There’s an interesting article on DigiTimes, discussing competition between Acer and Asustek. From there, we find that Acer’s first Android-powered handset called A1 will be released in November!

That’s a good news and goes in line with what Acer was saying when they joined the Open Handset Alliance. To remind you, they said they’ll ship the first Android smartphone in the fourth quarter of this year.

As for Asus, they are partnering with Garmin to bring Nuvifone(s) to the market and who knows what else.

Acer will launch a total of 9 smartphones in 2009, and DigiTimes believes they could overtake Asus in smartphone market by the end of the year. What do you think?

[Via: phandroid]

I guess we expected this to happen, but now it’s official - Acer is the latest member of the Google (NSDQ: GOOG)-led Open Handset Alliance.

But the news doesn’t stop there. The Taiwanese company also said that they expect to launch smartphones based on the Android platform in the fourth quarter of this year.

Hear that? They said “smartphones” not “smartphone.” Am I just reading this too carefully or we’ll see more than one Android device released by Acer this year? After all, someone got to make all those 18-20 Android smartphones that are planned for this year. I’ll certainly keep my fingers crossed.

[Via: phandroid]

Acer sent us a newsletter informing us that two of their smartphones, DX900 and X960, are now available in select markets of Europe, the Middle-East and Asia Pacific.

The first of the two, DX900, prides itself with two SIM card slots and a large 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen along with 3 megapixel camera and WiFi connectivity support.

As for the X960, it comes with the same-sized VGA touchscreen, GPS receiver, and 3.2 megapixel camera.

Both devices rely on Windows Mobile 6.1, meaning you can expand their functionality with any of number of available third-party apps…

Unfortunately Acer won’t start selling its smartphones in the U.S. market this year. Apparently, the company has run into snags with U.S. carriers, which will delay the launch in the country. This doesn’t mean you won’t be able to buy an Acer device through an importer, only that you’ll have to pay more for an unlocked phone.

Acer announced a slew of Windows Mobile smartphones during this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and the company is also working on Android-powered handsets. Their plan is to ship more than million phones during next year…

[Via: PhoneScoop]

Acer’s very recent jump into the smartphone market came and went. Acer hit Mobile World Congress 2009 hard with an almost dizzying array of Windows Mobile smartphones, but failed to hold the world’s attention as buzz around the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre, HTC Magic and new iPhone stole Acer’s thunder. Now that Android handsets are leaking out left and right, Acer wants to make it known that they have Android plans too. In fact, Acer is working on not one, but multiple Android-powered devices.

Android is this week’s hot-ticket, it seems. In a bid to keep up with the rest of the mobile industry, Acer president and CEO Gianfranco Lanci stated, during an investor’s conference in Taipei, that “We are testing Android on a lot of different solutions.” Lanci went on to say that Acer is “working on an Android solution for the smartphone,” but he thinks that “it’s too early to say if we’re going to see Android on a netbook in the near future.”

We’re already expecting big things from Acer’s A1 Android phone, so the prospect of seeing all sorts of different smartphone form-factors with Android in tow is exciting indeed!

[Via: PCWorld]

The head of Acer’s smart handheld business group, Aymar de Lencquesaing, said that Acer expects its smartphone shipments to surpass one million in 2010. Moreover, he added they plan to conquer 6-7% of the market in three years, and that he sees smartphones accounting for 10% of the company’s total sales in 2011. That said, Acer’s so goal is to become one of the top five smartphone makers in the world in 2012.

Optimism is a good thing and I guess an array of WinMo smartphones launched during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as well as the rumored upcoming Android handset will certainly help the Taiwan-based company reach its goals. We’re certainly looking forward for another strong competitor in the marketplace.

[Via: DigiTimes]

Acer senior VP James T. Wong has admitted that they maybe, sorta, might have an Android-based desktop computer in the works. Although Acer’s flirtations with an Android smartphone are well-known, this is the first time we’ve heard them talking about making the leap to desktop. Analysts have been giving the thumbs up to Android as a netbook OS, but a full-blown desktop? From what I understood of previous attempts to get it into netbooks, Android wasn’t yet optimized for beefier systems, but hey, maybe that’s what Acer’s working on. It would certainly be cool to be able to use the exact same software on both computer and handset. To be fair, just about every manufacturer is probably doing something with Android behind closed doors, but as we’ve seen, it’s taking a long time before anything actually sees the light of day.

[via PCMag]

We’re apparently sitting on the cusp of a new wave of super-powerful mobile processors the likes of which promise incredible multimedia performance. And, the Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM)-made Snapdragon family of processors is leading the pack. The Toshiba (OTCPK: TOSBF) TG01 was recently debuted as Toshiba’s upcoming ultra-powerful Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone with the gusto to handle all sorts of high-def media - all thanks to Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon system-on-chip processor humming along at 1Ghz (1000Mhz). Today we’re happy to hear that  the Snapdragon platform has found another home in Acer’s upcoming Acer F1 Windows Mobile smartphone.

Acer has announced in the Netherlands that the Acer F1 will be launching in September 2009. Most interesting, however, is Acer’s mention of the F1 boasting Snapdragon silicon alongside ATI graphics technology. The Acer F1 will be running its Snapdragon CPU at just 800Mhz, unlike the Toshiba TG01’s 1000Mhz processor.

The Acer F1 was recently on showcase in Acer’s booth at Mobile World Congress Barcelona, and was expected launch with the Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional OS wrapped in the second iteration of Acer’s custom Acer Shell UI - Acer Shell UI 2.0. The Acer F1 should launch with a 5-megapixel camera in tow and will apparently command a €560 (about $758) price-tag. For that price, you can bet the Acer F1 will also sport GPS, WiFi and 3G data connectivity.

[Via: UnwiredView]

Acer is reportedly gearing up to break out of the Windows Mobile segment and into Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s Android-playground. After launching a slew of WinMo smartphones at this year’s Mobile World Congress, Acer is rumored to be aiming for a September release of its Android-powered Acer A1 smartphone. The Business Mirror cites some unknown insider in their report that the Android-powered Acer handset is due to hit market in September of this year.

The Acer A1 is expected to launch alongside three other smartphones in September, which puts the Android smartphone in line to compete with Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones. Unfortunately, both Acer and Google are keeping mum on the subject for the moment.

The rumor is completely unsubstantiated but it does make sense. Acer would do well to consider the Android platform to complement its Windows Mobile lineup. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.

[Via: TalkAndroid]

It’s a trend and it seems Acer wants to join it with its own application store. At a press event in London, Acer’s senior corporate vice president, Mr. Aymar de Lencquesaing, said that they are “examining the viability of an app store.” Now that doesn’t mean they’ll go and make it themselves — partnering with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) seems a viable option. At the end, they may go for the an Acer-branded Marketplace for Mobile in their future Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones. And we know they plan to release a bunch of those this year as they announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

On the other hand, Acer may want to build the store in-house. I’m kinda sceptical they will be able to pull this off in a year when they need to focus on their entrance to the smartphone market and with the global recession looming…

Any thoughts? Comments form is all yours.

[Via: Unwired View]