Hoping to regain their momentum in the IT market, Acer and Hewlett-Packard (HP) are developing new chassis and hinge designs for their upcoming Haswell-based notebooks, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

Judging by HP's recent orders and product development plans, the sources said the company is enhancing its internal resource allocation as well as R&D processes to defend its leading position.

HP will also increase metal chassis adoption across its enterprise notebook models, up from a proportion of only 20% currently to 50% at the end of 2013, and will try to gain market share in the tablet market with its new 7-inch device, the sources noted.

The sources also revealed that Acer is currently developing a new notebook using rotatable hinges and is treating the machine as a secret weapon that can help attracting demand. The device is ready to launch in May.