Acer Phones Free in US

Acer's second wave of smartphones will use cost as a key strategy to infiltrating the US, the company tells PCMag. Although considered high-end in features, at least some of the company's Windows Mobile devices should be heavily subsidized and will land on either AT&T or T-Mobile free with an appropriate service plan. The discount is said possible by Acer smartphone head Aymar de Lencquesaing both through the company's size as well as its previous deal for subsidized netbooks through AT&T, which gives it familiarity with carriers.

Although all of the company's initial phones support US networks, these aren't as likely to be the first American devices due to the tentative schedule for Acer's American debut, which isn't slated until fall 2009 or winter 2010.

The executive has also revealed extra details about the previously anonymous late 2009 phones shown at Mobile World Congress. All of them should run Windows Mobile 6.5 and will be led by the H2, a very high-end device with a 3.8-inch, 800x480 touchscreen and the same 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor as found in the Toshiba TG01; it should cost $500. The L1 is a slider in the vein of the T-Mobile Shadow but with a touch display while the C1 is a starter touchscreen model in the vein of the HTC Touch.

By Electronista Staff