Acer will launch a 10-inch tablet at the end of this year using both Intel’s Atom processor and its mobile operating system MeeGo.
The tablet was shown during an Intel event at Taipei’s Computex trade show on Wednesday. The device is part of Acer’s Iconia “M Series.” Acer has yet to determine the price, but the device will launch worldwide, according to company vice president David Lee.
Acer’s new tablet is a sign of Intel’s efforts to grow its presence in mobile devices such as tablets, a hot market the U.S. chip company has been late to get into.
Most tablets use microprocessors developed by Intel’s rival ARM Holdings because its chips are considered more power efficient than Intel’s. At the same time, the popular operating systems running on tablets are Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.
Intel has been working to get its own chips used in tablets by developing its Atom processor line. In April, the company announced its newest Atom processor, Oak Trail, claiming the chip will offer longer battery life. Already 35 tablets are being made using the new chip, according to Intel.
Intel said Acer’s new tablet will use an Atom processor, but did not specify if it was Oak Trail. The company is also working to develop more-advanced Atom processors that will offer even greater power savings.
Acer’s new tablet is also a sign that Intel’s MeeGo operating system is not dead, despite the blow dealt to it earlier this year when Intel’s partner Nokia dropped Meego and its own Symbian in favor of Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS for its future smartphones.
MeeGo has also been appearing in other devices at Computex, including netbooks from Asus, Lenovo and Samsung.
Intel expects more netbooks and tablets will launch using the MeeGo operating system, according to Doug Fisher, Intel general manager of its system software division.