Acer to introduce app store in mid-2010

Vendor giant Acer announced it will launch its own online applications storefront in mid-2010, promising software to support smartphones running Google's Android operating system as well as Microsoft's rival Windows Mobile OS. The store will offer "hundreds [of apps]--otherwise, you can't call it an apps store," Acer president of IT products Jim Wong tells Bloomberg. While Wong said Acer will offer both free and low-cost applications, he declined to specify price points or name developers who will contribute software to the effort. In addition, Acer said it will debut a netbook running Google's Chrome OS sometime in the third quarter. The firm plans to release an ereader device this June.

Acer first hinted at its app store plans in March 2009, shortly after unveiling a lineup of smartphones at the annual Mobile World Congress event. Speaking at a London press event, Acer senior corporate VP and smart handheld president Aymar de Lencquesaing said the company was crunching the numbers to determine whether such a storefront could compete with similar efforts from rival handset makers like Apple, Nokia and Samsung.

For more on the Acer app store:
- read this Bloomberg article

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