Acer Ups Ante in Tablet Market

The tablet PC market is finally starting to take shape. Samsung said earlier
this week that the Galaxy Tab sold 600,000 units in its first month on shelves,
not the runaway success that the iPad was between April and May 2010, but an
impressive start nonetheless. Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM ) hasnt
officially laid out the specifics for the PlayBooks launch in spring 2011, but
CEO Jim Balsille did commit to an under-$500 pricepoint for the device this
month, suggesting that the market is going to see significant price competition
in the coming year. Now, another contender for Apple Inc.s (NASDAQ: AAPL ) title
in the tablet space has entered the ring and its one of the heavyweights. Acer
Inc. announced not one but three tablet models at a press event yesterday. The
worlds second largest PC vendor is doubling down its chances in the field by
offering systems running on Googles (NASDAQ: GOOG ) Android mobile operating
system as well as Microsofts (NASDAQ: MSFT ) Windows. Acer will offer two
Android tablets in April 2011. The 10.1-inch model will be the companys flagship
in the tablet market, sporting a ten point multi-touch screen with a native 1280
X 800 screen resolution. Acer is emphasizing the tablets HD video abilities with
both the screen and the tablets front-facing HD camera for high quality video
calling. It also features HDMI output for simplified monitor and television
connections. The tablet will also feature a 5-migapixel camera on the back. On
the inside, Acers Android tablet will sport a dual-core 1GHz processor. Like the
iPad, the unnamed tablet will feature a gyroscope for motion-based gaming and
other apps. Acer also stressed the tablets support of Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE )
Flash 10.1.  A 7-inch  model has the same feature set as well as a 1.2GHz CPU
made by Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM ). Coming a bit earlier than the Android tablets
is Acers Microsoft Windows 7 tablet, due in Feburary 2011. The Windows tablet is
a bit beefier than the Android models, 15mm thick and 2.2 pounds. It also
features built in WiFi and 3G communication technology, though Acer did not
specify which 3G standard the tablet would use or which carriers would support
the device. Other details about the Windows tablets specifications are up in the
air, with no word as to what its screen resolution or internal memory will be,
though it will use an AMD (NYSE: AMD ) silicon processor rather than the Intel
(NASDAQ: INTC ) and Qualcomm-made chips common to competing tablet models. Acer
also says that the Windows tablet will sport front- and back-facing
1.3-megapixel cameras as well as a QWERTY keyboard-equipped dock for home use.
Both the Android and Windows tablets will act as seeding devices for Acers new
media-sharing platform Clear.fi. The Taiwan PC manufacturer is taking a page
from Apples cross-platform software strategy with Clear.fi, emphasizing the
softwares ability to let users share their music, video, image, and other media
libraries smoothly across multiple operating systems and devices. Any device
with WiFi communications can be accessed through the Clear.fi interface,
allowing access to media libraries and letting users take advantage of
integrated social networking tools. Videos can be uploaded to Googles YouTube
while images can be easily uploaded to Flickr or Facebook through Clear.fis
tools. Acer has not, however, linked Clear.fi to digital media storefronts like
Microsofts Zune, Apples iTunes or other distributors like Amazon.com (NASDAQ:
AMZN ). As of now, Clear.fi is going to be leveraged purely as a filing and
sharing tool, which may limit may limit active support from partners like Google
and Microsoft despite the implementation of those companys operating systems on
the new Acer tablets. Provided Acer can launch these devices in the United
States at competitive price points, it could make a significant impact on the
tablet market at the crucial point that competitors like Research in Motion are
just entering the market. The tablets could end up being Acers first major
success in the United States in over a decade. The company left the U.S. market
in 1999, building its PC business in China and Europe, only re-entering the U.S.
PC business in 2007 when the Taiwanese company acquired Gateway for $710
million. Investors should prepare themselves now to move on new tablet offerings
at the beginning of fiscal 2011. As of this writing, Anthony Agnello did not own
a position in any of the stocks named here.