Acer to release first Intel-based smartphone in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Taiwanese company Acer will launch next week the first ever Intel-based smartphone in the Philippines.

The Acer Liquid C1 smartphone is powered by the latest Intel Atom Processor Z2420 with Intel XMM 6265 slim modem with a 21 mbps modem. The device is designed for fast browsing and downloading of videos, music and photos.

It features a 4.3-inch touch screen and qHD (960 x 540) 2000 mAh battery that is claimed to last at least nine hours of 3G talk time.

The C1 also has an 8-megapixel camera and is equipped with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator engine, with a 400Mhz graphics clock for graphics and gaming.

Ricky Banaag, country manager of Intel Philippines, said C1 is targeted for emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, India, Latin America, Africa and China.

"Gaming and graphics are the key components of C1," Banaag said, noting that social media, based on studies, is the primary purpose of users for connecting online.

Banaag expressed confidence of C1's success in the Philippines.

"The Philippines is the fastest-growing smartphone market for Southeast Asia and we are the 12th largest mobile market in the world, and 20 percent of our population are mobile Internet users and in year 2012 we achieved a 30-percent Internet penetration rate," Banaag said.

Banaag added that mobile phones outnumber the population in the Philippines based on 2012's record that Filipinos own at least one to three mobile phones.

"For a country with 103 million people, two-thirds of children ages seven to 14 own a mobile phone," Banaag said, adding that mobile penetration rate in the Philippines is projected to grow at 114 percent by the end of 2016.

The Philippines was recently placed at the Top 3 for online video consumers and at Top 5 for video uploaders.