Acer unveils Windows, Android devices

Acer on Monday unveiled its new range of smartphones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and the company is expected to sell more than 1.5 million mobile devices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa markets in 2015, according to a top executive of the company.

Acer is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation and its products include personal computers such as desktops, notebooks and net books, LCD monitors, displays, projectors, servers, tablets and smartphones.

The Barcelona event is one of the most highly-anticipated events of the year for tech aficionados and smartphone lovers.

Acer is one of those companies that seek to benefit from the mobile phone event, where the company unveiled one Windows phone, three Android-based devices and the Liquid Leap+ wearable device.

“All newly-introduced devices will be available in the UAE starting from March to the middle of April,” Patrick Mulligan (right), general manager of smartphones at Acer Middle East and North Africa, told Khaleej Times.

Acer has re-entered the smartphones market especially in the Middle East and Mulligan said: “We are not talking about specific numbers and targets for market share. We had a very successful year in 2014 across Emea and sold 1.5 million devices. In 2015 Acer expects a substantial growth over 2014.”

The smartphones market is very competitive and tough and that’s the reason Acer is approaching the market in a careful way, he said, adding that Acer believes that its brand reputation in the last 20 years in IT segment will help in smartphone business.

“People used our products in the past. They know the brand stands for quality and latest innovation and design. These are the brand messages that we are using to launch our smartphones,” he explained.

He mentioned that all Acer devices come with cloud for life with unlimited capacity and it’s sharable with up to 32 people. Another important feature of all devices is voice-enabled selfie option.

New devices
The company launched an entry-level Windows device, M220, at Dh299 and it will be available next month in the UAE, according to the general manager. “It comes immediately upgradable to Windows 10 so it’s pre-configured to be upgraded to Windows 10,” he explained.

It’s interesting to note that Acer is the only multinational company that is producing a Microsoft-enabled device and Windows 10 platform across all devices. “As soon as Windows 10 is launched later this year we will have Windows 10 in desktops, Windows 10 in laptops, tablets and smartphones. Nobody else can say that and nobody else has a story like that,” he said. “We will have another Windows device that will come later on.”

Under the Android portfolio, Acer launched its flagship device Liquid Jade Z and it will be available at retailers across the UAE next month at a price tag of Dh799. It’s the smallest five-inch screen smartphone in the world.

The company also introduced the Liquid Z520, which has an 8MP camera. It will be available in the middle of April at Dh499. The latest addition to the Z series has been upgraded to a touch-less selfie experience with a voice-activated camera and up to 8GB internal storage.

Another model launched at the MWC is the Z220 and it’s designed for users of all ages looking to purchase a secondary, vacation or party device.

Under the wearable device segment, Acer introduced the Liquid Leap+ and it was designed by focusing on user flexibility. This innovative wearable convinces with features aimed at keeping track of all aspects of one’s life in a small one-inch package.

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com