Taiwan-based computer maker Acer revealed it is entering the handset market with a range of high-end smart phones -- combining voice telephony with Internet capabilities.

 

With smart phones displaying more functions of computing alongside traditional telephony, analysts were expecting such an announcement -- a computer maker entering the mobile sector -- at the four-day GSMA World Mobile Congress this week.

 

Best known for its laptops, Acer will launch its first four new smart phones, mostly in Russia and Asia, in the first half of the year. Another four will be launched later in the year, the company said Tuesday.

 

"The smart phone market is the natural direction of our long-term mobile strategy as our ambition is to offer compelling solutions to all the needs of mobile users," Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci said.