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Enlarge ImageAcer CEO Jason Chen reveals the company has bought Xplova, a maker of a GPS cyclist tracker.
Shara Tibken/CNET
BERLIN — Acer is rolling into the cyclist market by buying Xplova, a GPS biking tracker maker.
Acer CEO Jason Chen, speaking Wednesday at the IFA electronics show here, revealed his company has purchased Xplova, which provides hardware and software for cyclists. The company’s GPS bike computers help riders plan and track routes, navigate with turn-by-turn directions and analyze their performance. Users can also share their activity logs with their social networks.
Chen said Xplova has 15,000 “members” who’ve uploaded 200,000 pieces of data and planned more than 52,000 routes.
Acer said in a press release that it plans to integrate Xplova’s technology with its hardware, software and services. “Acer will integrate Xplova’s hardware, cloud computing platform, community service capabilities and industry knowhow to help expand its reach further into the sports industry,” the company said. Acer didn’t disclose the purchase price.
Acer made the announcement along with many other product releases during a press conference in Berlin. It also showed off new Chromebooks, Windows 10 PCs and a new Windows Phone it calls “the world’s first PC phone,” the Jade Primo .
Acer suffered when the market shifted away from small laptops called netbooks to tablets. It saw its market share crater quarter after quarter but has now been pushing thinner and lighter designs to better compete with tablets and other PC rivals.
For the best of IFA 2015, see CNET’s complete coverage.
Updated at 12:50 p.m. CET with more information from Acer’s press release.
