Acer is in the limelight talking about Windows 8 once again, only this time company executives aren't bashing Microsoft over the Surface tablets. Instead, Acer founder Stan Shih is acknowledging that the company needs to make upgrading existing customers to Windows 8 a priority. Even more, he claims the new OS is more stable than Apple's iOS 6.
The comment arrives after Shih was asked about the company's plans to re-enter the smartphone sector full-force given the weakening demand for PCs. He pointed out that Acer currently has a low market share in the handset industry as it is, and competing would be both costly and time consuming. Instead, the company's main priority should be getting existing customers upgraded to Microsoft's upcoming operating system.
But that doesn't mean Acer won't storm into the smartphone sector in the future. Acer seemingly has a plan already in place: to connect its branded PCs with smartphones through AcerCloud technology. But Acer is still working on that which Shih says "requires some time to complete."
He went on to talk about rumors of Windows 8 landing on store shelves before it's actually complete. This was actually sparked by a Bloomberg report quoting an anonymous source who supposedly attended an Intel employee meeting. Shih stated the obvious: it's typical for software to launch with bugs intact, especially software on the PC platform.
However Shih expressed his confidence in Microsoft, saying that Windows 8 is more stable than Apple's iOS 6 platform on the iPhone 5. His remarks echo that of Microsoft spokesperson Mark Martin who told Bloomberg that "with over 16 million active preview participants, Windows 8 is the most tested, reviewed and ready operating system in Microsoft’s history."
Intel said on Thursday that it has been working closely with Microsoft in regards to testing and validation to ensure delivery of a high-quality experience across the nearly 200 Intel-based designs.
"Intel CEO Paul Otellini is on record as saying 'Windows 8 is one of the best things that ever happened to Intel,' citing the importance of the touch interface coming to mainstream computing and the huge wave of exciting new Ultrabook, tablet and convertible device innovations coming to the market," the company said.
Microsoft is launching Windows 8 on October 25, followed by Windows Phone 8 on October 29. The launch event for the desktop/tablet OS will take place in New York City while the launch event for the smartphone variant will take place over on the west coast.
