Acer warns Microsoft that hardware is like 'hard rice'

Acer is pretty peeved with Microsoft's hardware push and continues to let the software giant know it.

The latest comments from the Taiwanese computer maker again criticize Microsoft's recent push to compete with its hardware partners.

According to a rough translation from Google, Linxian Lang, Acer's manager of Greater China operations, compared making hardware to food. He described the process to "hard rice" that's "not so easy to eat."

Of course, the translation is riddled with errors, but the general sentiment is clear: Acer thinks Microsoft should stick to what it does best (software) and let Acer and the other hardware makers build the actual products that run Windows.

Microsoft earlier this year introduced a self-branded tablet, dubbed Surface, that runs on its Windows RT operating system. The company is reportedly also considering making its own smartphones. Such products are a threat to companies like Acer, which are struggling to appeal to consumers in a world that's increasingly moving toward smartphones and tablets.

Acer, in particular, has suffered as it lost its big bet on Netbooks and as consumers continue to hold off on PC purchases. The company has posted steep declines in recent quarters, with its global shipments falling 10 percent year over year in the third quarter, according to Gartner, and its shipments in the U.S. tumbling a whopping 28 percent over the same period.

Late last month, Acer said it was delaying the release of a Windows RT tablet because it remains wary of competing with Microsoft's Surface.

(Via Engadget)

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