Acer ready to roll out US$99 tablet PC

Wan China Times, Chan Tzu-hsien, Wang Chung-yi and Staff Reporter 2012-12-24

Acer's ultrabook Aspire S7. (File photo/China Times)

After a previous setback, Acer, Taiwan's leading PC maker, is staging a comeback in the tablet PC market. Acer reportedly will roll out a tablet model at an incredibly low US$99, which will be contract-produced by Compal and utilize MediaTek chips. The tablet targets the emerging markets in Southeast Asia and the business opportunities of Chinese Lunar New Year in Chinese communities.

An Acer manager revealed that at an internal kick-off meeting earlier this month, Acer's ranking officials already passed the message to the chiefs of the company's overseas units, asking them to explore the reaction of channel players in various markets. The message received especially warm reception in Southeast Asia, where Acer holds a decided advantage in its channels. Backed by the reputation of Acer's brand and the low-price strategy, the new product is expected to enjoy good sales, notably in the educational market in South East Asia.

An insider revealed that the model measures 7" in size and runs on the Android operating system, with its supply chain including Compal and MediaTek. Shipments of the model are expected to start from the first quarter of 2013, at the earliest. Wire services reported on Dec. 21 that Acer's new tablet PC, dubbed ICONIA B1, has passed the certification of the US Federal Communications Commission. In addition to Southeast Asia and mainland China, the model, which is furnished with MediaTek's double-core processor, will also target the US market.

Acer shipped 2 million tablet PCs in 2012. C.T. Wang, Acer chairman, proclaimed recently that in 2013 the company's shipment of table PCs will pick up considerably. It turns out that the new low-price model may enable the company to achieve that goal.

C.T. Wang also noted that most of the tablet PCs to be shipped by Acer in 2013 will feature the Android operating system, whose cost is much lower than Windows 8.

Industry insiders noted that Acer will rely on full cooperation from its supply chain in order to realize profits from the US$99 model. As a result, Acer carried out a personnel reshuffle at its global logistics center for computer products, appointing new chiefs who are good at communications with suppliers.

Compal has set a high shipment goal of 6-8 million tablet PCs in 2013. Industry insiders said that Compal has secured orders of 3 million tablet PCs from Amazon for 2013 and may obtain orders of 1-2 million units for the US$99 tablet PC from Acer.

ASUS joined hands with Google in rolling out Nexus 7, priced at US$199, which has carved out a considerable market share, thanks to its high performance-price ratio. In response, Apple has launched iPad Mini, in order to tap the medium-level market. Acer will roll out the ultra-low model, in order to secure its presence in the table-PC market.