14 DAY TRIAL // Computer maker Acer is one of the newcomers on the smartphone market, this is something most of you might already know. The company launched 10 handsets during the ongoing year, 9 of which were powered by Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, while one of them, the Acer A1 Liquid, has just reached the market with Google's Android platform on board.
Acer seems to be happy with what it managed to achieve during 2009 when it comes to its presence on the smartphone market, and aims at delivering more handsets during the next year. Moreover, it appears that the company also plans launching a larger number of Android-powered devices, while also using the Microsoft Windows Mobile platform for other phones.
“Next year it will be much more balanced,” Acer's Aymar de Lencquesaing told Reuters in an interview. “There is definitely momentum behind Android. The pace is faster than most would have anticipated one year ago.” The total number of smartphones Acer is expecting to be able to deliver to the market is of 8-10 devices, it seems.
“It's a crowded market place,” de Lencquesaing said. Indeed, there is a large number of PC makers who delivered smarpthones on the market during the ongoing year, including Asustek, Toshiba, Dell and HP, mainly due to the shrinking computer market. At the same time, it should be noted that handset vendors are also moving towards other devices, and that Nokia is a good example in this direction, with the launch of its first netbook last month.
“Android had 3.5 percent of the global smartphone market in the quarter ended September, compared with none 12 months earlier, while Microsoft saw its market share fall to 8.8 percent from 13.6 percent a year earlier, according to research firm Canalys,” Routers notes. The Google operating system, as many of you might already know, is expected to become the second top platform on the mobile phone market in about 4 to 5 years from now.
As for Acer, the company already announced plans to break the top five handset vendors list within 3-5 years. The computer maker said that it aimed at accounting for around 6-7 percent of the smartphone market by that time and at selling 1 million smartphones in 2010. The company has its handsets available through ten carriers around the world, and it seems that it might announce other operator deals too.