Acer unveils Windows, Android tablets to compete with Apple's iPad

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
The second-largest computer manufacturer in the world, Acer, is hedging its bets in the fight for tablet supremacy, with plans to take on the iPad with a 7-inch Android tablet, and two 10.1-inch devices -- one running Microsoft Windows.



Acer's two Android-based tablets will ship in April 2011. The 10.1-inch model is 13.3mm thick with an aluminum casing, and it features a built-in HDMI port with 1080p capabilities.



The larger Android tablet will have both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, as well as multi-touch input and an internal gyroscope. No pricing for any of the hardware revealed this week was announced.



The 7-inch Android tablet will sport a 1280-by-800-pixel display with a 16-by-10 aspect ratio. It also comes with a forward-facing HD camera, and like its larger counterpart, it also has an HDMI port and wireless connectivity with 3G and Wi-Fi.



Acer also touted that its 7-inch tablet will feature a dual-core processor, and will run Adobe Flash Player 10.1. It will also offer a "truly amazing sound experience" with Dolby Mobile Technology.







The 10.1-inch Windows 7 tablet is launching sooner, in February 2011. That hardware will come with a docking device that includes a full-size keyboard, and will weigh less than a kilogram at just 15mm thick.



The Windows 7-based device will run an AMD processor and will sport two 1.3-megapixel cameras -- one on the rear and one on the front. Like the Android tablets, it will also include Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.







Also this week, the company unveiled a dual-screen tablet concept dubbed the "Iconia." Rather than having a keyboard on the bottom half of the clamshell design, the device sports a second touch-panel display.



In August, the chairman of Acer predicted that Apple's iPad will eventually drop to just 20 percent of the total tablet market when competing options are introduced. He said Apple's "closed platform" iOS mobile operating system will ultimately be the downfall of the iPad.



Earlier this year, before the iPad launched to great success, Acer indicated it would not enter the tablet market, citing Apple's advantage with the iTunes ecosystem and App Store digital marketplace. Acer has become one of the top PC makers partially through the sale of low-cost, low-power netbooks.



Last quarter, Acer was the second-largest PC maker in the world, accounting for 13.1 percent of all sales. Acer's 11.5 million unit shipments were behind only HP, which sold 15.4 million PCs, good for 17.5 percent of the total worldwide market.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 169
    I am far from being an Apple fanboy...but to first say they are not entering the tablet market and then to do so, and then to state that the closed ecosystem of the iPad will cause it to loose ground...hmmm. Wasn't the same thing said about the iPod Touch and iPhone? Why do these people make such outlandish claims. If they can do it sure, say it, but to just make this claim and then have to backpedal makes them look like idiots.



    Aside from that, I would like to see a Win 7 tablet (with more than an Atom proc PLUS decent battery life) that includes stylus support. The Win 7 handwriting recognition software is very good and works well for me since I am studying Japanese and Mathematics. The iPad is simply too limited in many ways as a device for me while at university.
  • Reply 2 of 169
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    {deleted}
  • Reply 3 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lamewing View Post


    Aside from that, I would like to see a Win 7 tablet.



    [increduloussarcasm]Yeah, those Windows tablets were a HUGE hit in the past. No doubt they will be again. You're backing a real winner there. On a related note, GoogleTV is nothing at all like Microsoft TV. Nope, not at all. Get behind that baby, too, before it takes off!![/increduloussarcasm]
  • Reply 4 of 169
    scene from Acer and other windows computing-based copy cat companies boardrooms:



    Uh, what should we come up with next?



    Duh, I don't know...



    Anybody got any ideas?



    Hey...what's Apple creating?



    Ha! That will never sell!



    (fast forward six months)



    We have been planning to come out with our mp3/video/cell/tablet/laptop product based on windows/xp/7/mobile/droid/etc OS for months, and we will give Apple a run for their money.



    It was our idea first..... Jobs just picked up all the touch screens/flash memory/components first.





    Yeah, that's the ticket!

  • Reply 5 of 169
    A tablet with a docking keyboard station is.. a laptop.
  • Reply 6 of 169
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by elmsley View Post


    A tablet with a docking keyboard station is.. a laptop.



    Only when docked. Does your laptops screen come off?
  • Reply 7 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mister Snitch View Post


    Yeah, those Windows tablets were a HUGE hit in the past. No doubt they will be again. You're backing a real winner there.



    First, they said that about Windows 1.0 and 2.0 PCs. Never count MS out.



    Second, it's pretty clear the future is gonna see a melding between the iPad and portable Macs. The iPad needs more horsepower, and should've gotten its own OS from the start.
  • Reply 8 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by elmsley View Post


    A tablet with a docking keyboard station is.. a laptop.



    As opposed to the iPad and iPad Keyboard Dock?



    Guess the iPad is really a laptop...
  • Reply 9 of 169
    Meh.....the shots at Apple is just exec-speak. They spout this stuff and just hope that investors will believe them.



    I don't get the Windows 7 tablets. iOS and Android were designed for touchscreens while 7 has it tacked on. If Microsoft were smart, they would follow Apple's path and create a modified version of their Windows Phone 7 OS and market it for tablets.
  • Reply 10 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pmz View Post


    Only when docked. Does your laptops screen come off?



    Yes, once on an old Dell laptop. Didn't work too well after that...
  • Reply 11 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sippincider View Post


    Second, it's pretty clear the future is gonna see a melding between the iPad and portable Macs. The iPad needs more horsepower, and should've gotten its own OS from the start.



    It's also pretty clear why U shouldn't be CEO of apple cuz U just haven't got it.
  • Reply 12 of 169
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sippincider View Post


    First, they said that about Windows 1.0 and 2.0 PCs. Never count MS out.



    Second, it's pretty clear the future is gonna see a melding between the iPad and portable Macs. The iPad needs more horsepower, and should've gotten its own OS from the start.



    Couldn't disagree more. Mans first bomb wasn't the atom bomb. You develop at a level which tests the water, sees demand, watch how a device is used once in the hands of consumers and then build from there. The iPad is perfectly spec'd for it's stated purpose at Launch. It has it's own variant of OS, Apple are keen to avoid the fragmentation of android, and iOS and it's future melding with OS X is a brilliant way to achieve this.



    What would you do differently with a dedicated OS for the iPad, and what would you like more horsepower from, and would this come at the expense of battery life?
  • Reply 13 of 169
    Throw enough shit at a wall and maybe some of it will stick... that's Acer's tablet strategy.



    All of these Android/Win 7/Whatever tablets will have to be delivered with flawless execution. There is no way these companies can give Apple another year without condemning themselves to complete failure.



    Win 7??!! Really??!! I'm waiting for the battery times. I can see Ballmer next year... "Battery times, battery times, battery times!!". As mentioned in another comment, the best strategy is probably Win 7 mobile.



    Android... the iOS closed system is its downfall??!! Really??!! The frag issue will become even more prominent as the number of tablets grow. Each manufacturer will have to have its own app store.



    Flawless execution guys or you will fail to even make a dent.
  • Reply 14 of 169
    here we go again! another outfit pushing another Android tablet as an ipad killer. Yawn!!!!!
  • Reply 15 of 169
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Katonah View Post


    scene from Acer and other windows computing-based copy cat companies boardrooms:



    Uh, what should we come up with next?



    Duh, I don't know...



    Anybody got any ideas?



    Hey...what's Apple creating?



    Ha! That will never sell!



    (fast forward six months)



    We have been planning to come out with our mp3/video/cell/tablet/laptop product based on windows/xp/7/mobile/droid/etc OS for months, and we will give Apple a run for their money.



    It was our idea first..... Jobs just picked up all the touch screens/flash memory/components first.





    Yeah, that's the ticket!





    How do you think Apple comes up with their own innovation?



    Staying ahead of the curve doesn't just involve some imaginary line they're always trying to catch up to. They are competing with these companies! This competition is what spurs their innovation, and without these other companies, Apple wouldn't strive for such greatness.



    Yes, thank God we have Apple, but thank God it's not JUST Apple as well...
  • Reply 16 of 169
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maccherry View Post


    here we go again! another outfit pushing another Android tablet as an ipad killer. Yawn!!!!!



    It'll get more interesting once the other mobile operating systems catch up.
  • Reply 17 of 169
    I took a look at the videos and the write ups on the Acer Iconia. It has nothing that makes me jump at it. Its just a laptop that has dual touch screens with a keyboard that pops up when you place both hands on the bottom screen and allows typing, with a GUI that is OK. It can open two web pages on the separate screens or allows you to have more screen to view if needed. Has the ability to use Some Acer media software and their new ecosystem. But quite frankly, its a bit large, nothing as cool as the MS Courier idea could have been. The form factor looks like something from Dell. Not appealing at all. Not sure if you could use it as a book or magazine, as its really doesn't seem made for that. I don't see this as any type of threat to any one. The GUI is a bit colorful. I guess they thought that they would try something that Apple had thought about and dropped long ago.



    The smaller pad/tablet is OK but again, cheap looking and in line with their market, but its just another entry into the market if you ask me. It also speaks volumes of what type of manufacturer they are. Acer just enters safely after someone else breaks open the market and then they just make a copy of a similar product very cheaply. Kind of like throw something against the wall and see if it sticks. Not very impressed with these guys.
  • Reply 18 of 169
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by caliminius View Post


    As opposed to the iPad and iPad Keyboard Dock?



    Guess the iPad is really a laptop...



    I actually like this design better than the apple solution (the keyboard dock, not the tablet design, iPad is way better). At least with this one you can place the keyboard dock comfortably on your lap when on the couch. Unlike Apple's solution. I'd still rather have the iPad, but with Android's already large marketplace of Apps, this device is the right idea to say the least.
  • Reply 19 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sippincider View Post


    The iPad needs more horsepower, and should've gotten its own OS from the start.



    That's what iOS is. Designed from ground up for touch screen devices without keyboards. Rather than recycling the aging OSX, Apple started fresh. Some competitors shoehorn the old Windows OS with its decades of baggage into this new class of machine. Then try as hard as they can to turn the tablet paradigm into just another laptop. Silly.
  • Reply 20 of 169
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by beatlejoose View Post


    I took a look at the videos and the write ups on the Acer Iconia. It has nothing that makes me jump at it. Its just a laptop that has dual touch screens with a keyboard that pops up when you place both hands on the bottom screen and allows typing, with a GUI that is OK. It can open two web pages on the separate screens or allows you to have more screen to view if needed. Has the ability to use Some Acer media software and their new ecosystem. But quite frankly, its a bit large, nothing as cool as the MS Courier idea could have been. The form factor looks like something from Dell. Not appealing at all. Not sure if you could use it as a book or magazine, as its really doesn't seem made for that. I don't see this as any type of threat to any one. The GUI is a bit colorful. I guess they thought that they would try something that Apple had thought about and dropped long ago.



    The smaller pad/tablet is OK but again, cheap looking and in line with their market, but its just another entry into the market if you ask me. It also speaks volumes of what type of manufacturer they are. Acer just enters safely after someone else breaks open the market and then they just make a copy of a similar product very cheaply. Kind of like throw something against the wall and see if it sticks. Not very impressed with these guys.



    Yeah, the problem with all these tablet wanna-be's is that Apple started a project almost ten years ago to study what kind of form factor would be the best for tablets. They tried and tested a lot of different configurations and rejected most of them. Almost certainly, years from now when it doesn't matter anymore, we will find out that Apple had a two page tablet mock-up long before courier. It's not exactly a new idea to do the two screen thing, I remember seeing drawings of the idea in 1970's magazine articles about computing and "the future."



    The point is, Apple already *rejected* most of the tablet ideas that the other manufacturers are cranking out in opposition to them. It's not like Apple had a lucky hit with the iPad, it's the end result of almost a decade of research, thinking, and testing.
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