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Tag: Acer

  • Acer Iconia Tablet Set To Face Off Against iPad 2

    Acer Iconia Tablet Set To Face Off Against iPad 2

    On April 24th, the Acer Iconia Tablet (A500) is going to launch at retail stores. The release is important for a wide variety of reasons. First, it marks Acer’s Android 3.0 debut. Also, the device looks to rival the iPad 2 in a lot of key areas. Even out performing in some cases.

    The Acer Iconia Tablet is going to undercut the iPad 2 price, releasing at $449.99, cheaper than the $499.99 price tag for the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad 2. Will the lower price point put the Iconia’s tech standards below the iPad 2?

    Technical Specification Comparison

    16GB Wi-Fi iPad 2

    Processor: 1 GHz A5 Apple processor
    Memory: 512 MB DDR2 Ram
    Storage: 16 GB
    Display: 9.7 inches (1024×768 px display)
    Battery Life: 10 Hours (general usage)

    Acer – Iconia Tablet A500

    Processor: 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 250
    Memory: 1GB DDR2 Ram
    Storage: 16 GB
    Display: 10.2 inches (1280×800 px display)
    Battery Life: 10 Hours (general usage)

    Breaking down the base tech comparisons, the Acer tablet has the iPad 2 beat in both virtual memory and display resolution. Along with the tech specifications, there are some key differences in the features offered by the tablets.

    The Iconia will allow users to connect a microSD card up to 32GB for expanding storage, while iPad 2 users will be stuck with 16GB. Iconia users will be able to connect their tablet to HDTVs with an HDMI port. In order for iPad 2 users to utilize this feature, they have to purchase an Apple Digital TV Adapter. Tacking on an additional $39 to their purchase.

    The Iconia sacrifices its size to be able to outperform the iPad 2. It weighs 1.7 lbs compared to the 1.33 lbs of the iPad 2. It also has a bit more depth at 0.5 in compared to the iPad 2’s .346 in form.

    Another interesting aspect to the tech battle is the device will utilize Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). The tablet OS is a relative newcomer when compared to iOS, and will have a lot to prove as more devices release with Honeycomb. This could possibly be Iconia’s biggest roadblock, as many iPad users enjoy the simple and intuitive iOS interface.

    Along with iOS, Acer’s device is going up against the Apple name and reputation. While many Android powered mobile devices are hitting the market, none of them are taking down the iPhone/iPod/iPad alone. Acer is a reputable computer technology corporation, but they have no where near the user base Apple has in the US when it pertains to mobile devices.

    I’m impressed with everything I’ve seen regarding the Acer Iconia Tablet A500. Their price tag is affordable, they’re providing tech equal to or greater than the iPad 2, and even adding features the iPad 2 and some other tablets lack. We’ll have to wait for April 24th and beyond to see what kind of impact the device can make, but it has all the ingredients to perform well.

  • Acer CEO Lanci Resigns

    Gianfranco Lanci, President and CEO of Acer has stepped down immediately according to a statement released today.  The Taiwan-based multinational PC maker announced that Chairman J.T. Wang has immediately taken over the role for the interim.

    Lanci, a former employee at Texas Instruments, went to Acer when they acquired the TravelMate laptop business from TI in 1997.  He became president of the company in 2005, and was named CEO in 2008.

    Acer has recently overtaken Dell as the 2nd largest maker of PCs, but has hit a rough patch as of late.  According to Bloomberg:

    The resignation comes less than a week after the company lowered its sales forecast, which led to a four-day, 18 percent rout of the stock. Analysts at 10 brokerages including Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) have lowered their investment ratings on Acer since March 25, citing concerns about earnings.

    Lanci’s resignation passed a Board of Directors today, as they explain that they held different views about the direction the company was taking.  From the press release:

    On the company’s future development, Lanci held different views from a majority of the board members, and could not reach a consensus following several months’ of dialog. They placed different levels of importance on scale, growth, customer value creation, brand position enhancement, and on resource allocation and methods of implementation.

    While the company assures that this change will not affect business as usual, interim CEO J.T. Wang expresses that the company will be moving into the mobile device market.  “Acer needs a period of time for adjustment,” he says.

    “In his role as President and CEO, Lanci has contributed significantly toward Acer’s growth. The company expresses its true appreciation for Lanci’s efforts and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors,” said Wang

  • Acer Chrome OS Devices Said to Appear in About 2 Weeks

    While reports of an upcoming tablet from Verizon to run software from Google, which would presumably compete with Apple’s iPad have captured much of the industry’s attention, it has not been revealed whether the device will run Android or Chrome OS, but Android seems the more likely fit. However, Chrome OS systems are on the way, and we may see some as early as within the next couple weeks.

    According to VentureBeat who has "learned from multiple sources," Acer will launch Chrome OS devices at the Computex Taipei show in June. Unfortunately, that appears to be the extent of what has been learned about these devices. We don’t know if they’re tablets or netbooks or what, but most likely netbooks, as that has been what Google generally associated Chrome OS with from the beginning. Though there has certainly been speculation about touch technology in Chrome OS.

    Here’s how Chrome OS is designed to work:

    According to MG Siegler, who dug through some Chrome OS developer notes, any devices shown at the Computex Taipei show are unlikely to include a complete version of Chrome OS, and that while Google claims development is on schedule, devices aren’t supposed to be ready until the second half of the year.

    We’ll be covering Google I/O next week, and we expect to see some news on both the Android and Chrome OS fronts.