"Acer Exec Looks Down on Microsoft Surface"

Microsoft Surface

Not everyone has kind words about Microsoft’s recently-unveiled Surface tablet. Oliver Ahrens, regional head of Acer in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, has dismissed the Surface as a competitive threat.

Ahrens added that the 10.6-inch tablet with ARM and Intel platforms still has a lot of work to do in “improving the user touch experience on Windows 8.”

“From a competitive point of view we are not concerned, not a bit,” said Ahrens.

Meanwhile, Acer is launching its portfolio of hardware that also runs on Windows 8, ranging from tablets to ultrabooks to clamshell notebooks. Acer is known for its Iconia line of tablets.

With Microsoft’s hardware venture, companies who make Windows-based hardware wonder whether they will get access to the Surface. It also raised a question whether the Surface is a result of Microsoft’s lack of confidence in the ability of PC companies to utilize the most out of its next-gen OS.

“If Microsoft doubts that [OEM] partners can do that job that is fine. I think they are in quite a complex situation because they are suppliers and partners for all the PC vendors, and [now] they have their own hardware,” Ahren told The Register Channel.

Source: The Register Channel