Acer Android Phone Coming This Year
Acer is set to release a smartphone before the end of the year, powered by the Google Android operating system.
The PC maker leapt into the smartphone market this year with its Tempo devices and they are looking to capture up to 5% of the burgeoning smartphone market within five years by offering handsets that are free with contract or priced very competitively.
Most of of Acer’s smartphones will run Windows Mobile, but one or more will use Linux-based Android, according to the head of the mobile phone unit. The open source Android OS was introduced by Google and the Open Handset Alliance in 2007 with the goal of bringing the openness of the Internet to the mobile arena. IT was designed for a plethore of mobile devices, and seeing as it doesnt suffer from royalty fees it made it a direct challenge to the likes of Symbian and Windows Mobile.
For Google, this is an attempt to get more mobile users to use its Web services, as well as move its AdWords business to the mobile arena. Naturally the more the mobile usage grows, the more Google will grow along with it. Google CEO Eric Schmidt says he expects the mobile Web to eventually generate more revenue for the company, perhaps even more than the standard Web.
