Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s fourth and fifth-largest notebook makers, yesterday launched their newest Windows 8 tablets and laptops, as well as Android “phablets” for the annual Computex fair, which opens today in Taipei.
“We still remain optimistic about the future of the Windows 8 operating system,” Acer chairman Wang Jeng-tang (王振堂) said at a product launch ceremony.
Acer also anticipates Windows 8.1, an updated version of Windows 8 that will become available later this year, to further improve user experience and reinvigorate consumers’ interests in PC products, Wang said.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
At yesterday’s launch ceremony, the company’s 8.1-inch Iconia W3 tablet drew the widest attention from participants because the W3 is by far the smallest Windows 8-based tablet in the world.
Wang forecast W3 tablet shipments would account for “a double-digit percentage” of the company’s total tablet shipments this year.
Earlier this year, Acer said its tablet shipment goal for this year had been set at 10 million units.
The company yesterday also launched its first 5.7-inch Android-powered Liquid S1 phablet, a category of tablets that can make telephone calls and are usually equipped with 5-inch to 6.9-inch displays, as the company seeks to expand its market share in the smartphone market as the notebook market contracts.
An all-in-one computer, Aspire Z3, a new Aspire S7 and a new Aspire S3 Ultrabook running on the Windows 8 operating system were also unveiled yesterday.
Acer said all of its new products would hit the market by the end of this month.
The W3 tablet is tentatively priced at between US$329 and US$349. The Aspire S7 Ultrabook, which features a high-quality wide quad high definition display, will carry a price tag of US$1,299, while the Aspire S3 Ultrabook will be priced at less than US$999, it added.
Meanwhile, Asustek yesterday launched the Transformer Book Trio — a dual operating system device convertible into a notebook, tablet and desktop — and the new Transformer Pad Infinity — the world’s first NVIDIA Tegra 4-empowered tablet, featuring its high-quality wide quad extended graphics array display.
The company also introduced the Fonepad Note 6 and the MeMO Pad HD 7, which are extensions of Asustek’s Fonepad phablet series and MeMO tablet series.
Asustek chief executive officer Jerry Shen (沈振來) said that the new products will go on sale from the next quarter, adding that the company is also considering developing new PC products running on the Windows 8.1 operating system.
The new MeMO Pad HD 7, featuring a 7-inch display and a quad-core processor, will sell for US$129 for a model with 8 gigabytes of built-in memory and US$149 for a 16GB model, Asustek said.
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