Acer's Big Plans: App Store, Chrome OS Laptop

By Jane McEntegart
published

Acer supposedly has plans to release an ebook reader and launch an app store in an effort to boost profit.

Bloomberg reports that Acer will this year release an ebook reader as well as launching an application store. The company also plans to introduce its first device running Google's Chrome OS in the third quarter. If you're thinking that it sounds like Acer will be doing some serious branching out this year, you'd be right.

The reason for it all is that the company is looking to boost profits to the highest in four years. Bloomberg cites Jim Wong, president of the Acer's IT product division, as saying that moving into new products will help the company boost its net income margin to 3 percent within two years.

The app store and ereader are expected to launch in the middle of 2010. Wong said there will be plenty of applications available to users: “hundreds, otherwise you can’t call it an apps store.”

Read more here.

Jane McEntegart
8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • megamanx00
    Why wait for Google's Chrome OS to be done before announcing a product. What could possibly go wrong?
    Reply
  • kylelively
    Its starting . . . .
    Reply
  • What could possibly go wrong?

    Acer, that's what could go wrong.
    Reply
  • festerovic
    I hear a Duke Nukem voice chanting "Balls of Steel" every time I read Acer press these days.

    They are on a roll, but I don't think their plans for world domination will quite pan out. Like ^ and ^^, its Acer!
    Reply
  • zebassist230
    i already tried chrome os and its not very good, here s a link
    http://tinyurl.com/ybqdwye
    Reply
  • klarkmdb
    Welcome Google Chrome. I think everyone is welcomed in this kind of business. We need to have other players especially if you smell monopoly.
    Reply
  • phexac
    I do not smell monopoly, but I do smell fail. A computer that basically won't work if you don't have internet connection? And here people were complaining about needing internet to authenticate their games before playing.

    Oh yeah not to mention that nothing will work on Chrome.
    Reply
  • zebassist230
    nothing is working on chrome though I tested it on an Asus eeepc 1000h and the wifi worked(!). and if you dont have internet, nothing works(well you can play chess)because its just a big google chrome browser, its definitely a fail
    Reply