The 2015 Mobile World Congress, or MWC, starts in a couple of days and this is used by many manufacturers to showcase their devices to technology journalists and ultimately the world. This year, this weekend as it happens, we’re expecting big announcements from HTC and Samsung as they unveil their flagship devices. However, there are many other manufacturers waiting to announce their products at the show and we’ve seen some joining the bandwagon media circus by teasing their products. Enter Acer, where a new banner on the Acer Malaysia’s Facebook page shows what we assume are product highlights and the text says that they’re launching new smartphones and a wearable device. The main Acer event is on the Sunday (the same day as the HTC and Samsung events) but they will be present throughout the show.
The banner shows a camera lens, what appears to be the side of a smartphone and the bottom corner of another device. It’s impossible to draw much meaningful from the image, but perhaps Acer are introducing new materials and construction for their devices at the MWC 2015? We are also unsure what the new smartphones will be like or even what platform they will use: it’s been rumored that Acer will be launching new Windows Phone devices this year at the MWC. Acer have also discussed plans to invest more into its smartphone business but is to concentrate on the low-end rather than the high-end. We’ve already seen how trying to go toe to toe with Apple, arguably the most premium smartphone manufacturer of the world right now, can be painful for a business.
Acer may also divulge additional information associated with their “BYOC” system – Bring Your Own Cloud. Unlike traditional cloud systems, Acer’s BYOC works by storing users’ data on their home computer and makes it available to a range of devices, including Windows Phone, iOS and of course Android. As for the Acer wearable… we don’t know if this will be a fully functional smartwatch, perhaps even running Android Wear, or a fitness-biased smartband, or maybe something between the two. It may not even be a smartwatch. If Acer are investing into the Android ecosystem and were to introduce a lower-end Android Wear device, this could be a very interesting proposition! We hope to find out more on Sunday.