When Microsoft announced its Windows Phone 8 launch partners at the WP Summit, the list was surprisingly light which went against expectations that several PC manufacturers would be joining the fray. Now one of the partners missing from the list has spoken up: Acer.

iMobile has learned from an Acer representative at a press event today that the company has plans to sell Windows Phone 8 devices in "the second half of next year". In other words, in Fall or Winter 2013. According to the manufacturer's Smartphones Business Group General Manager Chen Guowei, Acer remains more committed to Android but says the "time is ripe for investment" in Windows Phone thanks to the concentrated efforts of Microsoft to push their new ecosystem.

To be frank, we're not surprised at all that Acer isn't going to give any effort this year as they know Nokia, HTC, Samsung and Huawei would likely crush them, even if they tried. Still, the second half of next year is pretty far away and at that point we could be looking at a Windows Phone 8.5 release. If we had to guess, Microsoft is prepping another budget-friendly hardware push for WP8 devices in 2013 and Acer may be sticking to that timeline to debut their own mid/low-end devices. Either way, if you were a diehard fan of the Allegro/W4 you can cross out its follow-up on your Christmas list this year.

Via: WPDang (Translated)
Source: iMobile (Translated)