Acer Inc, the world's fifth-largest vendor of personal computers (PCs), yesterday launched a new design for its laptop products, hoping the move will impress customers and strengthen the company's brand image.
"We hope the sleek design and intuitive interface will fully reflect our brand image and associate us in customers' minds with innovation," Acer president Wang Jen-tang (王振堂) told the Taipei Times.
The company expects the new design to help it stand out from its many competitors as it strives to become the No. 3 vendor of PCs in the next two to three years, Wang said.
The launch includes two new laptop models: the Aspire 1800 and the TravelMate 3200. The new models target home and professional users as well as the commercial market.
The new design includes an "empowerment key" that enables users to execute frequently-used functions with one touch, the company said.
Acer spent two years and between US$2 million and US$3 million on the new product design, cooperating with Smart Design, a US design consultancy, said Jim Wong (
"We expect all our notebook lines to adopt the new design in the next year," Wang said, adding that the design would eventually extend to the company's desktop products for the commercial market. Wang did not provide a time frame.
The new portable computers, manufactured by contract makers Quanta Computer Inc (
The company shipped 2 million laptops last year and expects to double that figure this year.
"The new design is expected to stimulate notebook shipments in the second half of this year and help us reach our goal of a 100 percent increase in shipments," Wang said.
Acer underwent a restructuring process in 2000, uncoupling its brand-name and contract manufacturing businesses, with the latter becoming Wistron Corp (緯創), which specializes in original-equipment-manufacturing. Before the restructuring, the company had suffered from a weakening competitive position in both sectors.
After the restructuring, Acer transformed itself into a company concentrating on developing its own branded products.
"That was a crucial move," Wang said.
"Since then, we have positioned ourselves as a business integrator and adopted a strategy of `one company, one brand, one global team' to develop our branded business."
Acer, having outsourced its manufacturing and having concentrated on brand positioning, has begun to see returns after going through an initial adjustment period.
The company posted revenue of NT$157.7 billion (US$4.74) last year, up from NT$105.7 billion the previous year. The company projects sales of NT$202 billion this year.
According to figures from International Data Corporation, Acer has become the leading PC brand in some European countries -- such as Italy -- and is the fifth-largest PC vendor globally, with 3.3 percent global market share. The company shipped 1.4 million units in the first quarter of this year.
"It is business models that matter now," Wang said, adding that the company is now seeking to cooperate with the world's top players in manufacturing, design and distribution in order to achieve synergies.
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