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Acer is known mostly as a computer maker but this year they produced 10 mobile phones. Nine of those ten phones ran Windows Mobile and the latter – the Acer A1 – is an Android Phone expected to launch this week. With the company’s cost conscious approach to mobile phone manufacturing it is a REALLY good thing that we’ll be seeing many more Acer Android’s in 2010:
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Don’t expect a FLOOD of phones but you can bet that Acer will have anywhere from 3 to 5 Android Phones in 2010:
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Considering the word “balance” and the 8-10/year, simple math tells you 3 to 5 can be expected. But there ARE some numbers that DON’T seem to add up.
Acer hopes to obtain 6-7% of the smartphone market in the next 3 to 5 years and their “milestone” set for next year is 1 million units. However, according to the article, 30-35 million units/year would be necessary to reach that 3-5 year goal so the company would be a LONG ways off.
I’m a big proponent of under-promise and over-deliver and perhaps that’s just what Acer is doing here. If they’re to earn distribution in key countries and are producing solid hardware, there is no reason they shouldn’t easily exceed 1 million Android Phones let alone the 5 or so Windows Mobile devices they launch.
I’m really liking where Acer has the potential to go with Android and its exciting to see that for them it will be a focus of their mobile strategy moving forward. But then again, Android seems to be a focus of EVERYBODY’s mobile strategy moving forward and if not, at their own peril.