Taiwanese computer maker Acer Inc (宏碁) on Friday announced its entry into the South Korean smartphone market, thanks to a partnership with that country’s second-largest telecom, Korea Telecom (KT).
The smartphone market in South Korea has long been dominated by Samsung Electronics Corp, Apple Inc and LG Corp, Acer said in a statement, adding that it is the first Asian company outside of South Korea that has been able to break into that market.
Acer said it will feature its Liquid Z5, a touchscreen released this January, to carry KT’s services, which has 17 million subscribers and a market share of more than 30 percent.
There will also be more Long-Term Evolution (LTE) devices released to meet demand from South Korean users, the statement said.
Besides South Korea, Acer said its smartphones have won recognition in Europe, with more devices to be launched in Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Netherlands and the Republic of Macedonia through partnership with telecommunication service provider T-Mobile.
Acer also lauded its success in Thailand, citing market surveys for the first quarter of the year showing that it has sold more than 330,000 smartphones there, making it the country’s third-largest smartphone provider.
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