Acer takes on HP in home servers

Acer launched its first home server called the Acer Aspire easyStore Home Server which will be unveiled for the U.S. market on Thursday. The server is designed for home use as well as small businesses that have a need for networking multiple PCs. The easyStore will run Microsoft Windows Home Server. Owing to the server users will be able to access files, including photos, videos, and documents on any other computer connected to the network, and an image-based backup of each PC will be created daily. The home sever looks like an 8x7x7 inch shiny black box, powered by Intel's Atom processor 230 and 2GB of DDR2 memory. There is a 1TB hard drive as well as three bays for swappable hard drives. Together, the easyStore can hold up to 7TB of data. There are also five USB ports, one eSATA port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and an RJ-45 LAN port. Acer's server has very similar specifications to the HP’s refreshed MediaSmart server, including running Windows Home Server. The total price is $399. Acer continues making efforts to expand its market share by offering more products besides Netbooks, notebooks, and desktops in the U.S. Acer already sells the third most computers in the world after HP and Dell, and much of that is due to its success with low-cost laptop sales, and its acquisition of Gateway in 2007.