Acer already backtracking on e-reader plans
updated 04:30 pm EST, Tue February 23, 2010
Acer feels e-reader market too small
Acer is reconsidering its plans to launch an e-book reader, company chairman Wang Jeng-tang stated later on Monday. The company had already given signals that it would unveil a 6-inch reader by June and even has a prototype but is now hesitant as it's not convinced the market is ready. E-readers are still a small field and don't have a 'proven' strategy, the Acer chairman said.
He hesitated to rule Acer out of the market entirely but said it would wait until there was clear demand and that it could make the e-reader profitable.
The hesitation comes despite a rapid growth in the field, which now includes southeast Asian rivals like Fujitsu, LG and Samsung as well as American counterparts like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and now Apple. With the exception of Apple, however, all of these have had relatively limited releases or planned releases. [via E-Reader-info]
