Acer to launch Android 'PC' powered by Haswell chip

With Android PCs slowly making their way into the PC market, it is now seen that Acer is joining the move with its latest offering. The new Acer all-in-one (AIO), which is due to be announced next week, will be sporting an Intel 3GHz Core i5 4430 “Haswell” processor and run an Android operating system.

In a report by CNET, Acer has confirmed on Thursday that the AIO will be seen in the markets in the near future. Other details about the configuration include a 1GB of memory and storage configurations as small as 8GB.

The new Acer AIO will feature Android OS and come with a Haswell chip (image credit: phonearena)

Why this move from Windows-based operating systems, though? The answer to that lies in the product pricing. As it stands, Acer’s new AIO system will be seen at less than $400 (Rs 22,598 approx) with some sellers. Most other sellers reported listings that put the AIO pricing at $425 (Rs 24,010.approx), and some listings at higher than that.

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Many PC vendors have announced new systems that will be based on Intel’s upcoming Haswell and Bay Trail chips. It has also been reported that Intel intends to come with a line-up of Android laptops running on Bay Trail chips, with the possible price ranging from $200 (Rs 11,299 approx) to $300 (Rs 16,948 approx)

And that is the deal, really. Systems that come without Windows 8 can be priced lower and will also require less hardware. Thus the appeal of an Android-based system, which can save cash for both vendors and users.