Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Product Category: PDA Phone

Manufacturer: Acer

Where to Buy: Expansys [Affiliate]

Price: $479.99 USD

Specifications: From the Expansys site

Pros:

• Elegant design;
• Large, sharp and vibrant screen;
• Very good speakerphone.

Cons:

• 128 MB of RAM isn't sufficient for such an advanced device;
• Screen isn't as touch sensitive as many competitors;
• Acer Shell touch interface lacks the pizazz and depth of HTC's TouchFlo.

Summary: Will we ever be able to write another touchscreen phone review without mentioning the iPhone? Its phenomenal success and near-iconic status have sent the manufacturers of phones using the more "venerable" operating systems, such as Windows Mobile and Blackberry, scrambling to come up with iPhone alternatives. I haven't seen much from Acer in phones in the past, but its F900 has impressive specs and looks to have the potential to challenge the iPhone as well as other WinMo contenders such as the HTC Touch Diamond 2. Does the F900 have what it takes to bring iPhone shoppers into the WinMo fold?

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"Due to begin shipping from the 6th October, the Acer F1 is the most superior Windows Mobile 6.5 (Windows Phone) device that will be available upon launch. The competitor to the HTC Touch HD, the Acer F1 will have many advantages as of the 6th October, primarily the Windows Phone 6.5 operating system and 1Ghz processor (double that of the HTC Touch HD)."

Beware of October 6. On one hand, it marks the official release of Windows Mobile 6.5. On the other hand, the sheer number of devices to choose from will surely cause headaches. One such device is the Acer F1, and it's definitely no slouch. The beast packs a Snapdragon chipset clocked at 1 GHz, a 3.8" 480 x 800 touch screen, HSDPA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, an FM tuner, and a 5.0-megapixel camera with flash - all of which, unlike the debt-inducing XPERIA X2, is priced at £295 + VAT ($480 USD). Who wants one?

"Actually, if you want to get technical about it, they've posted a manual for an "S200" -- but browsing it quickly reveals that they're talking about the F1 judging by the diagrams and specs, which leads us to wonder whether S200 is the official go-to-market name, a regional variant, or something even more sinister."

The F1 (or is it the S200?) will be Acer's top of the line model, with WM6.5, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 3.8" WVGA screen, GPS, 5MP camera with LED flash, the usual assortment of radios (but lacking US 3G freqs), and an FM tuner. We first heard about it (officially) back in April, and it was demoed at Computex in June. Unfortunately, US availability may be held up due to carrier issues, but it looks like the rest of world will see this in time for the holidays.

"As Acer begins to launch more and more devices, we're giving you the chance to win an Acer Tempo M900 Smartphone! The Acer Tempo M900 runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, supports AT&T US 3G frequencies, and has a stellar 3.8 inch WVGA display and GPS! All you have to do to have a chance of winning this great prize is answer one simple question. The closing date for entries is midnight on Friday July 31st, 2009"

Do you enjoy having new Windows Mobile devices yet hate paying for them? It may surprise you to learn you are not alone. eXpansys has apparently known about you freebie lovers for some time and has organized a contest with a simple appeal: Win something for free. The something is an Acer Tempo M900, and you need to get your entry in by the end of the month. Good Luck!

If Acer's F1 seems a little extreme for your needs, or the form factor just isn't to your liking, then you may be interested in the entry-level, Windows Mobile 6.5-based L1 (translated version), pictured above, and C1 (translated version), pictured after the break. The two, which made an appearance at MWC 2009, are now strutting their stuff at Computex, and should be on shelves sometime in the fourth quarter. Details are a little light, though it's known that the L1 includes a slide-out, 12-key numeric keypad, and the C1 includes a 528MHz processor and a 2.0-megapixel camera, while both have 2.8", 240 x 400 touch screens.

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Ever since Acer scooped up E-TEN, the company's been churning out some pretty compelling Windows Mobile devices, though none more compelling than the Windows Mobile 6.5-based F1 (translated version), which Acer says will be out in the second half of the year. Like the Toshiba TG01, the F1 packs a Snapdragon chipset clocked at 1GHz. It also features a 3.8", 480 x 800 touch screen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, a 5.0-megapixel camera with flash, GPS, an FM tuner, and a 3.5mm headphone jack (you hear that, HTC?). Who wants one?

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"Most dual-SIM devices top out at EDGE, but the DX900 takes it to the next level with triband HSDPA on top of quadband EDGE; you've also got a 2.8-inch VGA display, WiFi, 3 megapixel AF camera, and GPS, so if you're a two-line kind of individual, look for this one now around Europe and Asia. Next, the X960 ups the ante with HSUPA and 7.2Mbps maximum on the downlink, a revised 3D user interface, and a 3.2 megapixel cam -- it too should be populating Europe and Asia as we speak."

If you remember my last post on Acer's 8-model blitz, neither of these models are likely to be seen in the US until next year. While these aren't exactly earth-shaking entries in the Windows Mobile sweepstakes, both are solid devices that should fit someone's budget and needs. I do wonder though if any US carrier would be willing to tolerate a dual-SIM device like the DX900. We'll (hopefully) have live pictures of the DX900 for you sometime this week - stay tuned.

Remember those eight models Acer launched in Singapore a couple of weeks back? Gearlog reports that Acer's plan for moving these into the US market is being held up by carrier certification. By the time they get in, Acer's models are going to have lots of competition - Acer loses, consumers lose. Is it just me or is the phone business model in the US broken?

"At a launch event today, Acer and C2O Corporation officially launched eight of these handsets in the Singapore market. Available now are the dual-SIM DX900 ($530 USD), the dual-faced DX650 ($397 USD) and the compact X960 ($463 USD). Expected in May but not yet priced are the F900 and the M900, and then coming later in 2009 are the F1, L1 and C1."

I'm not sure about the marketing angle of this - surely launching 8 models at once isn't exactly calculated to keep your brand staying very long in the consumer awareness. This is especially true since the timing is horrible as Singapore's economy has been among the worst hit in the region from the global downturn. Or maybe that's the whole idea - create a huge splash while everybody else cuts marketing budgets. In any case, Acer's eight models cover the gamut from entry level (two of which we covered here) to the top-end M900 and F900 (due in May). Specs on these are known (hit the link for the rundown), but not for the yet-to-be-available F1, L1 and C1. The F1 is also slated to be high-end, with a rumoured 5MP camera, Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset running at 800MHz and ATI graphics, while the L1 and C1 are reputed to be budget phones. Credit to TechieLobang for covering the event and taking lots of pics!

"The first of Acer's upcoming smartphones, tipped for launch at their MWC announcement next week, has leaked, and it's certainly an interesting looking device. The Acer DX650 is a dual-sided Windows Mobile smartphone, with a traditional 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen on one side, and a full numeric keypad and 1.27-inch 128 x 96 monochrome OLED display on the reverse."

That's a fascinating design, though I really wonder how usable this is - the best of both worlds, or the worse of each? At least you can't accuse Acer of not trying to innovate. Other specs include GPS, micro-SD slot and a camera, though from the looks of it, this will be a low-resolution one for video-calling only. Acer will also be introducing another smartphone next week, in a more traditional design. The X960 features a 533MHz Samsung processor, 128MB RAM, 256 MB ROM, GPS and a slot for a Micro-SD card. The phone will also offer a 2.8" VGA screen, along with HSPA and a 3.2MP camera.

It wasn't long ago that Acer snapped up E-TEN, and now we have confirmation that the first Acer-branded smartphone of 2009 will launch at MWC. Unfortunately, NDAs prevent me from saying much about what's coming, so you'll have to use your imagination this time around. What are you hoping to see from Acer on February 16?

"Acer will likely launch its first smartphone near the end of this year or early next year and it will be a Microsoft-based device, the president of the company said Wednesday. Smartphones will represent as much as 10 percent of Acer's revenue in the next few years, said Gianfranco Lanci, president of Acer, at the company's first quarter investors' conference in Taipei... Acer's quick entry into the smartphone market comes largely due to its NT$9 billion (US$297.3 million) agreement last month to purchase handheld device maker E-Ten Information Systems of Taiwan. E-Ten has developed and sold several smartphone models over the past several years, including its Windows Mobile 6.0-based Glofish smartphone with GPS (Global Positioning System), in addition to other handheld electronic devices such as GPS devices and pocket PCs. Acer plans to focus on smartphones. E-Ten has already stopped selling PDAs, and GPS is already becoming a standard part of other devices instead of just on stand-alone gadgets, said Lanci. E-Ten has only sold its handsets directly to the retail market in the past. The boards of directors at Acer and E-Ten have already approved the deal, but they still face shareholder votes and approval by government regulators. The companies expect the deal to close in the third quarter of this year."



I cringed toward the end of this article. Either Lanci had his information wrong, or InfoWorld misquoted him. E-TEN hasn't stopped selling PDAs yet. Two new models, the M750 and M810, have just hit the market, and the V900 is still on track for a second half release. On top of that, the company's products certainly haven't been limited to direct retail market sales only as the article otherwise suggests. Nitpicking aside, Acer is hoping to complete the acquisition of E-TEN by the end of Q3, and have a new Windows Mobile phone out the door by early '09. Its specs is anyone's guess, although I sure hope they focus more on functionality and less on turning it into another Ferrari.