Acer to offer free cloud service, shows super-slim S2 ultrabook
Acer kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Sunday by previewing a free cloud service for storing images and other documents online, and showing a novel ultrabook that hides its I/O ports in a hidden pop-up section at the back.
The cloud service, called AcerCloud, will allow people to upload all their images, video and documents to an online service hosted by Acer, and access them over the Web from any PC, mobile phone or tablet running Windows or Android. That includes devices from other vendors.
The service will come free with all new consumer PCs from Acer and include “unlimited” storage, Acer officials said. It will be rolled out in North America and Greater China in the second quarter, and worldwide by the end of the year.
Acer has struggled this year with declining PC sales, and it hopes its emphasis on ultrabooks and the cloud service will help revive its fortunes. The AcerCloud will be “a strategic differentiator for Acer in the long term,” Acer Chairman and CEO J.T. Wang said at the press event.
However, following the launch of Apple’s iCloud service last year, other PC makers are expected to also outline cloud service plans here at CES.
Acer showed several new ultrabooks Sunday, an emerging class of slim-form-factor PCs intended to challenge Apple’s MacBook Air.