Acer Begs Microsoft To Come Clean on Surface
Of all the PC OEMs (and there are far fewer than there used to be), Acer is the one making all the noise about Microsoft's Surface plans. At one point early on I remember the Taiwanese company threatening to not build Windows 8 machines in response to Microsoft's plans. Like that would ever happen.
That'd be as crazy as Friendly's not making ice cream.
Later on, Acer backed down and said it had plans to, yes, make Windows 8 machines.
Most recently it reportedly tried to get Microsoft to disclose what it planned to charge for its Surface machines so Acer could figure out how exactly it would position (price) its units. Reports had it that Microsoft wasn't forthcoming.
One Redmondmag.com reader commented this way:
"Doesn't this sound like price fixing and collusion? Microsoft has shown what they got, if Acer wants to play in the ball game, they had better come up with a better one or similar one at a lower price. Stop whining that Microsoft screwed you. How did they screw you? By building a better widget than the folks who are supposed to be the experts? I'm kind of tired of Microsoft coming up with great ideas and manufacturers poo-pooing them because they don't think anyone would buy it. Everybody knows that Win 8 loved touch, but how many new laptop models have touch display? Approximately 0 percent !"
My take? Acer having years in the OEM space and massive factories in Taiwan (and an equally massive worldwide supply chain) should have a massive advantage over Microsoft. The only exception is that Microsoft doesn't have to pay for the OS and could, perhaps, design more tightly around what the OS does. I don't know, do we then call it even? You tell me at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 08/13/2012 at 1:19 PM