14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, we were reporting on Nokia's plans for next year, and its strategy regarding the challenging financial times that lie ahead of us. Starting from the same principle, Acer has built its strategy a bit differently, by trying to be more offensive rather than play on the defensive, at least for the beginning of 2009.
Thus, for the first quarter of 2009, the Taiwanese manufacturer has decided to launch new smartphones, which, according to the official line, will be pretty successful. Expectations are high because, as several studies have revealed, notebook shipments will increase with 15-20%, while overall sales will go up by more than 30%.
Most would now say that this is much more than an optimistic view on 2009, and they would probably be right in saying so. However, since Acer has gone public with its statement of launching its first smartphone in the first months of next year, a well constructed plan is probably the main reason behind such an action.
While the company has been going through a rougher patch lately, after being bought by E-Ten Information Systems, it seems to have gotten back on track just fine, as it’s currently negotiating with telecommunication service providers all around the world. Moreover, even if said smartphone release was expected for this year, the company feels that it would be in its best interest if it waited a couple of months more.
Chairman, JT Wang, has explained that, in Acer’s vision, the smartphone business will be the major provider of profit in the next 3 to 5 years, while also stating that his intentions are to raise the staff of the smartphone department to 500 employees, 200 coming from E-Ten. In addition, as he says, from now on, Acer will be handling the mobile department and E-Ten will be concentrating on real-time stock tracking devices, the department that made it famous in the 1990s.