Acer assaults smartphone market

 

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By Stuart Turton and Reuters

Posted on 17 Feb 2009 at 08:40

Acer has staked its claim in the smartphone market by unveiling its first eight models at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.

Acer is the world's third-largest PC brand and best known for its netbooks, however, the company says the move into the smartphone market was a logical one.

"We are extremely serious entering this space," Aymar de Lencquesaing, the head of Acer's smartphone business, told a news conference. "The smartphone market is the natural direction of our long-term mobile strategy as our ambition is to offer compelling solutions to all the needs of mobile users."

The company says it plans to break into the top five smartphone makers in five years, and expects the business to account for 10% of revenue by 2012.

The smartphone market has become increasingly crowded in the last two years, with Apple, RIM and HTC winning market share at the expense of Nokia. Rival Asus has also entered the race, teaming up with Garmin to develop a range of co-branded phones.

Lencquesaing says Acer is planning to invest in building up the business before it can turn profitable.

"I think it's going to take us anywhere between three to five years," he says. "Being the size that we are gives us a fairly sizeable marketing budget. We understand that we need to spend, to create the awareness that Acer is not just a PC company."

Acer intends to develop the business by using its existing sales channels for laptops. It will also use its large scale to get lower prices for some components, Lencquesaing says.

Windows Mobile based

Acer says all eight of its newly launched smartphones will use Windows Mobile 6.1, though it also claims to be looking at Google's Android system.

Models will begin at the entry level Acer L1 and the Acer C1 which will cost around $60 and offer a basic array of mobile internet options, as well as full QWERTY keyboard. At the high end will be the Acer M900 and F900, which will offer 3.2in touchscreens, 5 megapixel cameras, GPS and a thumb-print scanner for security.

The most interesting phone in the lineup is potentially the DX900 which is the world's first dual SIM smartphone, allowing users to have two numbers on one phone.