90s kids will be nostalgic for this resurrected PC brand, which is back with a bunch of colourful new hardware You Should Know
Tech fans of a certain vintage will surely have a soft spot for Packard Bell. The 1990s computing giant supplied millions of millennial children with their first home PC; mine came with an eclectic software bundle that included Microsoft Encarta, The Simpsons Virtual Springfield, and the original Unreal Tournament. No prizes for guessing which one my parents swiftly uninstalled.
The firm has been in hibernation for a while, at least in Europe, but current owner Acer has decided to bring it back in a big way for 2026. Packard Bell is returning with a whole range of new, lifestyle-focused and affordable tech, from everyday essential laptops and feature phones to smart glasses and speakers. Each wears a new constellation emblem that stealthily hides the letters “P” and “B” within it.
All fall under a new “Tech it easy” philosophy – and promise a whole lot more colour than I’m used to seeing from Acer’s own-brand lineup. Expect bold orange, purple, green and yellow hues, whether you’re buying a 14.5in DotBook laptop or matching pair of DotBass headphones.
The laptop feels closest to a return to form for the brand, though spec details were light at the time of writing; Acer simply said it will handle browsing, video playback and everyday work, with a feeling of early netbooks. A bit of digging revealed the units on show at this year’s IFA were running Intel Core 3 N355 processors, had 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage.
With an almost entirely orange chassis, this machine is no introvert. The contrasting white keys are a nice touch that aids legibility and there’s no shortage of ports at the sides, including full-size HDMI, one USB-C and three USB-As of varying speeds. It felt almost suspiciously light when I picked it up, but the screen seemed decent for a budget machine and the typing experience felt comfortable enough. The oversized touchpad was perfectly responsive.
I’m more interested in the DotLook Audio glasses, which sound like a novel way to listen to music or answer phone calls without being labelled “pervert glasses” like Meta’s camera-equipped Ray-Bans. They have clip-on sunglass lenses and integrated speakers for Bluetooth playback, but that’s yer lot. No on-board AI, no smarty pants features you’ll pay for and never use.
There’s also the DotLoop, a vinyl turntable built into a suitcase; it’s got Bluetooth on board and can be controlled through voice commands. The light-up speakers built into the front are a fun touch, even if it’s the product that feels most removed from the Packard Bell I remember as a kid.
The DotTune speaker then promises to “revive home listening” – I assume that means with the colour-changing LEDs embedded within. The DotShine ring light is aimed at budding social media stars; and the DotCombo keyboard and mouse set adds some colour to your PC setup. That last one gave me real Logitech vibes, on account of the circular key caps.
The DotLine 4G feature phone then feels like Acer muscling in on HMD and Nokia’s dumb phone turf. Acer only had dummy units on show at its IFA stand, so I can’t vouch for the operating system yet, but it feels suitably brick-like and should have enough battery life to last two weeks in the wilderness – if you can survive that long without Instagram and YouTube, anyway.
“Celebrating our 100th anniversary is the right moment to go back to our roots,” Valerie Piau, Acer Europe’s EMEA vice president, said at the reveal. “People need technology that helps them study, work, and stay in touch, all at a fair price. That is what ‘Tech it easy’ means—our signature focus on keeping things simple.”
The initial Packard Bell lineup will go on sale from September in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, led by the DotBook laptop at €499. The DotLoop turntable should retail for €149/£130 and the DotLook audio glasses for €99/£90. Everything else should land at even more wallet-friendly prices over the coming months. There’s no word on whether the range will be sold in the USA.
