Acer announced its intentions to become one of the top five smartphone manufacturers recently, and backed up its claim with the release of five Windows Mobile powered handsets - including the dual-SIM DX900 - along with the development of a further five WinMo phones and an Android powered device.

Unfortunately, its headlong dash into the smartphone world has hit something of a wall - carrier cautiousness. To be fair to the service providers, adding expensive, feature rich handsets to their slow-moving stockpiles is a big risk, especially when those devices have to compete with the iPhone.

Uptake of Acer’s smartphone debuts hasn’t been met with apathy, however - just a reasonable sense of financial prudence that suggests they won’t make it to the market until 2010.

Acer says tt’s still hoping to move things along and meet the vital holiday season at the end of this year, but it’s clear that despite the public’s enthusiasm for feature rich smartphones it’s still a very tenuous area of the market for oft-burned carriers.