Computer maker Acer is reportedly planning to ship a number of around 400,000-500,000 mobile phones before the end of the ongoing year. Moreover, it seems that the company is also set on shipping between 1.5-2 million units next year. The manufacturer, as you might already know, has just launched a series of mobile phones powered by Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, and it seems that it is confident that users will receive them quite well.

The shipment estimations come from industry sources that have been quoted by the news site DigiTimes and which also stated that the company was set to distribute its handsets via a carrier in North America, something that will help it push the shipments of its own mobile phones through channels in the telecom sector.

Acer has teamed up with Taiwan-based carrier Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) and is also reported to have signed agreements with a series of other carriers, including CSL in Hong Kong, SFR and Bouygues in France, and Wind in Italy. The bottom line is that the computer maker is working hard on offering its devices on a wide range of markets and through various channels so as to boast their sales.

The half a million shipment target does not sound like a high goal for the company, yet one should take into consideration the competition Acer's smartphones will have to face. Even if they seem to be great handsets, with impressive raw power and functionalities, they should compete against popular names on the market. The company has already delivered to the market a series of Windows Mobile-based handsets, and also announced that it would launch an Android-based mobile phone, but it remains to be seen whether they will appeal to users or not. Watch this space for more updates on the matter.