Acer appears set for a big push with Google Android next year. According to Roger Yuen, vice president of Acer’s smart handheld business in Asia, Acer is planning to release up to six Google Android-powered smartphones in the first half of 2010.
The devices will cover the entire pricing spectrum with devices to be offered in the top-end, mid and low-end pricing tiers. Acer will also market to both consumers and business users.
This news seems to go against earlier reports that Acer would only introduce 8 to 10 devices in 2010, of which about half would be Android-powered. It remains to be seen if Acer has decided to release more devices next year or if it has decided to increase the number of Android-powered devices. Or it could be that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.
In the meantime, Acer’s first Android smartphone, the Acer Liquid A1, is now available in Hong Kong and Taiwan with more markets to follow later.
The Acer Liquid A1 is powered by a 768MHz Qualcomm 8250 Snapdragon processor and Google Android 1.6. It comes with quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and tri-band HSPA connectivity, a 3.5-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen display, 256MB RAM and 512MB ROM, GPS/A-GPS, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a microSD card slot, a 5MP camera with auto-focus, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a 1,350mAh battery.