MS deal forces Acer to delay XC

Hardware Manufacturer postpones low-cost thin clients for six months after adopting Windows CE as OS.

Acer chief executive Stan Shih gave details of the company's planned after adopting Windows CE as OS. XC thin clients on a visit to London last week, but admitted that one of the devices had been delayed for six months after Microsoft persuaded Acer to adopt Windows CE as the operating system.

Shih said the machine, aimed at the educational market, was ready to ship with a Dos-based operating system. But he added: 'Microsoft convinced us to use CE so we had to postpone it for six months.'

The five XC products were designed as low-cost, thin client devices using PC infrastructure and would conform to multiple standards. He said that Acer was in the process of talking to a number of software and other partners about the platform. Prices for XC machines, first previewed last spring, will start at $200.

Shih rejected the idea that research and development costs from changing to Windows CE would be passed on to the user. 'The price will remain the same regardless of the operating system.'

The group will produce at least five machines - the mobile X100, the Compact X200, a set-top unit called the X300, and two desktops to be called the X500 and the X700.

Graham Jackson, managing director of Acer UK, said a channel strategy would be dependent upon the applications developed for the machines: 'The machines are general platforms for people to develop their own applications.'

He said the XCs would be sold into retail, e-commerce, education, local governments and police forces, and the banking industry by making use of existing resellers, as well as signing up more.