With the likes of Research In Motion, HTC and Apple all in the rat race for launching smartphones, Acer it appears may not be far behind. A recent announcement by the world’s third largest PC manufacturer reveals plans to release a wide array of smartphones in the first quarter of 2009.
Expected to be a major player Acer plans to sell its own line of self-branded smartphones. The company will take complete advantage of its already established global distribution channels and market share in the Pc market. It should be a strong driving force for the company’s smartphone sales.
Acer’s senior corporate vice president, Jim Wong revealed that the company will be appointing 500 new employees to Acer’s handset business by the end of this year. He also mentioned plans for the first smartphones to be shipped in Western Europe and Russia.
Experts and analysts are expecting Acer smartphones to reach Asian markets namely Taiwan and Honkong by end of 2009. They are doubtful of a release in the US mainly due to the huge failure of Asus smartphones that seemed to have no impact on the US audience.
Smartphones these days are not just limited to the corporate and business types. With the ranks of Blackberry Pearl and Apple iPhone, Acer is also showing interest in entering the mainstream smartphone market to gain large profits by making intelligent-oriented handsets for the average consumer.
Having seen some really great notebooks from Acer, we can’t wait to see what the company comes up with in terms of a smartphone.