsing and playing of your media library.

Supporting an extensive range of media formats, the Acer RevoView can play content from a host of devices: USB, HDD, storage cards, optical disc, and UPnP mass storage media. What’s more, the easy swappable hard disk drive can be easily changed to play a different set of media and can be shared with the 2010 Aspire M Series desktop PC and Acer RevoCenter. 

The HDMI^™ port enables high-definition 1080p video and music playback. And to complete your media enjoyment, connect to the Internet to view Flickr^® and Picasa^™ photo slideshows on a big screen.

The Acer RevoCenter is a wonderfully compact and quiet home appliance that lets you store, protect and share your growing digital library with family and friends. Thanks to UPnP support all connected devices can easily access all media contents stored in the large hard disk space.

And what’s more, with the Acer RevoCenter you can stream digital media content to multiple applications or DLNA compliant devices. Up to four hot-swappable Serial ATA hard disk drives offer plenty of space for your ever growing collection of pictures, movies, videos, games and documents. Ready to take its place at the heart of your digital home and let you share files on your home network, the Acer RevoCenter can be remotely accessed so you can connect to your server anytime, anywhere and upload or download files. Storage space can be increased by simply adding internal or external hard disk drives, while hassle-free PC and file backup along with a smart recovery process make sure your files are safe and sound.

Pictures, video or data files can be easily uploaded to the Acer RevoCenter directly from your portable devices. All you need to do is connect the device through the USB port and press the one-touch backup button. Data is automatically sorted and stored by file type into folders of your choice.

First it was the flat screen; then there was the fuss about high-definition, and now there is much excitement about the latest development in 3D viewing technology.

3DTV is starting to get serious attention in the quest for the ultimate home entertainment system, but too few people actually understand the difference between 3D capable displays and high-definition panels.

In an effort to make the buying decision simpler so as to prevent disappointment, Levina de Matos, Samsung product manager at Tarsus Technologies says there are a number of significant things about this technology that consumers should know.

“3DTV is a broad term for the display technology that lets home viewers experience video content in a stereoscopic effect. It adds the illusion of a third dimension, depth, to current TV and HDTV display technology, which is typically limited to only height and width – that which we know as 2DTV,” explains de Matos.

“Understanding how the technology works is simple,” de Matos continues, “our eyes are about three inches apart, which allows each eye to see a slightly different perspective of the same picture. The brain takes images from both eyes, collates the visual data and uses the difference between the two images to calculate distance, which then creates the perception of depth.

“3DTV today makes use of active-shutter technology and with this method, a single sequential imager switches very rapidly between the left and right images when projecting the information on a display and the viewer wears a pair of battery-powered glasses that contain shutters that are capable of opening and closing rapidly.

“Each shutter opens and closes in alternation while the screen displays left- and right-eye images in sync with the glasses. The result is that the left eye sees only the intended left view of the image, and the right eye sees the intended right view and the brain can then blend it together into a single, stereoscopic image,” de Matos explains.

“The main improvements afforded by new 3DTV technologies are full colour and a high resolution of 1080p, made possible by Digital Light Projection technology which uses a microchip (or three, one dedicated to each primary colour) that has an array of tiny swiveling mirrors which create the image. While 3D was originally limited to DLP televisions, 3D capability is soon to be available on all the major HDTV technologies,” de Matos notes.

“HDTV is essentially the highest form of digital television, with a 16:9 aspect ratio and high ratios that are either 720p, 1080i and 1080p. The numbers stand for how many lines there are to make up the picture display, and obviously the more the better.

“But then there’s also the ‘i’ and the ‘p’, which represents the type of scan the TV uses and ‘p’ stands for progressive while ‘i’ stands for interlaced.

“Progressive scan is better than interlaced because it processes the images twice as fast. This faster scan rate produces better clarity and colour in the displayed picture. And 1080p is the best resolution on the market today, since it’s the highest,” de Matos continues.

“3D-capable television sets are likely to be limited to the high-end models and are therefore more likely to have a higher price tag than we’re used to seeing. There will be a definite need to purchase the glasses separately, and the quality of the 3D experience is likely to hinge on which type of glasses manufacturers choose to use with their 3D sets.

“Much like Blu-Ray, which took about four years to catch on and become readily available (both in terms of viewable content and a reasonably priced player) it will be some time before 3DTV reaches a point where it will be readily accessible for mainstream consumers. There is still much to come, in terms of development, to ensure that the 3DTV home viewing experience is comfortable,” de Matos explains.

Conservative estimates put it at about six to eight years for 3DTV to be at a point where it can then become a part of consumers’ every day life. Until then it’s going to remain a niche product, which a few early adopters will nonetheless be determined to buy.

Advice for those early adopters would be to ensure that the set they buy works with active-shutter glasses, and not polarised or colour-tinted glasses, since active-shutter technology is designed to eliminate the side-effects associated with polarised or tinted glasses, namely headaches, nausea and blurry vision.

In the meantime, those who are prepared to be patient while the technology is perfected would do well to purchase a really high-quality HD television set.

“Look for one with a 1080p resolution, which has a refresh rate that is as high as possible (i.e. 120Hz) which will ensure that your home entertainment experience is as rich an experience as it can be,” de Matos concludes.

Traci Maynard, general manager of Acer at Tarsus Technologies has made a name for herself in the IT workplace over the past 17 years – and now she’s using that name to drive change.

While the technology industry has for the longest time been dominated by men, paradigms are shifting, boundaries are lifting and women are steadily beginning to make their mark in this vibrant market sector.

Traci Maynard is one of those confident, capable women making a mark on the South African IT industry. And the impact she’s making at her company and in the industry as a whole is paving the way for a very different future.

With more than 17 years’ experience in the IT distribution market – and about two thirds of that time spent creating magic for Tarsus Technologies – Maynard was the person behind her company’s success in driving the market’s adoption of the Acer, Cisco and Dell brands when they were fresh arrivals in South Africa.

Aside from creating the initial demand for these brands, Maynard’s expertise stretched into creating a robust foundation and instilling a steadfast loyalty for these brands in the channel.

Her positive attitude and all-encompassing experience in everything from the notebook, desktop, server and networking arenas has proved invaluable in this regard.

A true role model for other women in conventionally male-dominated industries, she believes that the workplace should be not about the battle of the sexes.

“It’s about who’s best prepared,” she says.

“It’s about the person who always has a plan up their sleeve and is ready to execute that plan, given a moment’s notice,” she adds.

Maynard believes that if you’re always well prepared and can adapt to any situation, there’s little that can go wrong for you.

Maynard’s decision to become involved in the IT industry, specifically in the area of hardware distribution, came after having completed a diploma in Marketing and Sales Management because, as she says, it seemed to be the industry that offered the best combination of everything: hard work, spiced with interesting challenges and tempered with a fair amount of fun.

And it seems that by all accounts, she found that to be true.

In terms of gender equality issues in the IT space, Maynard says she has noticed that an increasing number of women are holding top titles in South African companies and that senior management positions are held by both men and women, thereby creating a better balance and a happier working environment. 

“This,” she says, “is noticeable because staff want to talk to someone they feel they can relate to, and sometimes men forget this.

“While time is usually limited and everyone has a busy agenda, lending an ear to your staff and taking the time to listen, generally works in the company’s favour – and this is undoubtedly an area where a woman’s ability to nurture and support can be beneficial,” she adds.

While gender equality has become less of a concern in the industry of late, Maynard believes there are a number of other issues that still need to be addressed and she considers empowerment to be an ongoing process.

“More commitment is needed to ensure the true empowerment of women and previously disadvantaged individuals. South Africa is like a first world and third world country all rolled into one. A solid realistic plan is what’s needed for job creation to reduce poverty, which also necessitates addressing basic human rights in some areas – including housing, clean water, education and learnership programmes,” she says.

On the topic of green issues and being more environmentally responsible, Maynard believes that even though it hasn’t yet been legislated in South Africa, recycling should be a priority and environmentally-friendly modes of business ought to become the norm.

In terms of her vision for the future, Maynard hopes that the cohesion of vendor and distributor relationships can be solidified, and she believes that this requires the vendor to see the distributor as a vital link in the supply chain – not a place to dump stock and move on.

Additionally, she would also like to see more open communication between competitive distributors when it comes to resellers that are bad payers or non-payers.

With her pragmatic approach and her unfaltering determination, Traci Maynard has proven time and time again that she’s a woman worth keeping an eye on.

And if she can act as an inspiration to other young and vibrant women, and  attract them to the IT industry, all the better.