The last time Acer made a Windows Phone device was back in 2011 when the company released the W4, a device running Windows Phone 7. It has since kept off the Microsoft-owned Wiundows Phone platform without coming out clean like Sony has. Thanks to some remarks by an Acer executive to The Inquirer, now we know why.
Acer is concerned about the lack of “apps that matter the most to users” on the Windows Phone platform and also cited low consumer demand. Now I don’t know if the executive in question was speaking from an informed point of view or his opinions were based on his experience as the VP for the EMEA region since numbers from industry statistics sources like IDC and Strategy Analytics have continuously shown Windows Phone’s use being on the rise especially in markets like the European one.
Acer is currently pushing its Liquid branded Android smartphones and has not yet ruled out making a phone running Windows Phone in coming days and the company is said to be in talks with Microsoft on the same. It just needs surety that the platform will keep the growth momentum witnessed recently before it can jump in. Till then, all of the company’s mobile efforts are geared towards more Android devices. This has been the case with Sony which stated clearly back in 2012 that it would be concentrating all its efforts on Android. Lenovo has recently warmed up to Redmond and is likely to introduced its first Windows Phone devices later in the year.
Nokia, Windows Phone main device maker, did not feature in the top 5 device manufacturers last year and Windows Phone market share was quoted at just over 3% in 2013 by IDC with Android and iOS continuing their dominance of the smartphone market with over 95% marketshare between them in the last quarter of the year. Nokia commands over 90% of the total Windows Phone marketshare and that alone is usually a threat to other players. Until Windows Phone has a larger share of the pie, it will always be hard to share the small marketshare between various manufacturers and with no differentiation in what they all offer the customers, Nokia will retain an upper hand not because of Microsoft’s hand but because of its rich suite of apps that add a lot of value to the general functionality of Windows Phone.
