Expect Acer Windows Phone 8 devices to arrive in late 2013

Acer hasn’t really been a major player in the mobile phone segment so it comes as no surprise that the company will be launching their own version of Windows Phone 8 sometime in the second half of 2013. During the Windows Phone Summit, all major smartphone OEMs like Nokia, HTC, Samsung, etc. will be among the first to get new Windows Phone 8 handsets to the public. iMobile got this bit of information from an Acer representative at a press event.

Acer not ready to commit yet

Acer has just one Windows Phone 7 right now called the Allegro, which should hint at the fact that they really aren’t concentrating on this platform too much. Their Android offerings like the Liquid and its variations actually fared a lot better and the company has two Ice Cream Sandwich-based phones slated for launch very soon. Out of that, one of them will showcase their new cloud storage solution for your personal data. Acer knows for a fact that unless they come up with something truly different and at the right price bracket, other giants like Nokia and HTC will simply crush them in the smartphone game and they really don’t stand a chance. We feel they are taking their time and would probably release another low-mid-range Windows Phone 8 device, like the Allegro, sometime in Q3 of next year so we could be looking at an October announcement. In the meantime, we could expect Microsoft to launch another variant of Windows Phone 8 for lower end handsets that could possibly feature a single core CPU.

Windows Phone 8 will be launched later this year and is all set to be the next ‘generation shift’ for the company’s mobile OS. Microsoft claims that with Windows Phone 8, similarities between Windows 8 and this latest smartphone OS is more than just skin deep. Since the desktop OS and the mobile OS share the same kernel, it’s possible to use the same apps on all platforms without much hassle on the developer’s part.

Here is a look at some of the highlighted features available on Windows Phone 8:

• Multi-core processor support – Windows Phone was a slick OS that ran smoothly on handsets with a single processor. The latest OS now features multi-core support with Belfoire claiming that they’re ready for whatever hardware makers dream up.
• Bigger, sharper screens - Windows Phone 8 supports two new screen resolutions—1280x768 and 1280x720, making it compatible with new handsets that will feature high-definition 720p displays.
• More flexible storage - Windows Phone 8 supports removable MicroSD cards, so users can stuff their phone with extra photos, music, and whatever else is important and then easily move it all onto their PC.
• NFC wireless sharing - In Windows Phone 8, NFC helps make sharing photos, Office docs, and contact info easier. One can achieve this by tapping their phone on another NFC-equipped device.
• Internet Explorer 10 - The next version of Windows Phone comes with the same web browsing engine that’s headed for Window 8 PCs and tablets. Microsoft claims that IE10 is faster and more secure, with advanced anti-phishing features like SmartScreen Filter to block dangerous websites and malware.