Skip to main content

Acer Says American PC Vendors May Soon Be Goners

dell-inspiron-notebookHewlett Packard, the world’s largest computer maker, and Dell, third place in world sales, are powerful players. However, both — especially Dell – suffered during the recession. Meanwhile Taiwanese OEMs ASUSTek and Acer, whose sales were heavily comprised of low-priced netbooks (the Eee PC and Aspire One, respectively), posted impressive growth.

Acer founder Stan Shih, who helped grow his company into Taiwan’s top computer-maker, said this differential response is merely a sign of trouble to come for American companies.

He is quoted by Taipei-based Commercial Times as saying, “The trend for low-priced computers will last for the coming years. But US computer makers just don’t know how to put such products on the market… US computer brands may disappear over the next 20 years, just like what happened to US television brands.”

Acer’s talk may sound like the same kind of tired corporate rhetoric that executives often spout off. However, one must consider Acer’s impressive performance — in 2009 the company passed Dell to become the world’s second largest computer maker, and according to Digitimes, it is projected to in 2011 pass HP to become the world’s top computer maker. That progress has been heavily driven by aggressively priced PCs, especially netbooks.

One odd man out is Apple, Inc. Apple, a U.S. firm based out of Cupertino, California, traditionally prices its notebooks well above even HP or Dell, let alone the Taiwanese. However, it continues to grow and gain marketshare, perhaps proving that Acer’s prediction of the American computer maker’s demise premature.

Editors' Recommendations

Dena Cassella
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Haole built. O'ahu grown
Amazon and Walmart discount Acer, Lenovo Chromebooks for Black Friday
asus hp chromebook deals best buy newegg back to school sales 2020 x360 14 2

This year's Black Friday deals are starting early, including Black Friday laptop deals from various retailers. If you're looking to buy a laptop, there's probably no better time than now from Amazon Black Friday deals and Walmart Black Friday deals, to make sure that you are able to secure stocks before the annual shopping holiday arrives.

If you're on a budget, you should consider Chromebooks as alternatives to traditional laptops. Chromebooks are laptops that use Google's Chrome OS instead of Microsoft's Windows or Apple's MacOS, with the Chrome browser reworked to serve as an operating system that depends on web-based apps. If that sounds like something you can work with, there are many Black Friday Chromebook deals to choose from across different price ranges. Here are some Chromebooks that are currently on sale in early Black Friday deals from Amazon and Walmart.
Lenovo Chromebook S330 -- $199, was $299

Read more
These Acer, Asus, Dell, HP Chromebooks are on sale ahead of Memorial Day
acer chromebook 15 asus a202 dell 3100 hp 14a g5 deals amazon best buy pre memorial day sales c202

Memorial Day sales have arrived earlier than expected for the Acer Chromebook 15, Asus Chromebook A202, Dell Chromebook 3100, and HP Chromebook 14A G5, which are on sale from as little as $236 today. Best act fast, though: Chromebook deals don't tend to sit around.

Asus Chromebook C202
-- $236, was $269

Read more
Facebook, Google coronavirus surveys may soon predict outbreaks, researchers say
Doctors treating patient

Data from surveys run on Facebook and Google could be used to track and even predict the spread of coronavirus, officially called COVID-19, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced on Monday that the survey would be expanding worldwide to gather more data for scientists.

Read more