Acer Inc (宏碁) said yesterday netbooks could make up as much as 25 percent of its total notebook computer shipments this year, as more telecoms operators have started selling low-cost laptops along with regular services.
Acer, the world’s third-largest PC maker, has said it may ship between 12 million and 15 million netbook laptops this year. It said it shipped 33.54 million laptops last year, citing market researcher Gartner Inc’s tally. The PC company did not provide figures on its netbook shipments for last year.
“Demand in the US is still strong because more telecoms operators are selling our netbooks bundled with their services. They see third-generation services as a means to help boost their business,” Acer chairman Wang Jeng-tang (王振堂) said. “Consumers are willing to spend money on netbooks during the economic downturn.”
Research firm IDC has raised its forecast for global netbook shipments this year by 20 percent to 26.4 million from its previous estimate of 22 million units, on the back of strong demand from Latin America, Asia and the US.
This year, netbook shipments may account for 15 percent to 25 percent of Acer’s total notebook shipments, Wang said.
That would help Acer achieve its goal of deposing Hewlett Packard Co as the world’s largest notebook computer maker next year, one year earlier than its original target year of 2011, Wang said.
Acer is currently ranked No. 2 with a 19.7 percent share of the world’s laptop computer market, while Hewlett Packard has 22.1 percent, Wang said.
Overall sales of notebook computers were a bit slow recently as the bleak economy in the US and Europe curtailed purchases of computers, Wang said, adding that he remained cautious about the outlook for the PC industry.
Tight supplies of key components also dragged down the pace of the industry’s recovery, he said.
Acer shares climbed 3.19 percent to NT$58.2 yesterday, outperforming the benchmark TAIEX index, which rose 2.95 percent yesterday.
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