Acer Cancels Press Conference To Launch New Smartphone on Alibaba Software
September 13 2012 - 7:40AM
Dow Jones News
Taiwanese PC maker Acer Inc., (2353.TW) which had planned to
unveil a smartphone Thursday using software from Chinese Internet
firm Alibaba Group, said it is cancelling a press conference to
launch the device after its existing partner, Google Inc. (GOOG),
expressed concerns about the smartphone.
"Acer will continue to communicate with Google and the company
still wants to launch the new smartphone based on Alibaba
software," an official at Acer, who declined to be named, said.
Acer had planned to hold a press conference with Alibaba,
China's biggest Internet company by transactions, on Thursday in
Shanghai to unveil the new smartphone called CloudMobile A800. The
smartphone runs on software from Alibaba called Aliyun. Acer had
said that the new device would be going on sale Friday in
China.
Alibaba said that Acer "was notified by Google that if the
product runs Aliyun OS, Google will terminate its Android-related
cooperation and other technology licensing with our partner....We
regret Google's action."
A Google spokesman declined to comment.
Acer, traditionally a maker of desktop PCs and laptops, has been
diversifying into making tablet computers and other mobile devices,
as PC sales remain lackluster amid the global economic
slowdown.
The company has predominantly relied on Google's Android
operating software to power more than 90% of the smartphones it
sells.
Write to Lorraine Luk at Lorraine.luk@dowjones.com and Juro
Osawa at Juro.Osawa@wsj.com
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