Acer Previews New Tablets, Smartphone, Wearables

Acer Corporate President and CEO Jason Chen took the stage at a press conference in New York April 29 to talk about his role at Acer and to give a preview of the company’s newest product portfolio. During his keynote, Chen, who assumed the role of Acer chief in January, spoke about his moves to right the company and emphasized  Acer is focused on finding its strengths and taking advantage of market opportunities.

“We are at a critical moment of turnaround,” Chen said of the IT channel. “PC is not a growing industry.”

To capture more space within the market, Acer is looking to reverse its fortunes by branching out into the mobile space. Chen believes Acer is exceptionally good at listening to its customers and learning how to adapt to the market, which is leaning away from traditional PCs and more toward portable devices. Read on for info on all of the new product announcements.

Tablets – Chen kicked off the press conference with the introduction of the Acer Aspire Switch 10, the company’s flagship new tablet hybrid. The Switch features a 10.1-inch screen and comes equipped with a removable keyboard, which attaches to the device via the new Snap Hinge for latch-free keyboard docking. The device can be positioned in four different modes to fit different work and play situations.

Chen also showed off two new tablets, the Acer Iconia One 7 and the Acer Iconia Tab 7. Both slates sport 7-inch displays and come in a variety of colors. The Iconia One houses an Intel processor as well as front and rear cameras, while the Iconia Tab features a quad-core processor housed in an aluminum chassis. The Iconia Tab 7 also features 3G and Bluetooth connectivity to allow users to make calls from their device.

Acer also is releasing two giant-sized all-in-one devices called the Aspire U5-620 and the Aspire Z3-615, both of which run Windows 8.1.

Smartphone – Acer also gave the audience a sneak preview of its newest Android phone, dubbed the Acer Liquid Jade. While Chen and Co. were brief on the specs of the phone, they did confirm that the Jade will feature a 5-inch screen, run the Android OS and features an all-curve design with no flat surfaces. Jade is scheduled to launch in Europe and Asia between late July and early August; however, Acer did not specify whether the phone would ever hit U.S. shores.

To go along with the Jade, the company briefly touched on its new wearable, called the Acer Liquid Leap. The thin device, which is slated to release alongside Jade, features a 17mm band and is designed to handle simple text messaging, fitness and other daily tasking apps. Acer execs mentioned the possibility of the Leap being bundled with the Jade as a companion device in some markets, although they were once again mum on the specific details.

Chromebook – The company briefly showed off a new Chromebook, which was touted as “the most powerful Chromebook on the market.” Acer’s latest will feature an Intel Go i3 processor, making it the first device in the industry to use the processor in a Chromebook.

Notebooks – Last but not least, Acer gave the audience an update on their traditional notebook lineup, with new customizable 15-inch, 14-inch, and 11-inch models on display.

From the looks of the press conference, Acer is looking to move past its previous hurdles in a big way. Chen and crew emphasized the importance of touch devices for the company going forward, as well as the importance of adapting to the current needs of the market when it comes to mobiles.

The most interesting aspect of the conference by far was the new Jade smartphone, although it remains to be seen if the company will have any success making a name for itself in the already crowded phone market with its new release. Acer’s previous attempts at marketing a Windows phone haven’t been nearly as successful as anyone hoped, but the switch to Android may help the company gain an edge if and when the device hits the shelves in North America.