Acer to Microsoft: Hardware is our game, stick to software
Acer, the Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer, has some strong words for Microsoft.听
In an interview with Tencent Technology, Acer executive聽Lin Xianlang hardware manufacturing to "hard rice," and speculated that Microsoft might find it extremely hard to eat. (The full Tencent Technology article is 鈥� we're relying on Google Translate for a rough rendering of the original text.) The hardware in question, of course, is the Microsoft Surface tablet, a rival to Acer-made Windows 8 tablets such as .听
Lin's message might be paraphrased as: You make the software, Microsoft, and we'll concentrate on the hardware.听
But as聽Sharif Sakr of Engadget , "Microsoft's tablet has been boiled and salted just right, which might be the real reason Acer is so averse to it."
The Windows RT-powered Surface has in recent days聽received generally strong marks from critics. Reviews have highlighted the strong build quality and strong lines of the device,聽while questioning whether Microsoft has done enough to court app developers.听
Even Oprah Winfrey has gotten into the game, 聽the Surface to O Magazine's "Favorite Things of 2012" list ( to PC Magazine). The tablet, Winfrey , "feels like a Mercedes-Benz to me, people!"聽
Anyway, this probably won't be the last time a hardware maker gets a little snippy with Microsoft.
As we noted late last week, there is strong evidence to suggest that Microsoft will eventually manufacture its own smartphone. That would alienate smartphone makers such as Nokia, which has partnered with Microsoft to produce a line of Windows Phone devices, including the Lumia 920.听
Late last month, Microsoft it had sold 4 million Windows 8 upgrades shortly after launch, although it has not released sales figures since then.听
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