The Taiwanese company Acer will start developing handsets running MeeGo and Windows Phone 7, says the CEO of the company in an interview with The Washington Journals weblog All Things Digital.
Gaian Franco, the CEO that gave the interview, says Windows Phone 7 is a good reason to change the way Acer choose to follow. Some time ago, Acer stopped bringing phones running Windows Mobile, and decided to focus on Android. Acers current flagship, the Liquid Metal iruns this OS. When Windows Phone 7 came, Acer first decided to stay with Android only.
Growing market
Acer now changed its ways, and starts developing a Windows Phone 7 smartphone, probaly inspired by the good sales figures of other brands brining Windows Phone 7 phones. Lanci says mobile telephony is a market that offers the best chances for Acer to grow. WP7 is worth the attention because: "If we look at Windows Phone 7, today, I think we see the same opportunity you can see on Android in terms of customization.". An interesting quote, as other manufacturers like HTC are doing their best to customise the user interface of Windows Phone 7 to the same degree as is done in their Android handsets.
Acer is also developing a phone on MeeGo, an open source OS that is codeveloped by Nokia, Intel and AMD. Like Android, MeeGo is based on Linux. Acer doesn't join the MeeGo developing team, but plans to use the OS. Accoring to Franci, the first handsets will be available in the second half of 2011.
Source: Mobilized.allthingsd.com