The early success of the Eee PC appears to be prompting more and more companies to develop their own low-cost laptop alternatives. Although we already knew that Acer had formed a team to begin working on projects for the emerging low-cost PC market, DigiTimes is now reporting that 8 and 9-inch low-cost notebooks from Acer could arrive in the first quarter or early second quarter of 2008.

Acer will reportedly outsource the production of the notebooks to Wistron, while purchasing LCD panels from AUO – the same company that supplies to screens to Asus. Further details are scarce at the moment, but it goes without saying that Acer’s low-cost notebooks will most likely be priced to compete directly with the Eee.