Acer Introduces First Asia Smartphone Powered by New Intel Chip

Acer Inc. (2353) introduced the Liquid C1 in Thailand, the first smartphone in Asia to use a new version of Intel Corp. (INTC)’s Atom processor.

The phone, costing 9,990 baht ($335), has a 4.3-inch touchscreen and an 8-megapixel camera, according to a statement from the companies today. The Atom Z2420-powered device is being debuted in Thailand as part of the Taipei-based computer-maker’s push to expand in Southeast Asia, said Henry Wang, a spokesman.

The handset is the ninth Atom model to be introduced worldwide in the past nine months as Intel seeks to pare its reliance on making chips for the shrinking personal-computer market. The Santa Clara, California-based company has less than 1 percent of the market for phone processors, compared with a more than 80 percent share in the PC-chip market.

Acer intends to boost smartphone sales to 5 million units in 2014 from 500,000 last year, President Jim Wong said in an interview earlier this month. The company is targeting the mobile-device market as consumers shun PCs for tablets.

Lenovo Group Ltd., Google Inc.’s Motorola Mobility and ZTE Corp. (763) are among other phonemakers to have introduced Atom- powered devices.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net; Tim Culpan in Taipei at tculpan1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Tighe at mtighe4@bloomberg.net