Acer Warns Microsoft That Hardware Business is Tough Food

[zakislam]

Taiwanese PC maker compares computer manufacturing to food.

Acer Warns Microsoft That Hardware Business is Tough Food : Read more

 

[cscott_it]

Why I think Microsoft got into hardware:

MS: "Well, we'd like you to make something really cool. Something different."
Acer: "That's too expensive. Instead we were thinking like a clamshell plastic case with 'X'"
MS: "That's not a very inciting buy and the quality is kind of subpar"
Acer: "Yeah - too bad you don't make anything. Guess you should just deal with it. You don't know what it's like to make hardware. Everyone wants hard plastic. It's the new milled aluminum."

I know Acer has had a pretty rough last few quarters, but maybe they should take that sign to reinvent themselves rather than continue to churn out low quality stuff. Just my thoughts though.

 

[gtvr]

I guess it would be finger food, then.

 

[may1]

On basis of economics, MSFT has the power to decide on the final markup, meaning, prices will be optimal for society. Then again, this is just theory so we'll see whether consumers have truly benefited from the option of Surface.

BUT THIS DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN JUST DITCH THE UI THAT'S BEEN PROVED TO BE OPTIMAL AND GO FOR SOMETHING ABSURD THAT SAVVY PC USERS ABSOLUTELY HATE.

 

[azraa]

Well if that comes from Acer I guess they are being honest.
After all, there are other hardware companies (ASUS, WesternDigital, MSi, you name it) that beat Acer to their knees with their products and research/developments.

Easy to say that when your company sucks.
Now, dont bash it on me. I speak on personal experience, most Acer laptops are a pain in the ass. Usually the ones with most of the hardware failures and warranty claims.

 

[aicom]

Acer complaining about Microsoft being in the hardware market again.... Other companies didn't care because they found niches that weren't covered by the Surface and built products to cater to those markets. Even so, it's not like Microsoft is going to withdraw after already building and releasing a product. More complaining at this point is just making Acer look even worse.

Here's an idea Acer: Build a tablet with the build quality and hardware of the Nexus 7, install Windows RT on it, and sell it for under $300.

 

[serendipiti]

In fact, Microsoft is the first software company that succeeded in the hardware segment (XBox) without dying in the try...

 

[dameon51]

[citation][nom]bugidugi[/nom]Toms, come on , its old news ! i even saw it in the israeli sites in Hebrew , do you know how much time it took them to translate the "quote"? according to the links of this page it should be news: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/A [...] 18918.htmlReally after .com you have /News the site is getting outdated more and more everyday. (Unless there is a mega Apple event.)[/citation]
I never heard about this specifically. Just because you read it on some other site doesn't mean the whole entire world has. ah heck off.

 

[Gundam288]

[citation][nom]serendipiti[/nom]In fact, Microsoft is the first software company that succeeded in the hardware segment (XBox) without dying in the try...[/citation]
Didn't they make computer peripherals before that? Like the Mircosoft Sidewinder? Granted it wasn't as successful as the 1st xbox was, but they did make hardware before that.

 

[Pinhedd]

Acer's statements would carry more weight if they weren't the Denny's of the IT industry

 

[joe gamer]

[citation][nom]aicom[/nom]Acer complaining about Microsoft being in the hardware market again.... Other companies didn't care because they found niches that weren't covered by the Surface and built products to cater to those markets. Even so, it's not like Microsoft is going to withdraw after already building and releasing a product. More complaining at this point is just making Acer look even worse.Here's an idea Acer: Build a tablet with the build quality and hardware of the Nexus 7, install Windows RT on it, and sell it for under $300.[/citation]

The problem with this mindset is that Acer, and every other hardware manufacturer who wants to make a windows tablet HAS to pay Microsoft for the OS license. This give the Microsoft hardware an advantage since they have lower costs they can easily undercut anything another company brings to the market. They literally CANNOT make something the same or better at a similar price. Apple makes their own hardware BUT they don't license the OS, MS is trying to have it's cake and eat it to, charging other companies licensing fees while also taking a bite out of their market, If I was a tablet manufacturer I'd make the shittiest windows tablets possible so people will associate win 8 tablets with a crappy experience(probably wont hurt the surface sales but will hurt the surface II sales) and dump all my quality R&D into badass android tablets.