Three different models are 5, 7, and 10 inches based on the Google Android platform, and another 10-inch tablet computer operating on Microsoft Windows was released by Acer. This year, Acer overtook Hewlett-Packard Co. to become the world's biggest seller of notebook computers, according to market research firm IDC.
Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Inc. also released its own new tablet, which is based on the Microsoft Windows system on the same day.
Currently Apple Inc.'s iPad dominates the tablet market space with 95 percent of market share since the last quarter, based on research by Strategy Analytics. The electronics giant debuted the iPad last April, selling 3 million devices in the first 80 days, thus cementing its market dominance.
Since then, Korean electronics giant Samsung has debuted its Galaxy Tab tablet computer, which has sold briskly in the Asian, European, and U.S. markets.
However, Acer believes there is still room for more innovation to entice hungry consumers and expects to secure 10 percent of the market with the new tablet PC.
“This is a market that’s still not fully known, not fully satisfied,” Jim Wong, Acer’s head of information-technology products, said yesterday according to a Bloomberg report. The company expects 40 million to 50 million tablets will be sold worldwide next year, he said.
The two Android tablets will be available in April and the Microsoft device will go on sale in February. All three will offer Wi-Fi connectivity and allow users to surf the Internet using a 3G connection.
Wong said the tablets would likely be in the previously stated range of $299 to $699. By comparison the 9.7-inch iPad costs between $499 and $829.
Acer yesterday also released a smartphone with a 4.8-inch screen based on Android that it touted as a phone with the “soul of a tablet.”
With the price tag significantly lower than its iPad rival, Acer may appeal to money-conscious buyers looking to buy the device for under $400.
“It’s a wide-open market and an opportunity for Acer to make itself better known to a North American market,” Roger Entner, head of telecom research at Nielsen Co, said to Bloomberg.
