Acer President Sees "No Value" in Windows RT Tablets
If there's one company that isn't afraid to speak its mind and be totally blunt, it's definitely Acer, especially when the topic revolves around Windows-based tablets. Acer, after all, is the company that warned Microsoft to "think twice" about its Surface strategy, both because of the potential to "create a huge negative impact for the ecosystem" causing "other brands to take notice," and more bluntly, because tablets and hardware are "not something [Microsoft is] good at." There are other examples of Acer's outspoken nature, including a comment made by Acer President Jim Wong heading into the weekend.
Discussing its Windows tablet strategy at a company event in New York on Friday, Wong indicated that his company will evaluate whether or not it wants to release a Windows RT slate after the next version of the ARM-friendly operating system debuts later this year.
"The plan for an RT tablet is ongoing," Wong said. "To be honest, there's no value doing the current version of RT."
We don't necessarily agree that Windows RT lacks value, but certainly RT tablets haven't taken the market by storm. Regardless, Acer isn't soured on the newest generation of Windows entirely. Wong said Acer will "continue to invest in Windows 8 tablets," and though it hasn't been announced yet, Amazon over the weekend jumped the gun and posted a listing for an Acer brand 8.1-inch Windows 8 slate for $380.
Discussing its Windows tablet strategy at a company event in New York on Friday, Wong indicated that his company will evaluate whether or not it wants to release a Windows RT slate after the next version of the ARM-friendly operating system debuts later this year.
"The plan for an RT tablet is ongoing," Wong said. "To be honest, there's no value doing the current version of RT."
We don't necessarily agree that Windows RT lacks value, but certainly RT tablets haven't taken the market by storm. Regardless, Acer isn't soured on the newest generation of Windows entirely. Wong said Acer will "continue to invest in Windows 8 tablets," and though it hasn't been announced yet, Amazon over the weekend jumped the gun and posted a listing for an Acer brand 8.1-inch Windows 8 slate for $380.
