Something about all the Android phones out today is that they all seem to have one of two form factors. Either a large touchscreen only device, or one with a sliding (or flipping) keyboard. Enter the Acer beTouch E130. It has a monoblock qwerty form factor that will have previous Blackberry and some Windows Mobile users feeling right at home.
Featuring a 2.6-inch QVGA touch screen, 256MB of RAM, 512MB of ROM, and a 416 MHz processor and runs Android 1.6 as well as an optical trackpad. Now just looking at those specs you would think it’s the worst Android phone ever. But without a huge screen you probably won’t be running many medi-acentric applications. And the form factor will probably appeal most to texters and emailers.
In a press release today, Acer announced that it is joining the Open Handset Alliance and is promising an Android smartphone by the end of the year. We already knew from rumors at World Mobile Congress earlier this year that Acer was getting in the Android game, but it’s nice to have more solid news on the matter.
London, 1st June 2009-Acer announces its joining of the Open Handset Alliance and expects to launch smartphones based on the Android platform in the fourth quarter of this year.
As a member of the Open Handset Alliance, Acer will work with its members to contribute to the development of the Android platform and bring consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today’s mobile platforms. By joining the Open Handset Alliance, Acer demonstrates its support for Android as an open mobile platform and its commitment to Android’s commercial success.
Android is a complete and open mobile phone software stack, featuring an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications. It includes everything a manufacturer or operator needs to build a mobile phone. Android was built from the ground-up to enable developers to create compelling mobile applications that take full advantage of all a handset has to offer.
There are over 40 members in the Open Handset Alliance, including mobile operators, handset manufacturers, software companies, and semi-conductor companies.
Acer rolls out 4 new smart phones, everyone rolls their eyes. Four new handsets that look like HTC’s lineup from last year. And the specs read like your average Windows Mobile 6.1 handset. Except for the not so often seen feature of a fingerprint reader, featured on the M900, and the dual-SIM sporting DX900. The Acer Tempo series seems like such a yawn for me, it’s not even worth taking a second look. I’m still wondering what happened to all those rumors of an Acer Android phone and if that will ever show something more solid.
This is a spyshot of one of the smartphones that we should be seeing announced by Acer at the Mobile World Congress coming up soon. No real details were available other than this shot. And no one is sure yet if it run Android or Windows Mobile, but I will point out that I don’t see a Windows key like many other Windows Mobile handset sport. At least it has a QWERTY, but I’m still pretty iffy on the form-factor. I’ve seen many phones from Japan with swiveling screens that just look horrible and this is no exception. If it slides up, and you can keep it in landscape mode, then I might think a little better of it. But I would still be worried about a less than solid design. We’ll have to wait till more details come out, or we hear some official word from Acer before passing any more judgement.
This isn’t the Acer Android smartphone that we’ve been hearing rumors about, but it’s a good clue as to what we’ll be hearing when Acer make their announcements at Mobile World Congress in 2 weeks. What we see here is a rebranded E-Ten Glofiish DX900, said to be running Windows Mobile, the same as the original. This gives us the idea that the new Acer handsets about to be introduced are going to be just rebranded E-Ten handsets till they can get something new cooking. But with specs like Dual-SIM, WinMo 6.1, GPS, WiFi, and a front-facing camera, you can bet it’s going to be enough to keep consumers interested.
The word on the street is that Acer has confirmed it is working on an Android Smartphone to be unveiled on February 16th at Mobile World Congress. No immediate details were available about this new player in the Android game. The folks at Acer apparently have a tight lid on this. Although Acer is a member of the Open Handset Alliance, an Android netbook would seem like a more likely candidate from Acer than a smartphone. Considering Acer purchased E-Ten last year, we may expect something similar to the E-Ten Glofiish.
This is a spyshot of one of the smartphones that we should be seeing announced by Acer at the Mobile World Congress coming up soon. No real details were available other than this shot. And no one is sure yet if it run Android or Windows Mobile, but I will point out that I don’t see a Windows key like many other Windows Mobile handset sport. At least it has a QWERTY, but I’m still pretty iffy on the form-factor. I’ve seen many phones from Japan with swiveling screens that just look horrible and this is no exception. If it slides up, and you can keep it in landscape mode, then I might think a little better of it. But I would still be worried about a less than solid design. We’ll have to wait till more details come out, or we hear some official word from Acer before passing any more judgement.
The word on the street is that Acer has confirmed it is working on an Android Smartphone to be unveiled on February 16th at Mobile World Congress. No immediate details were available about this new player in the Android game. The folks at Acer apparently have a tight lid on this. Although Acer is a member of the Open Handset Alliance, an Android netbook would seem like a more likely candidate from Acer than a smartphone. Considering Acer purchased E-Ten last year, we may expect something similar to the E-Ten Glofiish.
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