Acer's DX650 and X960 smartphones leaked: we waited for this?

[Via Sohoa]
Read -- DX650
Read -- X960
Posts with tag e-ten

Quigo ad placement
For the third time this year, we're hearing straight from totally unofficial, somewhat sketchy Acer sources that the firm is still planning on producing its own smartphone in 2009. The latest report has company chairman JT Wang stating that the eventual launch may not happen until Q2 2009 (red flag), and he blamed the possible delay on the ongoing negotiations with carriers across the globe. If you'll recall, Acer's been talking up its own phone ever since it took E-Ten Information Systems in under its wings, but many months later, we still have no concrete evidence that anything is going on (mobile wise, at least) behind the firm's doors. We suppose time will tell, but we have serious doubts the hardcore Acer faithful will be holding their breath.Quigo ad placement
Announced all the way back at MWC in February, the glofiish X610 and V900 are finally nearing release -- or so E-TEN claims, anyway. Though the X610's spec sheet isn't going to get any motors running, it's a pretty sharp-looking entry level WinMo 6.1 Professional device that should find its way into a few pockets where 3G isn't needed. More interesting of the pair is the V900 (pictured), a multitalented mobile boob tube that can handle DVB-H, DVB-T, T-DMB, and DAB broadcasts in one convenient package -- and a VGA display certainly doesn't hurt its case, either. So far, the launches on these two are pegged simply as "soon," so keep an eye on the shop of your choice.
It wasn't too long ago that Acer was finalizing paperwork to acquire E-Ten, and now that it's moving on, we're hearing that the company should be launching its very first (aw, how cute) smartphone in around eight to ten months. According to the firm's president, it's aiming to introduce the handset "near the end of this year or early next year," and it will indeed "be Microsoft-based." Gianfranco Lanci also suggested that smartphones could represent up to 10-percent of the company's revenue within the next few years. Notably, the outfit is apparently planning to move its phones via mobile network operators, and while it typically takes six to nine months to sweet talk a carrier into marketing a new smartphone, it hopes to use its "existing relationships with telecommunications companies to speed up such sales." Sadly, we're not given any clues about what carriers it's aiming for, but it won't be too awfully long before we're sure to find out.
It's barely been a month since Acer dropped a big chunk of cash to buy up 75% of Packard Bell, but it looks like the company still had plenty of money left to throw around, as it's now parted with a hefty $290 million to buy up 100% of Glofiish smartphone-maker E-Ten. According to Acer itself, the boards of both E-Ten and Acer approved the deal unanimously, and they expect the acquisition to close sometime during the third quarter of this year. Any other details, however, are expectedly light, including any word on how future devices would be branded, with Acer chairmen J.T. Wang only saying that the "acquisition of E-TEN increases Acer's global footprint by giving us a strong and highly credible presence in the mobility segment." No word on any future moves by Acer just yet but, given its recent spending spree, we wouldn't be surprised if it tried to expand that "global footprint" even further.
After teasing us with a lustful peep from their V900's marketing collateral, E-TEN had the good grace to make their newest Glofiish official. Their first handset to offer mobile TV does so without hesitation -- DVB-H, DVB-T, T-DMB, and DAB broadcast media are all supported on that generous VGA display. These consumer oriented Windows Mobile phones pack an unspecified GSM radio, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS underneath an E-TEN developed touch-based user interface. Presumably, E-TEN has a TouchFLO-like layer to hide the consumer-unfriendly ugliness of Microsoft's increasingly dated and finger-meat hating mobile OS. Also announced is E-TEN's new Glofiish M810 with HSDPA, WiFI (b/g), and GPS with full QWERTY in tow. More on these with their unveiling at GSMA. 










Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: