Acer jumped feet first into the mobile phone arena by debuting a handful of new Windows Mobile handsets at MWC 2009. At a launch event today, Acer and C2O Corporation officially launched eight of these handsets in the Singapore market. Available now are the dual-SIM DX900 ($530 USD), the dual-faced DX650 ($397 USD) and the compact X960 ($463 USD). Expected in May but not yet priced are the F900 and the M900, and then coming later in 2009 are the F1, L1 and C1. Hit the jump for specs on the five handsets launching initially.

DX900

• 2.8“ WVGA touch screen
• Samsung SC3 6400 533 MHz Processor
• 256 MB Flash ROM, 128 MB SDRAM
• Dual-SIM with SIM 1 supporting HSDPA / UMTS 2100/1900/850 MHz and quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, and SIM 2 supporting GSM tri-band 900/1800/1900
• 1.3 megapixel autofocus camera, VGA front camera
• Wi-Fi, BT 2.0+EDR, GPS
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Pocket PC Phone edition with Spb Mobile Shell v2.1

DX650

• Dual-Face design with touchscreen on one side and keypad on the other
• 2.8“ QVGA touch screen
• Samsung SC3 6410 533 MHz Processor
• 256 MB Flash ROM, 128 MB SDRAM
• 2 megapixel fixed focus camera
• GPS, Wi-Fi, BT 2.0+EDR
• Windows Mobile 6.1 with Spb Mobile Shell v2.1
• Standby time 150h / Talk time: 4h

X960

• Samsung SC3 6410 533 MHz Processor
• 256 MB Flash ROM, 128 MB SDRAM
• High speed HSPA connectivity
• 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera, 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi, BT 2.0+EDR, GPS
• Windows Mobile 6.1, Outlook, Office, widget-based Acer Shell v2.0 UI

F900

• Samsung SC3 6410 533 MHz Processor
• 256 MB Flash ROM, 128 MB SDRAM
• 3.8″ WVGA touch screen
• GSM/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• HSDPA/HSUPA: 2100/1900/850 Mhz
• 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera
• Wi-Fi, BT 2.0+EDR, GPS
• Windows Mobile 6.1, Outlook, Office, widget-based Acer Shell v2.0 UI

M900

• Physical QWERTY keyboard
• 3.8“ WVGA touch screen
• GSM/EDGE: Quad-band GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• HSDPA/HSUPA: 2100/1900/850 Mhz
• Fingerprint reader
• 5 megapixel auto-focus camera
• Wi-Fi, BT 2.0+EDR, GPS
• Windows Mobile 6.1, Outlook, Office, widget-based Acer Shell v2.0 UI

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Two models in Acer’s recently announced line of smartphones may be hitting the shelves soon according to Vincent Chen, manager of product marketing at Acer’s Smart Handheld Business. The DX900 is expected to be released by the end of the month and will feature a 2.8“ VGA touchscreen, dual SIM slots, quad-band GSM and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA, 3.2 MP autofocus camera, GPS, WiFi, bluetooth 2.0 and Windows Mobile 6.1. The X960, expected early next month, lacks the dual SIM capability of the DX900 but is otherwise similarly spec’d. The higher end M900 and F900 which sport a more respectable 3.8″ WVGA touchscreen display are not expected until later in Q2 2009.

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Have you found yourself itching lately for a brand new Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone with a familiar form factor and specs that are a good 18 – 24 months old? No? That’s odd, because Acer seems to think handsets in the aforementioned vein will be just what the doctor ordered as it battles to become relevant in the smartphone game. Sure the new Tempo line announced today by Acer looks to be a quartet of sleek and sexy handsets, but in this day and age we’re looking for much, much more bang for our buck. Hit the jump for specs on the newly unveiled X960, F900, M900 and DX900, pictured above starting clockwise from the top left corner, and let us know if Acer won your hard-earned cash with its MWC announcement.

X960
• Pre-installed GPS software
(Navigon try-and-buy, for Europe market)
• 2.8″ VGA touch screen
• High speed HSPA connectivity
• New easy-to-use virtual keyboard
• Access directly to key applications
via widget-based home screen
•3.2MP Auto-focused camera

F900
• Pre-installed GPS software
(Navigon try-and-buy, for Europe market)
• 2.8″ VGA touch screen
• High speed HSPA connectivity
• New easy-to-use virtual keyboard
• Access directly to key applications
via widget-based home screen
•3.2MP Auto-focused camera

M900
• Physical Qwerty keyboard
• 3.8“ WVGA touch screen
• Fingerprint reader
• 5 Megapixel autofocus camera
• HSPA, WiFi, BT
• Windows Mobile 6.1, Outlook, Office

DX900
• Physical Qwerty keyboard
• 3.8“ WVGA touch screen
• Fingerprint reader
• 5 MP autofocus camera
• HSPA, WiFi, BT
• Windows Mobile 6.1, Outlook, Office
• Standby time 160h / Talk time: 5h

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Rumors of Acer’s mobile comeback were greatly exaggerated – or so it would seem from the company’s forthcoming MWC announcements thus far. First it was the extremely odd swivel screen handset we scooped last week and now two more ugly homely bulky handsets have found their way out into the wild. First up is the touchscreen X960 seen above to the left. As far as specs beyond the familiar form factor go, you’re looking at a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen (640×480), 3G, Wi-Fi b/g, Bluetooth, GPS, microSDHC support and a 3.2 megapixel camera with a flash. A 533MHz Samsung processor runs the show and if you can get past the bulk it’s actually a pretty decent handset. Does it offer anything unique or special worth getting excited for? Not that we can see…

Next up is the double-sided DX650, a very polarizing handset – you’ll likely either love it or think it’s an abomination. The most notable aspect of the handset of course, is its dual-faced form factor. One side is home to a sizable 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen while the other holds a tiny 1.27-inch monochrome LED display that sits atop a standard 0-9 keypad. It’s not pretty but it is on the unique side of the handset spectrum. Specs-wise little has been revealed but a safe guess would be to presume it’s relatively in line with the X960. Both handsets will run Windows Mobile, hopefully 6.5, and will be showcased at MWC along with their swivel-screened cousin. Meh. Hit the jump for a few more pics.

X960:

DX650:

Thanks, Dan!

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