Acer to release sub-$200 Windows 10 Cloudbook

Acer will release a sub-$200 Windows 10 notebook to compete with Google Chromebooks.

The Acer Aspire One Cloudbook is set to launch in mid-August in 11- and 14-inch form factors, according to Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner, speaking on the final day of the Worldwide Partner Conference in Orlando.

The Cloudbook will start at US$169. No further specs or Australian shipping information was announced, and Acer Australia did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Acer also supplies two Chromebooks, in 11.6 and 13.3-inch sizes.

It continues Microsoft's push into the low-cost space against Google's thin client notebooks; at last year's Microsoft WPC, Turner revealed the HP Stream, a Windows 8.1 notebook to compete with Chromebooks.

Turner told the thousands of partners in the WPC audience about five advantages when selling against Chromebooks: that Windows 10 devices can run desktop and web apps; they offer the "widest range of hardware options"; they work with limited bandwidth; have built-in two factor authentication; and "connect to a wide variety of peripherals".

Windows 10 begins rolling out on 29 July, with some OEM manufacturers expecting to have devices ready for sale on the launch date.

Steven Kiernan is a guest of Microsoft at Worldwide Partner Conference.