Packard Bell, a household name in home PCs through the 1990s and 2000s, is back for its 100th anniversary. Acer, which owns the brand, used IFA 2026 in Berlin to unveil a relaunch built around a new logo and a "Tech it easy" motto. The first wave consists of 9 products, headed by the 14.5-inch DotBook laptop and extending to a record player, a 4G feature phone, and audio glasses. Sales begin in September 2026 across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

A Century-Old Brand That Went From Radios to PCs

Packard Bell was founded in Los Angeles in 1926. It started with consumer radios, moved on to colour televisions, and eventually helped bring personal computers into ordinary homes. In Japan too, the brand was a familiar sight in electronics stores during the 1990s, practically synonymous with affordable family PCs.

Acer acquired the brand in 2008, but it gradually faded from view and was essentially dormant by around 2013. The revival is timed to the 100th anniversary of the company's founding. Valerie Piau, EMEA vice president at Acer Europe SA, framed it as a return to the brand's roots, saying that what people need is technology that helps them study, work, and stay in touch, all at a fair price.

A New Identity Built Around the Dot

The centrepiece of the new brand is an emblem made of dots arranged so that the letters "P" and "B" emerge from the pattern. Acer describes the dots as cells rather than pixels, a way of signalling technology that is human and rooted in everyday life. Every product name carries the "Dot" prefix, and 4 colours (orange, purple, green, and yellow) are used consistently from campaigns through to the products themselves.

The brand's tone of voice is meant to be plain-spoken rather than jargon-heavy, with imagery that shows people using the products in daily life. Acer plans to build the brand's presence first on digital channels, where younger consumers do their shopping.

The First Wave: 9 Products From a Laptop to a Turntable

At the heart of the first wave is the DotBook, a 14.5-inch laptop intended for browsing, streaming, and everyday work. It is positioned as a nod to the netbooks that once made Packard Bell a fixture in family homes. According to press information, it features a 16:10 IPS display, an Intel N150 processor, up to 512GB of SSD storage, roughly 7 hours of battery life, and a weight of about 1.3kg. Pricing starts at 499 EUR (about 92,000 yen), with EMEA availability in September.

The rest of the lineup and pricing is as follows.

  • DotLoop: A suitcase-style vinyl turntable. From 149 EUR (about 28,000 yen), available in September
  • DotTune: A speaker designed to revive home listening. From 34.99 EUR (about 6,500 yen), available in September
  • DotLine: A colourful 4G feature phone for families and those seeking digital balance. From 69 EUR (about 13,000 yen), available in November
  • DotLook: Audio glasses that handle music and calls without earbuds or a screen. From 99 EUR (about 18,000 yen), available in September
  • DotShine: A ring light for creators. From 39 EUR (about 7,200 yen), available in October
  • DotCombo: A keyboard-and-mouse set. From 39 EUR (about 7,200 yen), available in September
  • DotBass: Headphones in colours matched to the rest of the range. From 29 EUR (about 5,400 yen), available in September

※1 EUR = 185 JPY

None of these products compete on raw performance. The lineup is assembled around the idea of offering just enough functionality at an accessible price. The DotLine feature phone and the camera-free audio glasses in particular seem aimed at people who want some distance from a smartphone-saturated life.

A Startup Partnership Takes the Brand Into the Kitchen

The 9th product is Steasy, a connected mini-steamer developed with the Swiss startup of the same name (Steasy AG). It is a portable appliance for warming meals, priced from 199 EUR (about 37,000 yen) and arriving in October. Acer frames this not as a simple move into home appliances but as an extension of Packard Bell's everyday-first philosophy into the kitchen, with further collaborative products planned through 2027.

The brand runs on the Acer Group's existing infrastructure, including multilingual customer support across 28 countries, a network of service centres throughout EMEA, and logistics and retail relationships built up over decades.

Summary

Acer has redefined the 100-year-old Packard Bell brand as a colourful, affordable, lifestyle-oriented label and announced 9 products at IFA 2026, led by the 14.5-inch DotBook laptop. The range spans a 499 EUR laptop, a record player, a 4G feature phone, audio glasses, and even a mini-steamer, with sales starting in September across the EMEA region. So far the announcement covers only Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and nothing has been said about availability in Japan.