Acer, the third largest computer manufacturer in the world (after Hewlett Packard and Dell), announced it will buy E-ten, the Taiwan-based company that produces the Glofiish series of Windows Mobile powered smartphones.

The acquisition, which will cost Acer about 9 billion Taiwan dollars (somewhere around $291.7 million), should be completed in the third quarter of 2008 and it has already been approved, unanimously, by the executive staffs of both Acer and E-ten.

In a press release made public today, E-Ten stated that the deal will not change its management structure and the company will go on with launching products and services with at least the same quality delivered until now.

Acer, also based in Taiwan, is a company that was always interested in the mobile industry and its avant-garde mobile solutions brought the company a strong reputation around the world. E-Ten's acquisition comes somehow naturally, as Acer recently adopted a new expansions strategy (see the recent acquisitions of Gateway and 75% of Packard Bell).

"This strategic transaction is yet another important milestone in Acer's long history of innovation," declared J.T. Wang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Acer Inc. "The acquisition of E-ten increases Acer's global footprint by giving us a strong and highly credible presence in the mobility segment."

"The worldwide smart phone market is estimated to grow by more than 30% by 2011," added Gianfranco Lanci, President of Acer Inc. "Acer will enhance the competitiveness in the ultra mobile segment, by combining PC and communication technologies".

"E-ten's proven success in bringing state-of-the-art products and business concepts to the consumer mobility sector, united with the Acer Group's global infrastructure, will allow us to provide more efficient local support to customers, while at the same time further extending the footprint of Glofiish-brand products," said Simon Hwang, Chgief Executive Officer, E-ten.

Besides producing desktop PCs and laptops, Acer also produces successful PDA's (personal digital assistants), so it sure has all it takes to come into the mobile industry with highly-featured devices. This being said, we're waiting now for the first Acer smartphone.