Acer is planning to have an Android tablet in our hands in the fourth quarter of this year. The specs are still secret, but the prototype is most definitely real. Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci pulled one out of his pocket during a presentation in Beijing today.
So what does this 7-inch, touch-screened, probably-3G tablet look like? Like a color-screened Kindle. Acer has decided to differentiate itself from the trend of touch-only devices in favor of an almost square screen and a tiny chiclet keyboard. In shape, then, it is just like a Kindle, although a lot sleeker.
But the Android part is what has us interested. At the rate Google is going, Android will likely have gotten several updates by the fall, and is already shaping up to make a compelling tablet OS. Combine that with Acer’s huge European popularity and low prices and this could be a big hit. One thing though, Acer. In the next half a year that you’re still working on this thing, lose the keyboard already, ‘kay?
Acer CEO shows off 7-inch Android tablet [Shufflegazine via Engadget]
Image: Shufflegazine used with permission. Thanks, Magnus!
