NEWS
Acer looks to steal Apple’s crown in tablet market
New wave of touchscreen products are part of a broader strategy for the Taiwanese vendor
By Matt Grainger
ACER HAS its sights set on leading the tablet market with a new armada of touchscreen products, which were unveiled late last month. The Iconia touchbook and a
smaller, as-yet-unnamed tablet are the culmination of over 18 months of research and development, and represent the first step in Acer’s new mission to dominate the burgeoning market, currently led by Apple’s iPad. “Touch is key to our strategic
roadmap, whether that’s touchscreens, notebooks or tablets,” Acer’s UK managing director, Bobby Watkins told PCR.
“Our ambition is to lead in the tablet
market. Unlike some other vendors we work 100 per cent through retail, resellers and distribution. We might not be the first into the tablet market, but we have some great products going forward and we’ll work with the channel to push ourselves to the top.” Much of the research that went into the Iconia and the new tablet centred
The Iconia was created following 18 months of research and development
around customer studies, which all pointed towards a user base that is looking for flexible and usable touch- based products. “In the same way that we grew up with mice and keyboards, the next
generation will be far more intimate with this kind of technology, so our aim is to make touch much more than just a style statement,” Watkins said. “We want to make functional, responsive and useful products.”
Hannspree plans further store openings Vendor continues global retail drive with its first European outlet in London’s Westfield shopping centre
HAVING OPENED retail outlets in a number of prominent positions in the US, including Beverly Hills and Union Square in Los Angeles, Hannspree opened its first European store in London’s Westfield shopping centre last month – and more are on the way. The company is using the shops as a showcase for its various consumer
products – including televisions, PC monitors, tablets and novelty electricals – rather than as a direct competitor with its retail partners. Lukas Chong, Hannspree’s
European managing director, said that the company has a long-term brand building strategy that will see it open further outlets in prominent locations
“Customers need to physically interact with a product before making a purchase, which helps with our range of touch- enabled devices. The store ties in with our touch strategy, but also complements our retail
and channel strategy.” Lukas Chong, Hannspree
across Europe, including Milan, Vienna and Berlin. “We don’t want to open up stores
everywhere, this is a targeted drive to raise awareness of our products and brand,” Chong told PCR at the London opening. “This is why we chose Westfield, which has an estimated footfall of around 200 million people per year.” Also on display at the store was the
forthcoming HannsPad tablet, which is based on the Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset and runs on Android 2.2. “The future is touch, both
Hannspree’s London store will pave the way for other outlets across the continent
10 PCR December
technologically and in terms of sales,” Chong said. “Customers need to physically interact with a product before making a purchase, which helps with our range of touch-enabled devices. We’re working for the future. The store ties in with our touch strategy, but also complements our retail and channel strategy too.”
www.pcr-online.biz
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