Pages

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Acer introduces US$99 Iconia B1 tablet

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-01-10

The Iconia B1. (Photo/Acer)

Acer has launched its Iconia B1, the lowest-price tablet in the market in present, at the US Consumer Electronics Show. The Taiwanese PC maker hopes the tablet will attract first-time tablet users and children and help extend its market share in the increasing competitive tablet market.

The tablet is priced at between US$129-$149 but will be lowered to US$99 with packages in certain markets. The device runs on MediaTek chips and has a 1014x600 display and 512B RAM, according to tech website Engadget.

The price of the tablet is set well below other budget tablets such as Amazon's Kindle Fire and Nexus 7, both priced at US$199. Acer has set the tablet's price US$50 lower to challenge the bottom line of the market and if the price has an impact on its rivals, they may lower their prices or produce similar models in the future, according to Commercial Times, our Chinese-language sister paper.

Acer president Jim Wong said the tablet will hit the Asian and South American markets first in January or February. Although market analysts feel many may be put off by the tablet's low specifications, Wong believes its performance is as good as its closest rivals and users will not see a significant difference.

Wong also voiced his support for Microsoft's latest operating system Windows 8, though he said the US software giant's marketing strategies do not help users understand the touchscreen experience. The Taiwanese company will set up user experience centers through its distributors around the world to promote the touch functions of the platform.

Acer also announced it will embed its new data storage service Acercloud in all Acer PCs, tablets and Android-based smartphones from the second quarter this year. The service allows users to share and manage their digital files across iOS, Window and Android platforms for free.  

References:

Jim Wong  翁建仁
Related Article:


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.