Acer President Discusses Windows 8 Strategy
Windows 8 represents a new era in computing, and at this early stage, some of Microsoft's major hardware partners are already speaking out about the touch-friendly operating system and its impact on computing. Fujitsu, for example, pointed to "weak" demand for Windows 8 as the reason why its PC sales are sagging. That's not exactly a glowing endorsement, but is it a cause for concern? Depends on who you ask.
Acer president Jim Wong spoke at length about Windows 8 in an interview with DigiTimes, and in his opinion, many of the concerns and criticisms about Microsoft's latest OS are simply unfair. The way Wong sees it, market observers who would previously criticize Windows of lacking innovations are now being pessimistic about an OS that introduces new features. Touch computing is obviously the major selling point of Windows 8, and according to Acer's internal research, consumers who use a touch interface for more than 20 minutes end up wanting to touch any display he or she sees, indicating that touchscreen computing is an irreversible trend.
With all that said, it's curious to see what Acer will do in the Windows RT space. If you recall, Acer's been rather outspoken about Microsoft's decision to compete with its hardware partners by launching Surface tablets. According to Wong, Acer still plans on launching Windows RT products of its own, but is more focused on x86 platforms.
Wong also touched on the subject of "mind share," which means winning the trust of consumers as opposed to saturating the market place with products to get the most market share. Whereas Acer used to talk about being the largest PC maker in the world, the company is now obviously focused on brand recognition and product differentiation.
Acer president Jim Wong spoke at length about Windows 8 in an interview with DigiTimes, and in his opinion, many of the concerns and criticisms about Microsoft's latest OS are simply unfair. The way Wong sees it, market observers who would previously criticize Windows of lacking innovations are now being pessimistic about an OS that introduces new features. Touch computing is obviously the major selling point of Windows 8, and according to Acer's internal research, consumers who use a touch interface for more than 20 minutes end up wanting to touch any display he or she sees, indicating that touchscreen computing is an irreversible trend.
With all that said, it's curious to see what Acer will do in the Windows RT space. If you recall, Acer's been rather outspoken about Microsoft's decision to compete with its hardware partners by launching Surface tablets. According to Wong, Acer still plans on launching Windows RT products of its own, but is more focused on x86 platforms.
Wong also touched on the subject of "mind share," which means winning the trust of consumers as opposed to saturating the market place with products to get the most market share. Whereas Acer used to talk about being the largest PC maker in the world, the company is now obviously focused on brand recognition and product differentiation.
