Red is the new purple
This is all part of Acer's new ‘multibrand strategy' that we told you about last week, in which Acer wants Packard Bell to inspire brand loyalty in consumers.
"We are moving on," said Acer marketing VP Gianpiero Morbello. "From sharp edges to more rounded ones. From purple to red. From Packard Bell to PB." Oddly, the logo supplied is not as red as the one on the website. Possibly a mistake.
The relentless marketing froth then moves on to an exploration of the significance of the colour red. This is symbolised by the hybrid word: PUREDESIRE. Do you see what they did there?
We just had to share some further observations with you: "Red is a personality amplifier, a life enhancer. It draws attention, captures it and keeps it there. Red is colour at its best."
Mercifully there is some substance to all this blue sky thinking. PB, as it's now called, has launched a bunch of new products.
There are two new netbooks, called the dot s (10.1-inch) and dot m (11.6-inch). Only the dot s is currently listed on the Packard Bell site (but the dot m is expected next week) and among the specs are a 160GB HDD, 3 or 6 cell battery, 512MB or 1GB DDR2, optional 3G and a full version of Adobe Photoshop Elements thrown in.
The dot s is expected to cost €299...
...and the dot m €399.