After their Windows Phone 7.5 handset, the Allegro, came onto the scene last year with little fanfare, Acer maintained that they were still committed to Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. But after hearing nothing but crickets chirping from Acer's neck of the woods in 2013, many of us are wondering if they have wavered in that commitment. As it turns out, the answer is "yes, but..."
The Taiwanese manufacturer tells TechRadar that while "everyone in our smartphone team would really like to deploy Windows OS," the company has decided to hold off until they determine whether or not it makes business sense to do so. Allen Burnes, Acer's VP of Smartphones for EMEA said:
"We are looking at Windows Phone 8, we think it's a great OS. The integration with Xbox is nice, the enterprise suite is nice, but I think no one knows about it...We've made the decision not to launch a Windows Phone 8 device this year. Next year, depending on how we see the growth go this year, we may well do."
Burnes went on to praise Windows Phone 8's tight integration with its sibling platforms, Windows and Xbox, but said that Acer will pass on putting out a Windows Phone device in 2013 so they can gauge just how well the OS is fairing in the market. They chalk a big part of their decision up to what they perceive as Microsoft's lack of communication about Windows Phone and over-reliance on Nokia to build the brand, despite the bombardment of billboards, commercials and product placement.
Even though they were never a big player in the Windows Phone game, it is disappointing to see Acer go the way of LG, at least for the time being. Any loss of manufacturer confidence, regardless of how small, is a blow to the growth of the product.
The good news is that company's like Huawei see the value and potential in the Windows Phone and have climbed aboard. They have thrown their hat into the emerging market and economy phone ring with their Ascend W1 smartphone and appear to be on the verge of unleashing a powerful, ultra-thin handset dubbed the Ascend W2.
Although Nokia currently continues to dominate the Windows Phone market (and rightfully so!), we are hopeful that other manufacturers will taste enough success to keep at it, and possibly even inspire others to challenge Nokia's crown.
Source: TechRadar; Thanks for the tip, Muessig!
