Designed for consumers on a budget, of which there are many right now with the credit crunch, it is being marketted as a “low cost and high value PC” that has modest specs much like a netbook, but lets you do the basics – web surfing, email, messengers, and basic computer applications.

What sets it apart from a netbook, other than the size (duh), is that it comes bundled with a ThinkVision L195 Wide LCD monitor. The price is also very reasonable at $400, which puts it in a similar bracket as many netbooks, so this machine may appeal to some bargain hunters.

There isn’t much a system like this can handle nowadays, but for a kid who wants to do the basics kids do – such as checking emails, watching a few videos, playing some web-based games – it should be enough. The price tag, on the other hand, is less than cute, with retail price an expensive €299.00 (US$380), which is appallingly high when you could probably get a much better loaded netbook for lower price. However, the cutesy design and specific marketing towards kids is likely to sway some less price savvy buyers into grabbing one for a Christmas gift.

Together as small, energy-efficient and low-cost devices, netbooks and nettops are considered emerging threats to the established “names” such as Microsoft, HP, and Dell, and according to Wikipedia, the International Data Corporation has predicted that sales could shoot up from 500,000 in 2007 to 9,000,000 in 2012.

The DigiTimes writes, “Since Acer expects Aspire one netbook shipments to surpass its goal of 12-13 million units in 2009, to prevent the nettop from impacting the company’s Atom processor supply, Acer is considering using processors from VIA Technologies or AMD, but will still leave the Intel Atom as a possible option.“.

Acer is considering three manufacturers to make the nettop – Quanta Computer, Wistron and Micro-Star International (MSI) – and are expected to make a decision in December. If that decision is a “yes”, Acer’s nettop will target both enterprise and consumer markets, and will be able to connect to a TV and LCD monitor.

The model is primarily designed for medical professionals, hence the cost, but sports some very impressive features, most notably an Intel Atom 1.86GHz processor, 1GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch shock mounted hard drive, as well as Bluetooth support. Its battery life is approximately six hours per charge and the models comes with a magnesium alloy chassis designed to protect it against water and dust.

Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Health Group, said “By putting innovative technologies such as the Toughbook H1 MCA in the hands of clinicians, we are providing them with the tools they need to have the right information at the point of decision. Intel is committed to collaborating with companies such as Panasonic to help enable high quality, economical, and accessible healthcare.”

The Toughbook H1 will be available worldwide from January of 2009 and as mentioned, will carry a daunting $2,999 price tag.