In a little over five hours, Acer will be announcing a new notebook concept called “Blue”. I’d expect this to be along the lines of a UMPC or ultraportable notebook.

If it is a UMPC of some type, it’ll be interesting to see how it differentiates itself from other UMPCs on the market. Acer president Gianfranco Lanci told me last September that Acer wasn’t planning on releasing a UMPC “until the technology is ready,” mostly meaning that the battery life wasn’t far enough along yet. “You have three hours now, which is pointless. You might as well use a laptop,” he said. He then went on to say that he’d like to see 7-8 hours.

If this new “Blue” concept has a battery life of that length, I’ll be mighty impressed. It may just be, though, that Acer can’t afford to sit on its hands until an 8-hour UMPC battery comes to fruition. Either way, we’ll find out what it is later this afternoon.

Acer To Unveil New Notebook [Dealerscope]