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Acer's smartphone development has been driven by its acquisition earlier this year of Taiwan smartphone maker E-Ten Information Systems. The acquisition was completed in September and market watchers expected Acer-branded handsets to hit the market by the end of this year. However, Acer representatives have said that a more reasonable launch timetable would be first-quarter 2009 initially in Western Europe and Russia, with other markets to follow later. Adding to the confusion, company chairman JT Wang recently said that the launch may come as late as the second half of 2009, as Acer it is still negotiating with telecommunication service providers worldwide.

Following Wang's comments, Acer clarified its position by officially stating that an Acer branded smartphone will be launched in first-quarter 2009, but did not supply details regarding specific regions.