A computer that flips, a sleek monitor with the built-in PC and the computer du jour netbook — Averatec is back and trying to get our attention again.

The Santa Ana company, a division of the Korean PC maker TriGem Computer Inc., plunged right back into the ultra competitive PC industry after being rescued last year from bankruptcy by Celrun Co., one of Korea’s top IPTV box makers. But it hasn’t been as easy as Darren Lee, Averatec’s director of marketing, had hoped.

Even with a spiffy new lineup, Averatec has not been able to get its computers into stores easily. Retail has always been a tough market to crack and few second-tier PC companies make it onto store shelves, according to Richard Shim, who tracks PCs for market researcher IDC. The only name to recently crack the top 10 computer sellers at retail? Dell.

“In order to get into consumer retail, it’s a long-term term relationship. You’ve got to prove you can push brands in the channel. It’s not the place where an unstable company can just show up one day and get in,” Shim said. “It’s not a flea market, it’s Best Buy.”

But Averatec did it back around 2003 when its low-priced 12-inch notebooks got picked up by Best Buy and Staples stores.

“Our biggest asset is that we still have relationships with retailers,” Lee told me when I stopped by his office last week.

Averatec's Darren Lee setting up the new netbook twist, an all-in-one PC based on a netbook computer.

The local office, which didn’t think it would be affected by TriGem’s bankruptcy, was severely gutted. Its staff of 50 dwindled to six as they pulled out of retail to focus on small contracts. Thanks to Celrun’s recapitalization of Averatec last year, the local group is now up to 15 employees.

This year, Averatec already released its signature product, a no-frills 12-inch laptop for under $1,000.  But I, of course, was more interested in the other stuff.

Averatec’s Netbook

Let’s start with the company’s netbook, which I mentioned in a post last month. Netbooks are the lighter, cheaper but less powerful alternatives to laptops. Most of them have Intel’s tiniest chip, the Atom. There already are a slew of netbooks available or on the way from big names like Dell and HP to the small guys like Hannspree and MSI.

Averatec’s netbook has the guts of competitor MSI, which was one of the first with a netbook, the MSI Wind. It’s one of the better reviewed netbooks out there.

“MSI is hands down the best in class, but you can’t find them,” Lee said.

That’s where Averatec’s relationships with retailers will come in handy, he said. Averatec is working its contacts to get its netbooks into Sam’s Club, Best Buy and other retailers. So far, no one has bitten. Lee expects to announce some stores soon.

Some new details of Averatec’s netbook, which should be available online next month at its own store and possibly other online retailers:

Microsoft Windows XP
Intel ATOM CPU : N270 (1.6GHz / 533MHz FSB / 512K)
10.2″ Widescreen LCD – 1280 x 800
1GB DDR2 System Memory
160GB SATA HDD
802.11 b/g wireless LAN integrated
Integrated webcam (1.3M) and microphone
3 USB 2.0 ports
4-in1 Memory Card Reader
15-pin Video out port
Price: $449
Available online in October 2008

The 18.4-inch All-in-One Design

I wrote about this one on Friday (and included a video). It has a very nifty monitor attached to a netbook. The arm that connects them slides underneath the monitor so the two can lay flat and be mounted to the wall like a piece of art. While white and black units are being made, only the black version will be available in the U.S. (“Black is safest. Retailers don’t want other colors,” Lee said.) This 9-pound machine is expected to be available sometime after the previously mentioned netbook for $550!

More specs:

Built-In Webcam & MIC
Piano Black Design
Weight approx 4 lbs.
Microsoft Windows XP ULCPC
Intel ATOM CPU: N270 (1.6GHz / 533MHz FSB / 512K)
18.4″ Widescreen LCD (1680 x 945)
1GB DDR2 System Memory
160GB SATA HDD
Super Multi Dual Layer DVD Burner
802.11 b/g wireless LAN integrated
Integrated webcam (1.3M) and 5 USB 2.0 ports
4-in-1 Memory Card Reader 15 pin D-Sub Video out port

The 22-inch All-in-One Design

And lastly, this iMac lookalike has been on the market for a few months now.  It has a 320 GB hard drive, TV tuner and up to 4 GBs of memory. While Averatec sells this on its site for $1,150, the company wants to get the price below $1,000.  That compares to the iMac’s price range of $1,200 to $2,200.

Averatec’s all-in-one isn’t as skinny or as light as the iMac — it’s 26 pounds compared to the larger 24-inch iMac’s 25.4 pounds. But it is a sleek-looking machine that runs Windows. This is actually the same computer as the “Luon,” TriGem’s high-end brand. The U.S. team, however, decided to stick with the Averatec name because otherwise people will be saying, “What is a Luon?” Lee said.

This model, however, got dinged for slow performance in a review at CNET, when compared to last year’s model of the iMac. While all-in-ones look sleek, retailers haven’t wanted them, Lee said. Apparently, they’re too unusual and don’t sell as well as mainstream laptops.

Maybe if this one heads below $999, consumers will give it a shot?

Averatec

Averatec

Averatec All in One

Detailed specs:

22″ All-in-One Design Overview
Style and Performance in one package
Clean and Clutter free with 1 power cable
Small footprint, space saving design
Built-In Webcam
Luxurious Piano Black Design
16:9 Wide Screen format for your HD content
ATSC Tuner Optional
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: E4600 (2.46GHz / 800MHz FSB / 2MB)
22″ Widescreen LCD (1680 x 1050) – ALL IN ONE System
3GB DDR2 System Memory
320GB SATA HDD
Super Multi Dual Layer DVD Burner
802.11 b/g wireless LAN integrated
Integrated webcam (1.3M)
6 USB 2.0 ports
4-in-1 Memory Card Reader
15 pin D-Sub Video Port
1 DVI Video Port

Previous Averatec stories:

• A netbook with an 18-inch monitor
• Another PC company to launch cheap ‘netbook’
• Mini PCs you may have missed
• Averatec finally launches Vista PC (May 3rd, 2007)
• The skinny on Samsung’s m610 (December 12th, 2006)
• Review: Averatec tries GPS with Voya 350(September 19th, 2006)
• Averatec goes global with GPS (July 21st, 2006)
• Averatec’s 17-inch laptop (July 10th, 2006)
• New OC gadget: Don’t forget Averatec (April 27th, 2006)
• Averatec downplays investor bankruptcy (June 11, 2005)

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.